Peter’s Clam Bar

Ever since Peters was rebuilt, I have wanted to try the place. Obviously, the new owners have multi restaurant experience but they really need to focus more attention to Peters. I made reservations on Saturday afternoon for Saturday night. I wanted 7:30pm for a party of 8 but all they had was 8pm. Fine — no problem. Or so I thought — when we got there at 7:55pm we were told no tables were available and it was 8:25 when we were finally seated. This is a total disregard for my time and I wonder why reservations are taken when the time that THEY gave could not be kept. No apology from management — no effort made whatsoever to say «We are sorry». And speaking of no, two baskets of fresh rolls and butter were placed on the table but there was NO silverware or napkins. The waiter didn’t even realize this — we had to point it out.
Now here’s the real kicker — when the silverware finally came wrapped in a napkin, I had no knife. You can’t make this stuff up — this is not how a restaurant should be run.
My wife let me borrow her knife and asked the waiter to bring me one. Guess what? Right you are — the knife never came. Then I asked the waiter for another glass of water — a very simple request that a five year old could forfill.
You got it — the water never came either. My wife flagged down another waiter and he gave us more water. As far as the food goes, it is hit and miss. My lobster roll was excellent. A friends salmon looked pathetic and hardly worth the price. The fried shrimp were fine.
Another friend ordered the clam bake and had to put all the shells on the table, since the waiter didn’t bring a «garbage» bin or bib until she was just about done eating. The waiter never came to ask how the food was and if everything was okay until it was way too late. All told, we spent $ 330 at Peters and for that type of money, I expect a professionally run establishment — of which Peters is certainly not.
The fact that it was a busy Saturday night should not play into this at all — would they rather have the place empty? In summary, the overall food was good, the overall service was terrible and the management, who permits this behavior; needs to be replaced or certainly retrained.

First time here and it was amazing! Our server was so sweet and helpful, (so sorry I forgot her name!) and the food was absolutely delicious. I had the Lobster Americana and my boyfriend got the Grilled Salmon Sandwich. We devoured our food in minutes. Will definitely be coming back again.

Not worth the trip or the money, surprise date for my girlfriend, 2 appetizers were 40 plus dollars, for 3 mini lobster tacos and 2 small crab stuffed avocados, 1 Small oops large soda and a seltzer water and no free refills, Sorry we’ll stick with Popeis Clam Bar, where you get more value for your money and they value the customer, try them on Tuesday and Wednesday for the All You Can Eat Specials, oh and free refills!
Wouldn’t go to Long John Silvers, ever, but after experiencing the mediocre food at Peters Clam Bar, it’s my choice as a consumer to Unilocal you and any other establishment I’ve visited or dined at and wasn’t happy with as a customer, I’ve Unilocaled many other businesses and not all are bad, but that’s the joy in this website is… I’m UnilocalING YOU, You’re not UnilocalING ME, lol, That’s why I said in my review I am much more pleased with Popeis Clam Bar and have visited two of their locations with great experiences, so as I said a Unilocal is a matter of MY opinion, and I do have the choice to either go to other establishments after a first visit, or waste more money and go back there, bye, Oh and by the way, Popeis is also a Clam Bar, With specials and the drinks are unlimited as well as again, They treat the customers like family.

My boyfriend has gone here alot when he was little and decided to take me one day. It’s a very nice place for lunch on the way to the beach, which is also pretty close by. We got to sit in the back outside area right by the water. I would recommend the crab cakes and definitely the lobster grilled cheese.

Today was my first day back for the season. They never fail to disappoint me. The food is good and service is second to none. Keep up the amazing work guys!

