Baia Restaurant

Don’t bother. Over rated. Small drinks. Poor menu for the Jersey shore. Zombie wait staff. We tried, again and were way disappointed in 2016.

Had a surprise dinner at Baia to surprise my fiancé with all of her family and friends to celebrate our engagement. Everything was wonderful. Food was phenomenal. Everyone got apps and sandwiches on the side deck and everyone raved about their meal. Waiters were great and managers were very nice and made themselves available. Side deck was great as we had it to ourselves and was close enough to the main deck to hear the live band and get great views of the bay and bridge. My fiancé is already talking about how she would love to have her bridal shower there. I myself will certainly be back in the future as well. All around great restaurant.

Make sure to tell them which wine you want. I came here with my girl friends and we ordered generally «Pinot Grigio» and «Pinot noir». The waitress gave us the MOST EXPENSIVE wine. IN. A. PLASTIC. CUP. So for three people having two glasses of wine each was $ 80. Beware!

Came to have a good with some friends and family. Decided to go outside and smoke a cigarette on the back deck. Several of us were smoking. A grumpy employee then instructed me to take our smoke outside which we then proceeded to go out front with drinks in hand. Once in the front of the building the same grumpy employee approach us and instructed that we had to return inside with our beverages after letting multiple people by with drinks in hand. Considering how slow it was the employee seemed to enjoy bossing us around. Also on a side note payed 4.50 for a water. Ridiculous, I was lead to believe that it was Voss water but after several ph test done by my pool cleaning son, it was indeed somers point tap water or poorly filtered Bay water. I wouldn’t recommend this place to my worst enemy’s.

Not sure how to rate this restaurant. The location is so beautiful, it really could be a great place if management and the kitchen would just get their act together. Firstly, we made an early dinner reservation as we had a young child with us. With our reservation we asked to be seated by the water. When we arrived we were told that there would be an extra 45 minute wait if we wanted to sit outside. We declined, and sat in the almost empty dining room. Our waiter was friendly and did a great job, so our bad experience was no fault to him. We were impressed by the drink menu, and all of us were happy with our drinks which were a tad overpriced and served in small glasses (that were mostly ice), but were still delicious. We put in a few appetizers and our entrees and that’s when it went downhill. Our group decided to take turns going outside to enjoy the view and the band. The outdoor scene was great! A great looking bar, live music and a wonderful view, but we were sad and dissapointed to see that several large tables were open that could have fit our party. But we werent sure if they were bar tables, so we didn’t make a big deal of it. We came back in to our table and waited… and waited… and waited… and waited. Our waiter kept stopping by to assure us it would be a few more minutes but time kept stretching on. Finally after much waiting, our appetizers arrived. The corn chowder was delicious, but the mixed salad was nothing special. The rest of our party was happy with the clams and mussels they split. We continued to wait for our entrees. We ordered nothing special– some burgers and seafood salad sandwiches which are served cold so we were confused why it was taking so long. Our waiter apologized a few times and said the kitchen was very backed up and assured us it would only be a few more minutes. Looking around, we saw similar agitated and annoyed faces at the tables around us waiting for their food. We had hoped to leave the restaurant by 7:45 as my daughter’s bedtime is 8, and at this point it was 8:30 and we hadn’t even been served our entrees yet! A manager came by to speak to us and she was sweet and apologized profusely. When we asked her how much longer it would be, she made a face that indicated it would be awhile longer and said «it would be some minutes». We decided to give up and just cancel our entrees and leave. The waiter assured us that this isn’t how they normally do things, but looking at the reviews here I can’t believe that. Horrible service and long waits for food seem to be what everyone is complaining about. There were plenty of servers hanging around, so it clearly is an issue in the kitchen that management needs to get on. So in conclusion, I would recommend this place on a nice day for drinks at the bar, but would never come back for the food.

the one star is only indicative of the close parking spot I was able to secure. Front of house staff is a joke and have no clue what they’re doing from top to bottom. Don’t bother walking in until there’s a big sign out front that says «under new management».

I ordered a magic hat draft from the menu and they don’t have any. I asked for some more bread for my pot of oysters and waited 20 minutes to find out they didn’t have any. 40 minutes later I don’t have my sandwich. It’s not even busy. Really a bad service experience.

Had dinner here last weekend. The food was good, but, there weren’t a lot of seafood options. I really enjoy dining out and having to take a while to decide upon the selections of delectable seafood dishes. The did not have scallops on the menu, which is one of my faves. Still, the fried shrimp were very large and the fries were crispy and delish. Service was great too. Would give five stars if they had a slightly larger seafood menu.

I was not impressed. First was the rude girls at the desk in front hostess station. They were rude on the phone and in the restaurant. The waiter was good. So that made up for there rudeness. The food was ok. Nothing special. They took a long time to serve food and watched another family leave because they could not wait anymore. Not a good sign. It was overpriced and not worth a visit again. Will try some other places next time. If you go. Don’t say you were not warned. Good luck

We usually come over here after eating at Smitty’s Clam Bar (next door) with our BYOB wines and then come here for a couple of drinks, the view, and one appie, and the view.
Today they don’t have the bar stools along the railing which is a best place to see and watch the bridge, the view, and the boats.
They have a deck bar. Get this, the drinks are cheaper inside but it’s always freezing in there. Nice place to sit and have a couple of drinks and the appies we’ve had are good. Really nice at night. I like this side of the bridge with none of the boardwalk crowds.
The food and drinks are a little pricy but they do have a few modestly priced choices.

