Smuggler Jack’s

I’m very disappointed with this place. My husband had to work and made reservations for me and our two daughters for Mother’s Day brunch. Showed up at 11:00am and was told that I didn’t had a reservation and they can’t accommodate us. We left but wanted to come back to see what it was all about. I made reservation for today at 11am. Came on time and saw everyone was standing outside, as they were not ready to accommodate anyone. Twenty minutes went by and I went to the very unpleasant manager, Janine and inquired how long is the wait. She actually skipped us and without apologizing, showed us to a table next to the entrance. Jackie, our waitress was really nice but everything else sucks! The food was horrible! Calamari was cold as if it was in the freezer and it was bland, no taste. (Joe crab shack has a better calamari). And I had the surf and turf. Wow! Words can’t explain the disgust of the food. It was certainly a waste of time and money. I’m sorry, this place have great potential but management and chef needs to be change.

Let me start off by saying this is down the block from my house and I wanted to love this place so much.
I’ve been here 4 times…
Once for drinks and loaded fries. This was my best experience which is why I came back for trip 2 & 3.
— the loaded fries were very good. Drinks were great too.
— nice atmosphere, and again the only nearby spot on the water.
Down hill from here…
Trip #2 came here for dinner with my BFF. Had a burger and it sucked. The fries were ehh. Our appetizer I can’t remember what we got but it was just ok. Not bad not great. We had Pinot grigiot for drinks. That was fine no complaints there.
Trip #3 came here for a date night with my husband while I was 7 months pregnant. Our server was really nice and was attentive. The hubs and I ordered 2 meals and hey again were just ok. I had the steak and I was SO disappointed. It wasn’t my pregnancy moodiness kicking in because my husband tried it and had the same opinion.
Trip #4 … AKA the WORST brunch experience of my life!!! Ughhhh I mean God AWFULLLLL! Walked our daughters down the block for a nice family outing. We were able to score a table out on the patio which was awesome. Everything else was crap. Pure crap. Our food took FOREVER to come out and my eggs were the most DISGUSTING things I have ever seen/​eaten. They were oozing with grease. I mean swimming. My husband’s food was gross. My 4 year old was happy with her food. So hey that’s a plus too. Also I had a Mimosa and that wasn’t screwed up. So hey another plus. While we were waiting and waiting and waiting for our food… The manager or owner or whomever he was… Was sooo rudely scolding his one staff member. This poor kid! He was probably anywhere from ¹⁷⁄₁₈ — ²²⁄₂₃ anyway. He had just very neatly and nicely set up some chairs and tables and the rude ass owner/​manager jerk comes over and totally yells at him telling him «NO! This is NOT the way these are supposed to be!»… Etc etc etc… There was no cursing or anything but he was loud, rude, and made me want to go
over and throw him in the canal.
Moral of the story… We won’t be back! Not even for drinks, or cheesy fries. Not even for how convenient it is to my house. The owner is an ass. The food is mostly bad. Honesty don’t go and waste your money or your time. Such a shame I wanted to be a regular :/

Went there Sunday. Very good food ! I had the crab cake Benedict. Very very good! The atmosphere was beautiful. Service was great! Definitely will be back !

I’ve been here twice and the food was delicious both times! First time I had a steak salad, steak was cooked perfectly to my liking and salad was fresh. The second time I had skirt steak with mash and veggies. Was amazing!

Food is great but that’s about it. Called to make a reservation and was told they do not take reservations. Ok, no problem, we were prepared to wait. While waiting I listened to 4 other parties being told the wait was so long due to existing reservations. ???
As we waited, I watched 4 or 5 tables empty for at least 15 minutes. Finally I asked why there was such a long wait when there were open tables. The hostess politely told us that they didn’t want to seat anyone because the kitchen was so backed up we’d be sitting at a table with no food for quite a long time. Ok, whatever, At this point we were sticking it out because we’d already waited 50 minutes and didn’t feel like going elsewhere. Our mistake.
Finally we are seated. Excited to divulge in some of the favorites we have seen in reviews. 20 minutes… nothing. Not even water. The manager walked passed our table at least 5 times looked and said nothing. We tried to get his attention to ask for a waiter but I’m guessing he couldn’t hear us because it’s incredibly loud inside.
A waitress then came to our table and asked if anyone had helped us yet. Nope! I’m guessing the servers aren’t assigned tables because they all looked like they were running around like chickens without heads. Waitress was friendly, but incredibly stressed due to lack of organization on the restaurant floor.
Food was really good, but we can get really good food elsewhere.
Unimpressed and uninterested in returning.

Once again another great meal at smuggler jacks. Aside from the nice de Cor we had the best waitress Angela. She makes suggestion based on our past visit.
We will always ask to be seated in ger section.