Came here for the first time in a long time! And wow what a difference post Sandy! it’s so much better! first of all, the updated renovation was sorely needed and it’s so much more enjoyable now, the views are pretty good if you can get out of your mind that there used to be a garbage dump back there, But I digress. the boats and calm water can be tranquil, onto the service, we had a great waitress she was so sweet and friendly and kept checking to make sure we were OK, I wish I would’ve gotten her name but the entire staff were extremely accommodating, now the meal, my friends and I went all in and ordered 2 dozen little neck clams on the half shell, fried calamari traditional & buffalo style, baked clams, the much talked about lobster grilled cheese and lobster rolls! littlenecks were nice and fresh, fried calamari was perfectly fried up and also fresh and the buffalo style had some nice kick to it! Baked clams were perfectly breaded and fantastic, The lobster grilled cheese should come with an angioplasty lol but it was still really tasty as were the golden french fries, And my friends seem to enjoy their humongous lobster rolls, we washed everything down with some Montauk summer ale & look forward to going back soon with the wifey! Well done Peters well done!

I haven’t been here in several years.
Visited back in early May 2016.
Here’s my dinning experience results…
Clams on the half shell… Very Good
The New England Clam Chowder… It was OK but not to thick at all. I found it to be to thin and watery.
I had the Fishermans platter which was very good.
I have to say, I went there for a good meal and a nice dinning experience.
The food overall was good but the dinning experience I did not care for at all.
The atmosphere is very fast paced.
The waiters and waitresses are continually rushing all around. Your food comes very fast.
I felt like I was eating at a fast food restaurant.
I found it to be a bit pricey.
I would have enjoyed it so much more if I didn’t feel so rushed.
This is my opinion based upon my visit and dinning experience at this establishment.

The Garlic Bread with Lobster is amazing, its in a light cheese sauce for $ 18.00. It’s my new fav, I would suggest offering refills with sodas at this restaurant or make the glass a little bigger, I don’t mind paying for soda but the glass is small and filled with ice so that would be my only negative thing to say.

I love Peters Clam Bar. You go in hungry and leave extremely satisfied. The raw bar oysters are so fresh and I can devour a dozen in less than five minutes! The style of the restaurant is seat yourself and serve yourself during the day so the process moves very quickly. I love how casual it feels and how fast the food arrives. The mussel bucket with white sauce is delicious. The lobster roll is mediocre.
The price is great for the food you’re getting. Totally five stars. I can’t wait to come back again and again this summer!

Very quaint and nautical theme. We have been wanting to try this place out. The Lobster Mac and Cheese was great and so were the oysters. We ordered a paella to split and it was OK. Not enough seasoning. The sangria is good, but wished they advertised the pitcher when we were going in for our second drink. The pitcher is $ 25 and the glass is $ 8. We ended up ordering 4 drinks in total. Our waitress was a total sweetheart. I asked her to add a candle last minute to our dessert for my husband’s birthday and they came out and sang.

I’ve lived in Island Park for years and just recently started going to Peter’s. Every time I’ve gone the food as been phenomenal. The last time I was there I got their lobster grilled cheese and it was life changing! I can’t wait for the weather to get nicer and be able to sit outside and listen to some live music and have some good seafood and a few drinks.

Ordering is a little confusing. The two first menu’s on the wall (hot food) are ordered by the register by the entrance. The last two menus (oyster bar — anything raw/​minimal cooking) needs to be ordered at the space in the middle of the restaurant. You have to pay separately and they only accept cash. Then you can seat yourself, you have to listen for your number to be called. If time allows the waiter from the section you ordered will bring you your food. We got the fish tacos, lobster Mac and cheese and baked clams. WOW! Everything was so delicious. Can’t pick a favorite and look forward to coming here again! Indoor and outdoor seating.

Amazing. I’ve never been happier with a restaurant. Great food and service. Will definitely be coming back. Such a great place.

Petes clam bar has been around for ever. During the warm weather the outdoor space is great music during the late afternoon very nice place to hang out with a few friends. Enjoy

I have been going to Peters for years. I went there today. The menu has changed for the better. They have more of an assortment of foods now. I was disappointed on two levels. I has the flounder sandwich and it was rather sorry. 2 tiny pieces of flounder that did not cover the bread. Not what I am normally served.
The second part was the cost. 2 fish sandwiches had dozen oysters, one beer and a soda. Forty bucks!
I think it’s my last time there.
Damn!

