Axelsson’s Blue Claw Restaurant

As a FOLLOW-​UP to my last review… this place has CLOSED! Another Unilocaler mentioned that you should «suck it up» because a place has been mentioned as «expensive». I would pay ANYTHING for a great meal, I could care less about the price… IF your experience is worth the $$$. This place was NOT that. We are locals, and have had occasion to eat here MANY times, and everywhere else for that matter. Why would you waste your money here, when Washington Inn is 5 minutes away? So, apparently, as many of the other Unilocalers noted, this place has finally, thankfully, closed for good! I hope someone new takes it over, and does something nice with it.

I really wanted to give Axelsson’s 4 stars but just couldn’t make it happen. This is an «old school» restaurant that hasn’t kept up with the times. That is both good and bad. Good, in that they obviously take pride in their offerings and ambiance. Bad, in that they haven’t allowed the menu to change with the times.
We shared a bottle of Zaccagnini Montepulciano which wasn’t horribly overpriced, which was nice. My wife had a wonderful bisque while I tried their oyster special appetizer — Firecracker Oysters. They were very good. Entrees consisted of Imperial Crab Dewey for me and Stuffed Flounder for Carol. Dessert was a delicious Bananas Foster, which we shared.
Even though it was a fine evening, the restaurant was not crowded at all — unlike other restaurants in downtown Cape May. Axelsson’s is off the beaten path on the road to Wildwood and needs to do something to bring the people in — they are closing early this year due to declining business. We hope to try them the next time we are in Cape May.

It makes me happy to do a great follow up review and truly, it takes a whole lot for any restaurant to get 5 stars in my book but Axelsson’s pulled it off.
In reality, the only reason I gave Axelsson’s a 4 star rating was the out side appearance which I happen to think is very important. Everything and I mean everything at this restaurant is wonderful starting with the drinks at the bar, Mine was possibly the best Cosmo I’ve ever had.
I still love the Happy Hour half price oysters too.
In reading the not so awesome reviews here on Unilocal,I have one thing to say. This is an expensive restaurant. Yes it is but you get what you pay for so suck it up! My crab dish with an imperial sauce, gruyère and fontina cheeses was simply exquisite as was my husband’s strip steak (he shared with me with my promise that I wouldn’t make him switch dishes). Try getting this quality at your local seafood shack.
And as a plus… the outside has been primped and fancied up!
We will come back to Axelsson’s year after year.

This a a great Happy Hour deal. The Oysters and Clams are amazing. We had a server that wasn’t the best or it was a 4.5.

Excellent food and great service. Our waiter Tommy was very attentitive and customer oriented. Active commercial fishing dock as a view, may be too rustic/​rough for some, but we liked it. Convient to Wildwood and Cape May. Price is high but worth it. I would recommend.

My family and I had a wonderful dinner at Blue Claw! We found it completely by accident after deciding to avoid the massive crowds (and no reservation policy) at the Lobster House nearby.
The star dish of the night was the Fisherman’s Kettle. Presentation was above and beyond and the seafood completely fresh and delicious.
The dish was served in a copper pot which the waiter uncovered after placing in front of me to reveal steaming hot lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, and mussels over a bed of thin angel hair pasta cooked to perfection in a light, flavorful white wine sauce (there is a choice of red as well — but to enjoy the fish in full flavor I suggest sticking with the white). While I enjoyed the meal (and shared with my family members who were enjoying the surf and turf & other dishes equally as much) it remained hot because the pot retained the heat as opposed to being on a flat, cold dish.
In addition — the staff was incredibly lovely and attentive as well. Yes, it is a bit pricier than the average bar/​grill in Cape May — but what you invest, you get in return with the quality of service, food, and beautiful atmosphere with windows facing the bay.
Just a note — we didn’t try any of the seafood dishes with cheese included — not sure if I would go for those.