This place is really amazing. My wife & I got married on the beach in Cape May, and after trying unsuccessfully to find a really delicious after-​ceremony spot in the Cape May area we decided to instead have our group of 12 drive up to Baia for a meal. Their management was fantastic, working with us to secure a great private table on the side deck, a personalized menu for our guests and overall treated us really great. Everytime we’ve visited the food has been fresh & delicious with big portions. The drinks are strong and the atmosphere is wonderful :)

Saturday Labor Day weekend, the place is loud and the service was just ok and nothing special. The food was decent but it’s rather expensive for what you get. Kids portions are very small and expensive for $ 10 a child. If you can get outside its a nice place to sit and have a few drinks.
Drinks are small size Martinis, the smallest glass I’ve seen for the higher end price of $ 12.00 a drink.
Wasn’t happy with drink prices seeing how small it was. I would go back if everything else was packed.

We arrived early for our 7PM reservation and were seated right away! Our waitress (I wish I could remember her name!) was very energetic and was very helpful in explaining the menu to us and answering our questions.
We ordered a variety of entrees, from steak to Veal Parmesan, sea bass to linguine and white clam sauce, and finally a dinner special of spinach ravioli topped with shrimp in a red sauce. Each of our meals were served hot and prepared as described.
Of our seven night stay, this was our favorite restaurant. The service… The atmosphere… The food… Exceptional!

Had the New York strip with broccoli and mashed potatoes. I chose the topping with Gorgonzola cheese which went against my instinct. However they did not disappoint. My sister had the mussels and broth was very watery and lacked butter so I’m dropping my review down from 5 to 4. Excellent wait staff, no waiting without a reservation was an added delight.

We had a 7:30 reservation on a Thursday night during the summer. We had a short wait to get outside on the deck which was fine. We sat at the bar for apps and drinks while waiting to get to the gorgeous view and peace outside. The restaurant was very crowded and a bit noisy so we were looking forward to getting outside. The food was great! I nice surprise for the shore. We have struggled to find a good meal for years here! We had the oysters, crab cakes, tuna and salmon. All were excellent!
As delighted as we were by the food, we were equally disappointed by the music outside. From our understanding this was the guys first time playing at the location. It was as if he was going through a very bad break up. No question the guy has talent, however, each song was more depressing then the last. SONG AFTER SONG. It was quite a downer, and it was loud so you could not drowned it out. I think they usually have steel bands or some other more fitting music to accompany the scene. We wanted to scream «WE ARE ON VACATION, CHILL OUT». The service was excellent, the food was great, we will be back next year for sure.

First time customer. Great atmosphere! Very chill music, great outdoor view, and food that is incredibly amazing! I Recommend the salmon. Cooked perfect. Flakes easily and melts in mouth. We had the special with the pecan topping with Jack Daniels glaze. Pasta tastes fresh and portions are very generous :)

This place is amazing! It has the best view, fresh seafood, great drinks and great service! We had our family and friends there for our after eloping meal and t was romantic and beautiful and the staff worked with us to make our own private menu. They were quick with our orders, respective il to our guest and as always, the food was BOMB! This will probably be our go to place when visiting the shore because it gave us so many memories on our special day. The live music added to the evening and made it all that much more magical. I recommend their calamari, the raw oysters & clams and their crab cakes. All their portions are huge and you will not go home hungry. The bread and garlic oil dipping before dinner is delicious.
I can’t wait to go back again!

Food was «ok». Drinks were weak… I had a Sunset in the bay and it was more sour than sweet. The ship wreck was better but again super weak Band was awesome. Very very good. Service was great. Good location.

5 star location. We sat outside and it was a beautiful night with a view of the water, the bridge and ocean city in the distance. Menu looks great but food really doesn’t deliver, especially for the prices.

We’ve been to Baia a few times and it was always been pretty delicious, and the service has been exceptional. The last two times we have had Steve as our server and he is probably the best, most attentive server I’ve had in a very long time! He’s very on top of everything without overdoing it, and he is very likable and knowledgable! So helpful.
As for the eats… the bread and dipping oil is super addicting, watch out! I’ve definitely ruined my appetite a little bit by accidentally pigging out on that bread here. Why is it so darn good?! For starters, the Caesar salad is top notch! The fried calamari is a little different in that it has green olives in it and is sort of caponata-​style. Not for everyone but good to know before you order it! I don’t personally like seafood, but my boyfriend raves about the mussles and oysters.
For main courses, the steaks, fish, and chicken are really amazing, especially when they’re on special (usually a GREAT deal!). I mean, you can get it crusted with crab or Gorgonzola, what’s not to love?! Watch out for the specials though, the portions are sometimes really gigantic! (See photo of the veal chop Milanese special… woah). My sister got one of the specials: Gorgonzola crusted ribeye with Marsala sauce — cooked perfectly and so so good.
My only two less-​than-​amazing experiences were that this past Saturday, I ordered a chicken dish that seemed as though it was a light, white sauce over pasta and it actually came out as chicken parm (different menu name and confusing description!). I wish I’d known that’s what I was ordering — it was pretty good, but they have way better stuff on the menu. The second thing is that their dessert menu lists molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream as an option… MY FAVORITE! However, it is actually a dense piece of chocolate cake rather than a molten chocolate lava cake… good for some, huge disappointment for me. :(but tasty nonetheless.
Great place, great live music and atmosphere… I’m definitely coming back! The bar scene is pretty fun too!