The Boondocks Fishery

Decided to take an afternoon and explore Red Bank. We love waterfront restaurants so got excited about this place. Really wanted to like it. Cash only. Byob which is nice. They were out of the lunch special and rice for the shrimp scampi. Lunch was 3 cokes, the coconut shrimp appetizer (decent), shrimp dumplings (come with no sauce and are fried, didn’t look awesome but my mom ate them), shrimp tacos (ok) and shrimp scampi. Almost everything was fried. Hate to leave a lukewarm review but honestly I could take it or leave it all. $ 67 all in. View is ok but you can find equal or better around the shore.

Okay view.
Okay food.
Pricey.
Looks can be deceiving.
Lobster looked amazing.
Cracked it open and it was rotten, green, yucky… lost my appetite.
Service could be better.

It breaks my heart to write this review… this is a place that I went to quite frequently growing up during the summer months.
In years past, if you ordered a fish and chips platter you would get 2 nice pieces of cod along with delicious freshly fries fries.
Today on Father’s Day I decided to bring my dad here for lunch to have our delicious fish and chips and what we got was possibly the most disappointing meal I have ever had.
What we got was 3 fish fingers (the kind you get at the food store frozen) and a player of french fries that probably sat on the counter for a while as they were cold, and they also had some kind of spice sprinkled over then (thankfully it was just for looks because it didn’t taste like anything… I’m sure that wasn’t their intent). No MALT VINEGAR… if anybody is a true fish and chip fan, they know that malt vinegar is a must! I don’t do ketchup, so I asked the girl for cocktail sauce just so I could add flavor to this hot mess that was served. To make matters works what she gave me was FROZEN! At this point I’m just blown away at how a simple meal could go so wrong.
$ 65 for this fish fingers… wait I’m sorry «fish and chips».
This experience has taken away great memories… goes to show what happens when a place becomes popular and the management cuts corners to serve larger volume of customers.

Really disappointed. Could not wait to try this place. It’s the cutest little place in Red Bank. We ordered two lobster rolls. $ 17 a roll. The rolls were ok… not great but the worst part was we left starving.

It’s got it all. It’s the place I’ve been looking for; great fresh fish, great attitude, great view, and it’s byob.

Great price for the lobster special but it was not good my lobster was tough and my husband did not even eat his because he put a lobster tail in his mouth and he said it tasted like he just poured ammonia in his mouth. Very bad experience. But great view!

I got the fish and chips. The fish was good, but a very small portion for the $ 18 I paid for it. The fries (or chips) were cheap shoe string fries. Didn’t feel worth it given we were eating from paper plates outside, using plastic silverware and plastic cups. Will not likely return.

Great service and nice little setting but the food was sub-​par/​disappointing. I got a lobster roll and it was flavorless. Friends’ food — calamari and lobster quesadilla — also not so great.

Came for Lobster night. 2 lobsters 25.95. Beautiful night so when they said an hour wait we were okay with it. Sat by the river and watched the boats. The 3* was more for location, on the water, and for the service. This is not fancy. You place your order at the window, pay and the go to your table with a number on a sign. The owner? was very friendly. Showed us the box of corkscrews and got us a bucket with ice. She said next time we can get the ice while waiting. The servers were also friendly and asked numerous times how everything was.
Oh the food. You want water? You can buy. Clam chowder was watery with some chopped clams.
THE LOBSTERS. Lets face it. It’s the reason for the crowd. Two 1 ¼ pound, a corn and some potatoes. Lobsters were pretty small. I didn’t weigh them but seemed tiny. They are soft shell and didn’t contain much to eat. Corn, over cooked and tasteless.
I have to admit, everything tastes better outdoors and on the water. BYOB