Only gave it 3 stars & that is solely for the food. The price-​fixe was great. The food was delicious and plentiful. EVERYTHING else was BAD. The service was way too slow until I complained and the noise level was deafening… couldn’t even hold a conversation and this was on a cool Thursday nite. Will NEVER go back… not worth it

Went for dinner recently and enjoyed ourselves. Started with clams and oysters, both fresh. Tried the shrimp bisque (?), didn’t really have any shrimp in it– but it did have good flavor and a very large portion. Both meals were very large. I honestly expected to receive smaller portions, so they exceeded my expectations with that. Flavor was good. Swordfish was cooked perfectly, Scallops imho could’ve used a better sear on them. But all of the sauces and sides were perfectly seasoned. Waitress and host/​manager on duty visited us several times to check on everything. Good value for what you are paying for.

Went there for the first time tonight and i must say the service here was excellent, and the food was just as amazing! They had a prix fixed menu that was available every day of the week and the portions and the food they had on the menu was more than exceptional! The seafood chowder was really good and the cilantro baked clams were finished within minutes after being served to the table. Please please please go and give this place a try, they have a great outdoor deck and boat slips, all freshly painted everything looks fresh and looks like a good time on a nice summer night. It’s a beautiful place with great vibes to go to and there’s great view of the water while you dine. Not only did the waitress come over several times to make sure that we were enjoying our meal but towards the end of our meal the owner/​manager Noël walked over to us and wanted to make sure we were enjoying everything and sure enough we were. You could see Noël walking around making sure everything was running smoothly and he even urged me to let him know if I had any issues with anything to notify him immediately. Now that’s true customer service!
I would definately recommend this place to anyone! it’s clean, classy, excellent service, friendly atmosphere, beautiful views, excellent food!
And as far as that other review that woman Jackie put from a few days ago… just bc you get cold food you can’t blame the chef for that. I have worked in the restaurant industry it’s usually the servers fault for it being cold by the time it gets to your table. All of my food arrived hot and fast, along with the 2 other people I was with. We were all very satisfied and happy and will definately be coming back.

I started going here this past fall. What a beautiful restaurant. I like to sit at the bar and eat and they have a bartender, named Cindy, who is just incredible. She remembers your name after just one visit. I usually don’t like going in alone but she makes you feel very comfortable. That being, the food is terrific. I’ve had the lamb chops, just awesome. Their steak is great, they have happy hour 7 days a week. I cant wait for summer so I can sit outside on their deck.

Nice place. Can get crowded on the weekends especially during the summer. Weeknights are the time to go. Food is very good. The Murray (chicken sandwich with artichoke) is my goto during Thursday night foot ball. Limited beer selection though. They always have a blue point and a Sam on tap which is nice but nothing exotic. They have 8 taps but the usual crap takes up half of them, blue moon, bud light, Guinness.

This is my second time here at this establishment. This time, and last time, the problem I had was the long wait for service. The waiters are nice when they take your order, but both times, there were items missing and I would have to grab someone to get us what we need.
The food is good and the décor is nice; the restaurant rests on a canal and has a nice view, so for temperate nights, it is a relaxing restaurant.
I deducted stars because of the long wait and discrepancies with delivered food/​drinks.
NOTE: I edited this review to deduct even more stars as we are now waiting almost 40+ minutes for our meals.

Mega disappointment. I’m not even going to deduct points for the four pieces of shell/​cartilage.
This is a gross, wet lobster roll with cheap filler and almost no lobster. I LOVE a lobster roll — like the one at Tobay Beach is perfect — but this one needs to be avoided.
Oh, and at 21 dollars, it’s way, way, way too expensive.
Plus, the fries are soggy and not crispy.
Blech. Nice back porch to sit at. Don’t eat here.

It’s a fairly good, though pricey, seafood restaurant. I got the fish and chips ($ 22 before tax). It came with three large pieces of beer battered fried cod. One piece was overly oily, but the other two were crispy and delicious. It was a good dish and I would recommend it. I also had the calamari appetizer, and I shared a dish of raw littleneck clams as an appetizer with friends. It was all very good. My friends got the surf and turf (either $ 50 or $ 55, I can’t remember which, though it was a good dish), one of the steaks, and the seafood Fra Diavolo. Everyone was happy with their food. The restaurant has a view of the water, and it was very pretty. I would recommend this place, however expect to spend a good deal of money. You will not eat here cheaply. The bill for the 5 of us with appetizers and desserts came to almost $ 300.
Earlier while waiting for a table, we had ordered some frozen drinks at the bar (not included in our $ 300 bill). The frozen piña colada and frozen margaritas were very good, and I recommend them (though beware of brain freeze from drinking too quickly).

