Sharkey’s Restaurant

Sharkey’s is an institution for my family. Five generations have eaten here. My brother and I traveling from Long Island and Albany met here on our way to Rochester to eat spiedies together. Worth the detour. Best spiedies. No place else tops Sharkey’s. Waitresses are always great. They’re speedy, attentive and know that they’re working in one of Binghamton’s treasures. And where else can you get city chicken. kielbasi, clams and pizza to go with the spiedies.

great place for speedie’s and clams both raw and steamed. This is your neighborhood bar and grill where they know you by name and what you eat and drink. stop in and say hi to Marie and order a skewer of speedies.

The good restaurant sits in the most un-​expected place! The clams are as fresh as it gets! (On the brochure it says the clams you are having today were sleeping in the bay last night, and I believe it’s true). I had two dozens just by myself… Don’t call me crazy, you’ll do the same after you taste the first one.

I was visiting from out-​of-​town, and having missed spiedies in the way that only a native Upstate New Yorker who hasn’t lived in NY for years can miss spiedies, I decided I needed spiedies, and I needed them on the soft Italian bread of my childhood — which meant Sharkey’s. The waitress, being silly, recommended the chicken spiedies. I wasn’t fool enough to fall for that, and went for the pork. My brother, who. sadly, was taken in with her talk of chicken, regretted his decision upon arrival of the sandwiches. Truly, their pork spiedies are better. More tender, and they seem to absorb the marinade better. The garlic fries were, strangely, on the bland side, but still rather tasty. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like fries? And beer… I do love a restaurant with a full bar!
As for décor, I love the old booths and the bowling game they have. Very neat! I also love the antique AC unit they have that’s about the size of a walk-​in cooler. Who knew ancient cooling systems were collectables?! ;)

I ate here last week. I was very disappointed, because I really thought this place was an iconic Binghamton restaurant. The city chicken and speidies were tiny chunks of old meat and tasted very dry. The side of halupki probably was the item that gave me the runs — I should have known better, because it just looked like it sat in the fridge for weeks with it’s nasty tomato sauce jelled around the cabbage and meat. The décor at Sharkey’s looked old & dirty, and was empty. Ceiling tiles were falling down, a cheap bowling game was broken. Its no big surprise that the 2 other customers at lunch time were likely over 80 years old. It smelled musty, kind of like old people + lingered cigarette smoke from years past. The waitress had no personality and looked miserable. I hope John Taffer from «Bar Rescue» closes this place down and educates these neglectful owners on how a successful place should be run.

Hadn’t been here in a long time thought we would enjoy a blast from the past but we were very disappointed. Ordered a draft beer which rang in at 4 buck for about 12 ounces and a soda for 2 bucks which had no free refills. It took about ten minutes to get our drinks and there were only two other people in the whole joint sitting at the bar.
We orders our meal the half rack of ribs with salt potatoes and pierogi. Asked if the pierogi had onions was told only on top and I can get them without bit into pierogi and tasted onion. Ribs came were very small and seemed weathered like jerky taste was like dog food and very dry seemed microwaved. Salt potatoes were mushy and no salt. The fresh roll however was wonderful but would of been better with butter.
The other order was for pork speidie it was ok and severed on skewer which was quaint. Bread was very fresh but again no butter.
Meals themselves took about half hour to forty five minutes to come and no other patrons came in while we were waiting. Prices seemed very steep overall a disappointing dinner.

