Burlew’s Seafood and Steak

Great location but poor management. Somebody really needs to come in and train the wait staff. Service is not the greatest. Servers seem inexperience even though they’ve been there for a while. They do things like bring you an appetizer but no plates or silverware.
Food is just OK, I’ve had worst, but I’ve had better. View is great but the outdoor seating is hampered by the guy they have playing guitar and singing which I can only guess is a relative as he is not very good.
Food is overpriced and tables are usually dirty and sticky. Still I come back simply because it’s the only place in Keyport next to Nemo’s where you can sit outside and have a drink and watch the boats.

New go-​to local waterfront restaurant. Delicious sandwiches and seafood. Great views, beer list, music, and drink specials. I wish they had a better selection of appetizers. The view is much better from the upper deck

Dont know how I feel about Burlews exactly. The set up is super nice, something a NYC’er like myself dreams of. Spending the day by the sea at Keansberg just had me in the mood for some streamer clams and seafood.
Pros? Plenty of outdoor seating, nice menu with variety and a great kids menu too. Even a free desert for checking in on Unilocal!Cons? Our waitress seemed to forget about us quite a few times, when I asked her if the Captains Treasure Platter was broiled she said yes — but it was served in what tasted like a lighter version of their lobster bisque. It was good, just complete not what I wanted or expected. Our table ordered three of them thinking they were a broiled seafood platter — but it was more like a pasta dish with out the pasta.
The food was really tasty. Not amazing, but not bad. I would return, but maybe get a fried dish instead.

Just went there with my sister whom works there the food was good and the people there are so nice and have a great attitude so i recomend this place both my sisters and mother work there so ya go!

The food was tasty especially the seared scallops. They were AMAZING! The atmosphere was nice for a summer evening out. The staff was friendly but the service and food coming out was super slow!!! The dessert and Sangria was a disappointment. Would dine there again but not a place to bring someone if it’s their birthday even though the food was good.

Ended up here on a late Sunday afternoon with the BF after spending some time at the waterfront. We could see the balcony was full but inside the restaurant was fairly empty so we decided we could wait on an outside table for the view. Hostess told us we’d have to wait for some tables to clear out and we could see there were 2 parties of 2 ahead of us. Fine. We grab a drink at the bar. Bartenders were quick and friendly. An hour goes by and we are next up. Hostess seats a party of two ahead of us that put their names on the list after we did. We inquire about it and she says ok we will be up next then. 15 minutes later we see about 5 tables outside leave. The hostess then goes to bus tables and the new hostess doesn’t seat any parties at the open tables for another half hour. Close to leaving at this point, we get seated at a table with food all over the seats, which our hostess just knocks off onto the ground. Food and drinks are ordered– they’re out of crab sandwich. Order a soup and salad instead. Waitress finally comes back to ask how the soup is– have to tell her she never brought out our drink orders. Burger, Caesar salad and Manhattan clam chowder are all fine. Waitress never comes back. After trying to flag someone down on the now half empty balcony for 20 minutes, BF gives up and goes searching for someone inside to just run his credit card so we can finally leave this place… about 3 hours later. Nice view, good bar service, decent food, flustered and disorganized hostesses and waitstaff.

Food is good. Wasabi scallops and rib eye cheese steak are the best I’ve ever had. Great view, cool atmosphere, friendly atmosphere. My of my favorite spots!

Was craving seafood and ended up here Food is ok. Got a cup of the Lobster bisque. That was ok. The bartender seems to be working the bar and the tables. She recommended the Blackened swordfish bites. Small pieces, but they were tasty. People have recommended the drunken clams. Might come back for those another time.

Nice views, great place for apps and a drink on a nice day followed by a waterfront stroll, ample local parking and fast service, I enjoy it most at sunset on fair weather days, never had a bad server here always consistent

The view is perfect, however the food doesn’t quite match what you’d think would be great seafood fare.
Stick to drinks and pub food.

Overall I give this place a 3, good try. The location is great, the place is nice but the food was just ok. The service was o the same level as the food. The four of us got very different dishes so we can taste it all, and it was all bland. If they were to improve taste and service, I would revisit. Until then I will try all the other places in the area. Not worth the prices.

I’m going to give this place 3 stars because the seafood is not totally up to snuff. It’s a seafood restaurant with nice bar and patio seating in the back facing the Raritan Bay.
I came with my wife and kids and started off with the homemade crab cakes which was good. It was served with a honey mustard dip. Next came the clams casino. It looks great but it was super salty and did not taste good. I love bacon flavor but i can’t describe the flavor that was in my mouth. Also extra salty was the soft shell crab which also came with mash potatoes and ear of corn. The crabs were smaller than that seen in other pictures, so we were disappointed. It was hard to discern the crab flavor through the saltiness. If you order the sandwich I think you’ll get one crab, while the player gives you 2 plus the sides.
My kids ordered the butter with spaghetti off the kids menu. They didn’t seem to like it much. Got the free dessert though Unilocal.The keylime pie tasted worse than something I could have bought at the supermarket. If you get dessert, maybe you try the chocolate lava cake or cannoli, but i would temper expectations.
The rating is for the bar and view. I would imagine it would be a great time for evening drinks with friends. They have a stage next to outdoor restaurant seating so they must have entertainment too. I haven’t tried the burger and land entees so i would read the other reviews. There’s parking in the back so no need to park in the street.