The 3 of us got there at 5:45 PM on Tuesday. They said the wait would be 30 minutes. It took us an hour to get here and wanted to try the lobster special. That may be why we waited so long but after pestering the hostess several times, we finally got seated at one of the wide picnic tables (big enough for 6 — 8 people?) at 7:15 — 90 minutes later. I take an ongoing restaurant screwing up on their wait time by this much a big issue. We heard others grumbling about wait times being wrong previously. I realize wait time is not an exact science. But with x parties already waiting for a table, I take offense when they screw up by such a large margin. It’s not like they just opened or started that special recently.
The food was good — nothing great and nothing bad.
Cash only is kinda weird these days and just makes me think ‘tax avoidance’.
Parking — when I called them earlier in the day to confirm the lobster special was on for that night (didn’t want to drive 1 hour to find out for some reason they were closed /​we got the date for the special wrong), we got an answering machine saying there’s plenty of parking. The public lot next to the restaurant was quite full. Not sure where you’d park if that didn’t work out.
And good that we called — that’s how I learned it was cash only. Never would have thought to ask.
With the amount of people waiting, you’d think they’d pop for some more of those plastic Adirondack chairs. They’re something like $ 17 at Walmart. Loads of people were standing, sitting on boat lockers (big boxes about the shape of a trunk) up against the fence, and I even saw a woman jokingly trying to get into a kids size chair.
There’s 1? single bathroom for everyone it seemed.
There were locals /​repeat customers waiting for a table. They just cracked open their wine and started drinking. So come prepared for the wait and it won’t be that bad?

This place is probably a 3.5 for me. If I’m ever in Red Bank, I’ll probably stop by here for a lobster roll.
The lobster roll is okay. A lot of lobster (I was pleasantly surprised by the amount, esp when you compare this place to places in the city). A little too much mayo and nothing special with the actual roll. It has so much potential to be great! A little pricey at 17 dollars but again better than the city.
It’s a no frills kinda place where you order at the window and they come to your table and bring you your food. The restaurants right at the edge of the water so you get a great view.

BYOB PLACE, Good for families with Kids, very informal. Good to relax while having super. Good price.

Definitely avoid the lobster mac and cheese. Very little lobster, and once it starts to cool it is a horrible clump. The fries are good. Caesar salad very nice. But I don’t go to a seafood place fog the salad. Coconut shrimp is very good

Cash only ugh! Great casual environment. Fresh lobster. Must come back for dinner! I like the fact you can sit by the boats and have a casual dinner. I absoutely want to come back for some Lobster. My appetizer I had was excellent!

The amount of stars you give this place depends on where you’ve been to before and when you go. Before we went, I looked at some Unilocal reviews and got very mixed ratings. Half gave it 4 or 5 stars saying that it’s the best lobster outside of Maine and raving about all of the food while the other half gave it 3 or 2 stars complaining about long waits, bad service, and mediocre food. Given that it was about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ in in terms of reviews, we figured we’d judge for ourselves. Turns out they were both partially right.
I got the lobster roll. It was alright. I’ve definitely had better, especially in New York and Maine, but for New Jersey it’ll do. It’s the only reason I’m giving this review 3 stars. FYI, get the lobster roll without lettuce. It was basically like a small salad stuffed inside the bun and I couldn’t taste the lobster until I removed the lettuce.
As for the rest of the food, it was less than memorable. Our coconut shrimp were obviously frozen since the waitress brought them over to us within five minutes of us sitting down. Tasted like the frozen coconut shrimp you get from Costco to be quite honest. Don’t get me wrong. I love Costco coconut shrimp, but i don’t enjoy paying $ 10.95 for six of them. The cheeseburger came out on a sandwich roll. I’m not sure if that’s a thing they do to seem different and trendy or they just ran out of buns, but either way I could have lived without it. The fried flounder sandwich looks like it’s flavorful and well seasoned, but you would be mistaken. It was the equivalent of eating cardboard.
If I had to wait for an hour for this mediocre food, I would be pretty upset too and give this place 1 or 2 stars. But since we walked right in on a Wednesday afternoon and basically the only ones there, it wasn’t too bad.
Also the food is really overpriced for what it is and while the view is nice you soon realize that you’re just staring at a bunch of boats. Might be back. Probably not.

Sorry Maine and New England. The best Lobster Roll is in New Jersey! Great view, great food and great people! Best Gumbo north of NoLa! Bring your own makes this a great place for a group or couple. Love it!