I have lost hope in this place.
Being a Binghamton University student, the hype on Sharkey’s is pretty prominent. I’ve been here many months ago and would’ve gave a ⁴⁄₅ stars the other times but for my recent visit I am forever scarred.
After a long week of school, my fraternity brothers were excited to bask ourselves in buttery clams on their Sunday clam specials. Upon arriving to their parking lot, I can’t help but to notice their restaurant sign flickering dimly begging to be fixed. Didn’t realize that the dull weather would foreshadow our terrible meal.
Our group of 14 entered inside, the waitress was only able to seat 10 people together and didn’t bother to set up a table nearby. I was in the 4 that had to be seated elsewhere. After being seated, menu was dropped off at our tables and no utensils were given. A quick glance at the menu was all I needed because I only came for their clam specials. I ordered 2 dozen raw clams and a cup of Sierra Mist. The waitress returns with our drinks and right from there I knew they cheap out on us. The glass cups were so small and ice was filled to the rim. If I were to displace all the actual soda in that cup to a typical soda can, I would be lucky to have half the can. Of course, no free refills. We had to sip on our drinks sparingly hoping so save some for when the food arrives.
I kid you not. It took a hour. I repeat. A whole bloody torturous hour for 24 tiny clams to be served. The place was not busy at all. The actual meat of the clams were no bigger than my thumbnail. It should be illegal to harvest clams so small. The fact that it took 1 hour to serve me something so disappointing really blew me. Took them 40 minutes to serve one basic slice of pizza. It took me 5 minutes to devour all these pathetic clams and of course, I was not satisfied and nowhere close to being full.
Seeing that everyone else in my group were either waiting for their food or still eating their non-​clams, I tempted for more. Called the waitress over and asked her how long would 2 more dozen raw clams take. She said «A really long time. There’s only one guy shucking clams in the back. But if you ordered steamed clams, it would take 5 minutes.» Well slap me silly. How are you going to have a Sunday Clam special but only have one guy shucking clams? Did your establishment think majority of your customers on Sunday would come craving for your salads? I ended up ordering a dozen steamed. The steamed clams however did arrive in about 5 minutes but due to the size and how starving I was, every shell was stripped within minutes. I came craving for clams and with even 3 dozen I’m still left craving. I was tempted to order 2 more dozen steamed but knowing that I’m just wasting money, I held off that order and made plans to just cook at home. Waiting for everyone else to finish, I notice their all-​you-​can-​eat deal for $ 45. I scoffed. I can come from open to close and still won’t get full from these appalled boogers you call clams.
As my group finished up their meals, I went up to pay for my check. The waitress hits me with the «The check is grouped and your total is $ 260.xx» Are you out of your mind? My table is all the way on the other side of the restaurant and you managed to group my 4 with the other 10? Is it cause we’re the only Asians eating there at the moment? Damn. It would be a lot faster for the waitress to individually charge each person if not in multiple groups. She stood there for the most clueless time watching a bunch of Asians collecting and counting money when she could be doing something else. Money paid and everyone dissatisfied.
Sharkey’s was never that bad when I came here before. I’m pretty sure my group wasn’t the only ones who had a bad meal. Looking at other tables, they looked pretty impatient and frustrated as well.
My group swore to never come back again. Thanks but no thanks.

Clams, spiedies, city chicken are all good. Cheap prices. Very casual. If you want to experience the real binghamton, this is it.

Sharkeys is a fantastic local venue. It looks like a hole in the wall and it’s been around for many years but the service and food are fantastic for the prices. If you have never had city chicken” then this is the place to try it for sure. it’s not gourmet and you will not find this on any specialty restaurant shows but it’s worth checking out if you were in Binghamton and want good food for a good price.

Out of all the days that Sharkey’s has their specials — definitely come here on a Tuesday. Not only do they have their awesome dozen of clams for $ 4, but they also have wing specials, sandwich specials, and a bit more on their menu. You can never go wrong ordering the clams here — they are pretty big and sweet in taste. Not much you can expect from Binghamton as this isn’t NYC. But I can always count on some good clams if I’m craving seafood while at school.
However, the restaurant really needs a makeover. It is dingy, dark, and really old. I do not prefer to dine in but hey, what can you do when your choices are so limited in Binghamton?

I will never eat here again. Huge rip=off for a piece of frozen fish.
Ordered two fish sandwiches for $ 9.50 each and I specifically asked the waitress if this included fries, to which she stated YES. The final food portion of the bill was $ 27. Hmm $ 9.50 times two… The waitress said well, actually they had to charge it as a basket with fries (which the menu listed as being $ 12 each)… Hmm… Apparently lemons were not included in the $ 9.50 either. Crooks.
When we were given our fish sandwiches we had to ask for BUNS for our sandwiches which only came with lettuce and tomato but no bread. We had to ask again for the lemons we asked for when we ordered. The $ 1.75 sodas were tiny and there were no refills. The musty smell in the place does not help the food.

Sharkey’s was our go to place for birthday events and for friends coming to visit. Probably not the greatest/​fresh clams ever, but for Binghamton quality, its pretty good. We try to come here on their clam special days, which is a steal for us college kids back then. I’ve only had their steamed clams, because I just didn’t trust their raw ones. The steamers were plumps, juicy, and definitely chewy. Dip them suckers into the melted butter and you got yourself a treat! There’s not much to do in Binghamton, so if you are looking for a unique place for dinner, definitely try out Sharkey’s. Tip: Their wings aren’t half bad either. Anything else, don’t get haha. Enjoy!