Sorry to say that Axelson’s has gone down hill. The menu is about half the size and they used to include a salad but no more. The food was good but the service and management were sub par.
We waited 60 minutes between apps and entrees. 40 minutes in and none of the staff said anything until I caught the waiters eye and then he said that he was sorry and was trying. About 10 minutes later I went to the front desk to ask the host if I could see the manager and the host said that the manager was busy but would come to the table. 5 – 8 minutes later, still no entrée and no manager so I asked for the check (yes, about one hour between apps and dinner). Well as you might expect after I asked for the check, our entrees arrived…
I asked the waiter to have the manager come over and a few minutes later the host came to the table. I asked to see a manager and suddenly he was a manager. I told him that the wait was unacceptable and that other tables that arrived after us were getting their dinners before us. The host «converted to manager» apologized and said there was a problem with the kitchen. And, he offered to buy us an after dinner drink.
My main beef was that no one came over to the table to tell us that there was a problem or that our meals would be delayed. Actually, it was just the opposite as we felt like they were avoiding our table. I understand that restaurants have issues but they need to step up and let their diners know. This is a fairly expensive restaurant so I expect management to act accordingly.
After dinner our entire table felt as though the offer for drinks was patronizing and far too little too late. We passed… and we will probably pass on Axelson’s next time.

Solid happy hour go to on any beach day. They have a tremendous oyster (Delaware Bay) menu — $ 1 per but you have to buy by ½ dozen (no problemo). We got there at 4:45 and special starts at 5 but they served us anyway at the special price — not many establishments would do this — kudos!
The crab stuffed jalapeño poppers (special) were awesome as well.

Happy hour awesomeness, oysters half price and great selection. Drinks affordable, very nice place. Dinner excellent had the special of Mahi Mahi delicious. It was a very nice cut and the service was great as well.

Axelsson’s Blue Claw is truly a hidden Gem! Though they offer true fine dining, we opted for the more casual Pub style experience & were pleasantly rewarded. We shared several appetizers that were absolutely melt in your mouth delicious, topped off with a few signature cocktails. We were treated like royalty by our server, Lindsay while enjoying a relaxed but sophisticated atmosphere. We rounded out our evening with their too good to resist desserts. The Profiteroles are an absolute must, as is the bananas foster & of course the crème brûlée.

Great night loved the special jalapeños with crab, clams casino are always a must and our server Danielle made our night extra special. cocktails done to perfection by Shannon!!!

The hostess was very sweet and accommodating!
The place had beautiful décor but was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Hardly anyone in there and absolutely no music playing. My dad asked if they could play music but they said no…
Our server was polite, but not a good server at all. Like a late night diner quality server. Not what you would want when paying $ 30 – 50 a head.
I ordered the shrimp bisque which was good but I should have just stopped there… For my main I got the filet which when I even saw it come out I could tell the quality was way below what I was paying for, something you would get at an Applebee’s.
My mom ordered the soft shell crab meal and was disappointed as well. Lacked flavor and boring. Again not worth the price.
My boyfriend ordered the Crab Dewey and he really enjoyed it. But did not enjoy the veggie or potato sides.
I really WANTED to like this place but the lack of music made it pretty awkward and the waitress didn’t know how to serve and the food was bland. If these were fixed I would certainly come back just for the ambience.

Place is the real deal. The bar is awesome and the oysters are especially good. A great place for drinks or dinner!

Wondered into this place when the wait at the lobster house was too long. Great atmosphere great food a little pricy but you pay for quality. The décor is rather eclectic but I liked it. Hope to return soon

Fancy for a restaurant by shore standards, but was disappointed to see that the dress code wasn’t completely upheld in the dining room. Mixed crowd, but skewing to the older side; wouldn’t take kids. Our table was next to the window, and right on the water, which I loved — we had missed sunset, but I’d be willing to bet it’s a perfect place to see it.
Service was good, our waiter didn’t stop moving the entire evening. Limited selection of wines by the glass, which I was surprised and disappointed with — I wasn’t with wine drinkers, so a bottle wasn’t an option for me. Food was very good — seafood was fresh and properly cooked as you’d expect. I had the shrimp cocktail and sesame tuna and would order both again. My Dad had oysters to start, and my sister had the Fisherman’s Kettle (white), and both of those looked great, too.
Not cheap, but you knew that going in the door… it’s not someplace that you’re going to hit every weekend. (I honestly think that I could better justify the price if the service and dress code standards were just a tad higher.) They don’t take AMEX either, so plan accordingly.