Wow I don’t understand some of the mediocre reviews because for a NJ casual seafood joint this place was awesome. Let’s dissect some of the complaints I read shall we…
1. Long wait for tables — maybe I was just lucky and came on a good day because when I arrived there was NO waiting with only 6 tables fully occupied. I came here with my family on a Sunday, 2pm ish. I just walked in… took a menu off the front and picked out a picnic table to sit on. I guess the long wait is only at night. If you want to avoid this… come at lunch time instead.
2. Mediocre and overpriced food — look this is not Maine, Florida, Hawaii or any other state famous for their seafood. This is NJ people where every street corner has a pizza parlor and a Chinese takeout right next to it. You cannot expect to get a whole lobster with sides for $ 15 like in Maine. This place is one of the awesome restaurants that you can find in the sea of endless Italian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine clones that you see all over the state. The food was good… we started off with the house salad and calamari. Ok so the salad was egh… just a bed of arugula and some tomatoes with a side of vinaigrette. But ordering that made you feel less guilty for the cholesterol charged lobster that you will have next. The calamari platter was plentiful and the ring slices were big. although not enough tentacles (my favorite part). It was enough for 3 big eaters to feast on. Next came our mains which were the 1 ¼lb lobster with a side of whole corn Cobb and baked potatoes. Really… you can’t get this wrong. It’s Always good. Lobster roll was overflowing with lobster goodness with a side of chips and coleslaw was yummy as well. The fish and chips were like fat fish sticks…(not the UK type of fish and chips) but the sticks were made of actual fish NOT fillers. All in all the food was excellent. Not at all mediocre or overpriced. It’s way better than the food you get at red lobster or Joe’s Crab Shack. At the same time don’t come here expecting fancy seafood dishes that you might find at Biggie’s in Hoboken. This is a casual and really chill place by the side of a marina.
With all that being said I had a great time here and I would definitely come again and recommend this place to friends and family if they want a casual seafood experience. The service was great… the waitresses were nice and attentive without being annoying. The place was clean and kid friendly. The best part was the beautiful view and the breeze that you get… for a girl like me. who was born in and raised (for a few years) on a tropical island I know my seafood and this place is a little gem tucked in a small corner of a marina in red bank.
FYI: this place is BYOB but they also sell soda. Cash only and be aggressive with finding a parking spot in the municipal parking area.

Just ate here for lunch. Beautiful view of the Navesink river, tucked right in Marine Park. Outside dinning on picnic tables which is always fun. You place your order, pay and they bring it to you. Fresh fish. Party of 4 and our meal was very good. Started off with tuna bites, pieces of tuna with Cajun spices. Also had the special, shrimp dumplings. We all shared scallops, a lobster roll (which I have had better), fried fish accompanied with sweet potato fries and coleslaw. I heard from several seated around us their lobster night is good and worth a try.
BYOB and cash only.
I saw that there is live music on weekends.

This is a very casual place with amazing views. They are located right at the marina and outside under a tent, not sure what they do in the winter, maybe there is a small indoor space I missed? You order at the front and grab a picnic table and wait for your food. We went at 8:30 on a Friday night and the place was dead even though the rest of the restaurants in Red Bank looked packed. I guess the waits for a table are hit or miss. The food was decent but not really memorable but the views were great. The staff was super friendly too! This is definitely a great place on a nice summer night. They also had a live band playing!

Very casual restaurant with a million dollar view.
The byo policy makes this place extremely attractive
A group of my closest 7 friends joined me for dinner there over this past weekend. We arrived at 7 and gave the hostess our name. Knowing a bit about the place we packed a cooler full of our favorite «beverages»
There was a musician with a guitar playing some music. They have Adirondack chairs there for you to enjoy the music and shoot the breeze while you wait for a table. We waited about 30 minutes for the table. You sit in picnic tables, review a laminated menu and order and pay at a counter. I thought the prices were extremely reasonable. The portions were on the small side. We have the tuna bites, fried calamari and fried grouper fingers. Everything was enjoyable. Entrees were again reasonable but on the small side. Stuffed shrimp included 4 small shrimp for approx $ 20
The blackened scallops were very good. The lobster was unimpressive, smaller than expected. The servers have no problem bringing ice, cups, ope era etc. Very liberal policy with outside beverages. They sell bottled water and soda.
Parking can be a challenge, public lot with a muni meter. I lucked out and got a parking spot pretty quick, I noticed a few folks driving in circles for a spot.
Overall is it a fun restaurant with stellar views.
I will be back.