Would have been four stars if they had the decency to tell me that they started charging me for lemons. They didn’t do this until recently. Gave them three stars cause you still can’t beat the price for their clam specials. Everything else here isn’t that great.

Sharkey’s is a great Binghamton landmark. We usually go to Sharkeys when we come back into town for little neck clams, city chicken, and speiÿdies. It’s usually one of the highlights of our trip.
I was a little surprised though this time. We ordered clams, city chicken, and speidies. was a little different. Not sure what was up. The butter for the clams is now mixed with what was maybe margarine. The city chicken wasn’t the same recipe. The speidies were good but not fantastic.
I’m totally good with the décor and ambiance of Sharkies because its supposed to be like it was 30 yrs ago when my dad went there. But in order to keep going that direction, which is great, you have to keep all of the things the same. Especially the food.
I will go back but just want it all to be like it should. Sharkies is a classic place and needs to stay that way.

Waitress did not care that I needed my meal within an hour to get back to work. Literally waited 45 minutes for a burger and a pork sandwich, motioned for her to come over, told her I now need it to go due to the wait, and she said okay. Another 5 minutes passed, went up to her and said excuse me, and she walked away to someone else. Left without getting food or paying. Sad to say, it just seems as though the people working here are from an old school crowd that usually prides itself on customer service and respect, but strays far from that. Having eaten here before I can say it’s not worth the wait for the food.

I went here for the clam specials and only returned for the clam specials. I would usually order 1 dozen raw and 2 dozen steamed. It was a good place to go to if your friends or you just really enjoy cheap and tasty clams.
It can be a bit empty or dim but the clams always taste the same. Come with people who won’t talk their asses off because it’s all about the food.

Visited this place when I was an undergrad at Binghamton University. Only heard about one thing and that was their clam special where you get a dozen on a certain night for the most unbeliebly low price!
It was insanly worth the trip. Can’t even get a decent lunch in nyc for that price. The lighting was really dim and dingy inside and that’s great because it made it hard to see the big pool of grease and oil, which made me feel better about myself. Sold!

An outer First Ward institution. Walking through the door is like stepping back in time. I half expect Rod Serling to pop out and start a monologue leading into the meal. «Sign post up ahead –your next stop– the Sharkey’s Zone».
Went here with my brother for a spiedie and clam chow down. We ordered 10 spiedies and two dozen clams between us and washed it down with some Rolling Rocks. Loved it when the waitress said «That’s the most spiedies I’ve seen anyone eat. That’s awesome». Spiedies can be a little on the dry side sometimes so, I always put mustard on them and they taste great. When I was in Spain the Spaniards have a similar tapa called «Pincho Maruno». Grilled meat is a staple in most cultures.
The clams are huge and chewy. Dunk in butter and smile while eating. $ 3.00 or $ 3.50 for a dozen were a bargain.
We’ve got the Buffalo wings in the past and they were also tasty.
They have specials on spiedies (I forget which nights) when it’s 3 for a set price. Otherwise it takes a small dent out of the wallet but, well worth it.
Another old school Binghamton institution that still has the bowling game and booths from yesteryear.
I think some of the reviewers who are disappointed may be looking for white tablecloths and waiters/​waitresses with bow ties. This is the kind of place the TV show Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives would end up at and give it proper kudos.

11:30pm its stillllllll good!
I just wish there was a way to make sure and get smallish clams… these are the sweeter ones. When they are big, they are pretty chewy.
Consistenly good food over the years

As usual, many of the negative reviews are ignorant, inaccurate, or just silly. This isn’t a fine dining experience. It’s a neighborhood place with a multi-​generational clientele and a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It’s the kind of place that used to be everywhere until suburban people started having wet dreams about Dodge Caravans and Round Robin.
If, at a bar, I can be entertained by a small child, very good. If, at the same bar, I can be invited outside to «pound some more nails into the coffin» by a well-​tanned elderly man whom I don’t know, five stars.
Even better, I got to watch the Heat lose. I got to eat pretty good fried clams and nice juicy spiedies. And I had a couple of beers at a bargain price.
Best of all, this happened before I nailed a deer on US-​17, so I was still in a good mood, convinced I was turning the arduous drive downstate into a delightful and memorable road trip.
[EDIT: My wife noticed that I mentioned «drinking» and «driving,» in the same review… and the consequent negative results. I had two bottles of beer in one hour, and hit the deer 90 minutes later. Because I am sure that —— Insurance and the State Police are checking up on my review.]