This is the 2^nd year in a row we’ve eaten at Axelsson’s Blue Claw while on vacation in Cape May. We went back for one reason only — the SOFT SHELL crab entrée — simply the most delicious soft shell meal we have ever had and we are constantly looking for soft shell offerings at seafood restaurants. FABULOUS flavor and whatever the buttery sauce spice combo the chef tops on the crabs, it is the perfect blend to bring out the fresh crab flavor. The warm sauce soaks into the toast that the crab lays on and it is PERECTO!
We had salad appetizers which were so-​so but the bread basket offerings were warm and very tasty. The atmosphere is a bit stuffy and country club like inside — but if you like soft shell crab — RUN — don’t walk to this restaurant!

Bring your wallet and leave your AMEX card home (since they don’t take that).
The seafood and service were very good. I tried a variety of food — oysters, the Imperial Trio (crab, shrimp and scallops), crab cakes, linguine with seafood and the sesame tuna.
All the dishes were well prepared and fresh. The service was prompt and friendly. The bananas foster and the turtle cheesecake we had were also very good.
I am rating this place a 3.5 stars for this reason. Four stars for the food/​service, but 3 stars for the cost. I enjoyed the meal, but I’m not sure it was worth $ 60 per person. Many would say that is a good deal, but my gut just doesn’t justify its price.

Cape May delivered with this restaurant. While we didn’t have a reservation, we scored a solid window seat on a Sunday evening. We arrived right before the dinner rush so we were lucky. It was the perfect setting for a dinner at the shore.
Our server was outstanding and really didn’t skip a beat all evening. The crowd here is a mix of older groups, families (not so much with little children) and date nights. Since it’s an older feel, this is definitely a more distinguished spot.
I went with the featured cocktail of the evening, strawberry mojito, and it was delicious. Very fresh and not overly sweet. Since we were in Jersey, I def wanted the caprese salad and it was delicious. I appreciated that they had olive oil on the plate and not just balsamic. Also the shrimp cocktail was huge and so fresh.
Chilean Sea Bass was my entrée of choice and it was cooked perfectly. The sauce that accompanied it really made the dish. It was supposed to come with asparagus (listed on the menu) but I enjoyed the fresh cut string beans very much. The potatoes really stole the show too, they were baked to perfection having a crispy outside and a super tender inside.
Overall it was a delightful dinner and I am glad Unilocal helped us find it!

We ended up at the Blue Claw after Marie Nicole’s screwed up our dinner reservation, and it ended up being a total win for us! Service is super friendly and the food is a yummy seafood based menu (never would have guessed from the name, right?). There’s also some meat-​based items, but really? Go there for the seafood. It’s fresh and well prepared. It’s a fairly large space and we were able to get a reservation on Saturday night for 7pm without trouble, which was great since we had other plans in mind.
The place is cute inside, albeit a bit dated, with great views of a marina — lots of big boats to look at and dream about owning one day. They have a fireplace that looks so cozy and automatically made me think of coming back in the winter to sit there and have dinner.
Enjoyed a Wisconsin Cheddar and lump crab meat soup as an appetizer — huge pieces of lump crab which is always a nice find. Ordered a potato-​crusted grouper as my entrée, which was nice and a good sized portion. I’m not a huge fish eater, so «nice» is probably near the top of the descriptive words I’d use for fish. The lobster tail was a good size and yummy. Wine list is ridiculously underpriced, which is a nice treat from NY. Lots of whites in the $ 20-​range and a lot of reds that were not that much more expensive.
The restaurant is quiet and there is a lot of room. The crowd is mixed — saw a lot of older people when we walked in and thought they might be there for the early bird special, but looked around and saw a pretty mixed crowd of all ages. Good for kids if yours will eat seafood — not sure if they have a kids menu available or not. Give it a try! We’ll be back for sure.

The Blue Claw is off the island, and as such, is often forgotten. It should not be for the Blue Claw offers an excellent menu that one should definitely try.
Being Cape May, the Blue Claw specializes in seafood. Fresh seafood. Well prepared seafood. Tasty seafood. But if you enjoy steaks, lamb, pork, etc., you won’t be disappointed here as the chef is quite capable.
The Blue Claw and the accompanying Clipper Ship Pub, are one of only three places I have found with Pilsener Urquell on draught. That’s a highlight for me.