The view here is great but the food and service have much room for improvement. Not byob. Don’t forget your free desert through Unilocal.Plain cheesecake since they were out of lava cake.

I hadn’t been here since it was the Bulkhead (probably 6 – 7 years ago) and was trying to think of a local spot on the water to sit outside and grab a drink and an app. Randomly thought to come here and was very impressed with how they’ve redone this place– it is such an improvement with so much more space for seating.
My friend and I both had glasses of the house wine and I ordered the crab cakes appetizer, which was really good. Our waitress (I believe her name was Jamie) was very friendly and personable, as well. Unfortunately, the sky looked like the world was about to end and we left after one drink because we didn’t want to get down poured on but I’m glad I rediscovered this place– I will definitely be back for dinner with my family in the very near future.
The only issue I had was that they only had 3 beers on tap– for a spot with such an awesome ambiance, it would be nice to see a wider selection of draft beers.

Excellent views and a very good lunch.
The menu is straight Jersey Shore standards: clams casino, fried/​broiled seafood, cheesesteaks, burgers, crab cakes. You get the idea.
The mozzarella sticks and jalapeño poppers were most likely out of the freezer but they were fried perfectly. The burger was solid and the cheesesteak was really, really good. Everything was well cooked and perfectly seasoned. I will absolutely return for a beer and that cheesesteak.
Unlike some other reviews, our food came out quickly (but some of the servers could use a little refinement). I liked the vibe of the inside room and both the deck and the patio are terrific. For a place on the water, the food is well above average and the prices are on the low side.
I like Keyport and the town feels like it’s on the verge of a renaissance. I look forward to eating here again.

My husband and I ate here for the first time on a Friday night. There was live music, a great view of the bay and no wait for a seat out on the balcony! It was a most enjoyable atmosphere for an end to a rough week. The service was good and friendly. The food was really good; I had the seared sea scallops with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes. I also had a fresh shrimp cocktail for an appy. Hubby had the mermaid special and I quote «it was awesome!» Which is a big deal cause he never says that about any where we’ve eaten! Definitely worth a trip back! I highly recommend it!

I could not be more disappointed about a place than this. It all started when I called earlier in the day and told them I will be coming there with a party of 12 and asked if we could make a reservation, we were told that there would be no need for a reservation and that we would have no problem to get a table with no wait time. My friends got there before us and when they tried to get a table the host was very rude to them and told them that there was an hour and a half wait and when they told her that I called and was told this information she laughed in their face and said yea I’m sure and walked away.
Once I got there, I wasn’t taking no for an answer, there were 3 (4 seat) tables available right next to each other so I had to tell her to put them together, she acted like she didn’t even know they were there… Very unprofessional.
Our server was the best part of our restaurant experience, she was very sweet and tried to help when she could, but seemed like the restaurant left them understaffed as this girl was serving and bar tending at the same time (in a packed restaurant).
Our food took 2 hours to come out and was cold as anything, as if it was sitting there for at least half of the time. Mean while other tables who came after got their food before we did.
I asked about the Captain Charlie’s treasure because I saw their menu online and just wanted to make sure it included what was said there and our waitress told me something completely off with no lobster and had salmon or something instead. I pulled up their website on my phone and she said she didn’t even know they had a website and that she can see what she can do. Well she was pretty good, so she got me what I wanted for the same price but there were crab cakes missing out of it as well as clams.
The birthday girl got a simple dish– shrimp scampi, it came out so cold and the paste tasted like rubber. Another friend for the filet mignon– the mashed potatoes tasted like they just came out of a fridge, vegetables were awful and the steak was nothing special. My food came out so cold but after a 2 hour wait I was so hungry that I ate it anyways and dealt with it.
The owner did come over and apologize about everything and got us a round of drinks on him and took 20% off of our bill which we appreciate but the whole overall experience was so stressful that it was not enjoyable at all.
Unfortunately I have to say I will not be returning here again.

Loved it, I think the reviews must of been on very busy nights. It was packed when I came here but our service was so fast, foods came out immediately as did appetizers and dessert. Free refills, free dessert with Unilocal check in. Nice seating whether inside or outside. Beautiful key port waterfront view and good prices. Definitely coming back here.

Great food and beautiful view. It’s the perfect place to sit with a few friends with great weather.
We had the mozzarella sticks, chicken Parmesan, and the bacon, cheddar burger.
All very good! Definitely plan on coming here more often.

First and last time there.
Took FOREVER to get our food!
Shrimp (in both the cocktail and main course) were DRY (this comes from being freezer burnt)… Half lobster tail was the same: DRY from being freezer burnt. the scallops were NOT SCALLOPS. They were either SKATE or SHARK!!! Clams were overcooked and rubbery.
We ordered the captains platter and requested NO STARCH (pasta, potato, etc)… It came to the table on a bed of pasta… really???
Filet Mignon (ordered medium) came out looking like a hockey puck. it was dry. well done… and awful.
Veggies (string beans and carrots) were tasteless. No seasoning. The string beans were soggy and limp.
Spoke with the manager, who was very nice. he made excuses, but took 50% off of our bill.
Still, the WORST meal I have ever had.
Will not go back… EVER.