Brought home Lobster Rolls a few weeks ago. Excellent, except, bread too thick!
Went to Restaurant last night. Wife & I shared crab stuffed avocado, then each had 1 ½ LB stuffed lobsters. Excellent!
Weird that the 1 ½ LB was $ 27 and the 2 LB was $ 52. Doesn’t make any sense.
Recommendations– raise heat– Rest. quite cold.
Great waiter, great service, BUT, not necessary to ask over and over, if everything is OK. Once or twice is enough! Employees should not hang out in front of rest. and yap. Very distracting from a peaceful eating experience. Certain employees, Malibu Lido Beach sweatshirt guy, shouldn’t walk up and down restaurant, staring at people eating. Very Weird! Who are you?
Men’s bathroom door opens to expose men standing at urinal. Bathroom should have paper towels. We hate blowers.
We’ll be back!

Great spot for a post beach meal. I have been coming to Peter’s for years, and have never been let down. All of the seafood is so fresh — I would highly recommend the lobster rolls as they aren’t very heavy but nonetheless delicious! The seafood salad is also a favorite of mine. For those you loved fried food, the fried clams are a big hit.
Note: they do have a dressier restaurant within the building. If you go here, order the clam bake! You will not be disappointed (especially when pairing with the corn bread !).

So a few days after having Peter’s new and improved lobster roll, I went back to have another. This time it was still all claw meat, but the roll was hard and old and the lobster meat was completely soaked in a very thin mayo sauce. This was the worst lobster roll that they have ever served me. The thin mayo sauce was gross! Just when I thought that they were onto something good, they went and changed it. The lobster roll that I was served 3 days prior was lightly tossed in plain mayo and the roll was fresh. Just look at the picture attached to my last review. Consistency people!!! I’m being very generous with 3 stars…

Great food. Had the lobster roll, lobster grilled cheese and the sweet chili calamari. Everything was fresh and delicious.

Overpriced disappointment… even after renovations.
I will start by saying that I have never really been a fan of Peter’s in general — restaurant or clam bar. Being that I heard amazing things after their renovations, I decided to try it out once again. I can’t really say that it was worse, but I can definitely confirm that it certainly wasn’t better than what I remembered.
The first tip I’ll give is that if you want to eat on the more casual side/​clam bar, then bring cash because it’s cash only. The staff isn’t super friendly and made note of «being around for 75 years» a few times — as if this justifies any problems or actions that you may not like from the staff. If you ask questions, they basically read the menu to you — thanks.
So first the positive, the cherrystone clams (raw bar) and the lobster asparagus salad are outrageously delicious (yes, after all of that negativity, I will say that these are GREAT items). The salad was pricey at $ 18 but could serve two and has PLENTY of lobster and a great vinaigrette. If I went back here, I’d get it to go. I would come back just for these two items. And that’s about all of the greatness from this restaurant (the reason for two stars, very generous).
Now on to the lobster roll and side of fried shrimp — HORRENDOUS. The lobster roll is filled with mayo and was served on a stale roll. The roll wasn’t just day old stale, but really stale and when we told the person at the cash register she kind of laughed it off. No, we weren’t kidding. My boyfriend never wastes food and he actually didn’t eat it. It was that bad.
The side of shrimp was so heavily breaded and tasted like it was fried in really old oil. It was greasy and didn’t taste good — the oil taste almost coated my mouth. Now, I’m a fan of fried seafood so I’m pretty familiar with it… you can get better fried shrimp in a diner or maybe even at a supermarket, the frozen kind. Again, old oil… somehow I feel that Pete’s has to pay for the renovations and reuses things or stretches the ingredients in order to get the most out of it. Unfortunately, I tasted it in the food.
Needless to say, we were turned off by Pete’s…(also, we ordered the salad, lobster roll, side of shrimp $ 6, and a soda… turned out to be $ 58…a little steep because our raw bar items were not included).
Maybe good for takeout but there are plenty of other places around — (Bigelow’s for fried seafood, Pops for lobster roll-​water front dining, and Jordan’s for lobster and casual water front dining) with better food, pricing and staff.
Not recommended unless you are going for the actual restaurant atmosphere.