Smuggler Jack’s felt a touch smug for what it is: a decent local dive. We arrived for a semi late lunch (2ish) on a Monday and found a packed parking lot. A good sign, methinks.
We elect to use the front door, believing it would be rude for the seated diners to gallop up the ramp to the outdoor seating area on the dock. A large sign greets us saying «please see hostess for table.» But there was none in sight. So as we stood there on the cusp of the bar, my wife busied herself with a takeout menu while I stared at the the waitstaff walking to and fro, hoping one would take pity on us. None did. After 3 long minutes a young lady finally arrives, grabs menus, and asks if we wanted to sit inside or out. (BTW It’s a wonderful space, inside and out.) We elect to stay out of the sun and the young lady suggests a table right near the open door out to the dock, which sounded like a nice idea. Until we got near the table
A wonderful table of senior citizens seated next to what would be our table had commandeered one of our chairs for their much-​to-​large pocketbooks. And the young lady announced to them the aforementioned bags would be evicted.
But that’s not why we changed our minds and asked for a different table.
(BTW — prixe fixe lunch is obviously a big draw for the fixed-​income crowd; doesn’t bother me, but be prepared for loud hard-​of-​hearing voices, and the wearing of too much grandma perfume).
Anyway, directly next to this AARP outing was a table of very small children and some useless mommies. In general, I don’t like small kids anywhere, let alone in restaurants. My bias aside, these kids also happened to be disgusting and gross. There was milk and cereal all over the place — table, floor, their faces, and hair.
So we say to the young lady hostess, «you know what, I think we’d rather sit over there» pointing to a table on the other side of the room and away from the door and these monstrous children. And the little wench copped an attitude with a frustrated sing songy, «well okay then…» and proceeded to follow us to the table and drop the menus without an acknowledgement of the «thank you» that I gave her. As we had our meal it was clear she was the barkeep, and perhaps not the hostess. Whatever. You and your staff may have to put up with, and clean up after, those slimy kids… but I don’t have to eat my lunch near that disaster area. So, a bit of free advice for this young lady: Remember who is the paying customer in this equation, check the attitude at the door, and don’t act out like little miss pissy pants.
Once I got over that whole thing, it was on to the menu. And that was a good thing. First, it was reasonably sized and contained what you would expect to see at a local waterfront place.
Drink-​wise, I started out with the Perfect Pear which combined pear and cucumber vodka with some club soda and lime. Not bad. Not great. I would move to the Pomegranate Martini next, which was much better. My wife started with a Hurricane Sandy. A cheap laugh for a drink name on the South Shore of Long Island. But, in hindsight, we should have known it would be overly sweet.
For apps, my wife started with mozz/​tomato salad. An ample portion, but not fantastic in flavor. The mozz needed some salt; we had to ask for some extra balsamic to supplement the puny drizzle. And c’mon: On August 3 on Long Island you can get decent tomatoes. The conventional hot house slices on the plate were cheap, lazy, and insulting.
I went with the seafood chowder, which was a New Englandy style clam chowder with shrimp and presumably other seafood. Despite some initial sandy grit in the mouth, it was indeed a delicious bowl of soup.
For mains, my wife got the crab cakes (which is actually an app). Two mostly crab patties arrive pan seared. Very good.
I opted for fish and chips. A basket arrives with two freshly batter-​fried cod filets atop French fries. Fish was very well executed, although it could have stayed in the basket or on paper towels a touch longer so as not to be a touch too greasy on the fingers. Like the mozz, it was also in need of some salt. Otherwise it was crunchy, moist, and delicious. The fries, however (and as too often the case) were sad, limp afterthoughts that I barely touched.
So a somewhat generous three stars because the food was tasty for the most part (see my review of the Shi*house — I mean Clubhouse — in Bellmore), the place was nice, and aside from the bratty behavior of that young lady at the start, the service was decent. Looking forward to tying the boat up at the dock and trying something else before summer is over.

Really wanted to give this place 4 stars, but 3 will have to do. My boyfriend and I both had a bit of the «brown water blues» after our visit. Not sure if it was the food, but it seemed to be. If you’re still interested, read on:
Cocktails:
They have a great cocktail selection. I tried the summer splash, which was great, and the Hurricane Sandy, which was sweet but flavorful. I liked them :)
Appetizer:
We got the mussels fra diavolo. They were so delicious! Possibly the best mussels ever, but it was the food item we both shared and what we think might have gotten us sick.
Main Course:
I got the lobster roll. I read they had one of the best on Long Island. I didn’t like that there weren’t more chunks of lobster, but it was seasoned well and the celery was a good edition. Plus the fries were soggy, just the way I like them.
My boyfriend got the Bayou pasta. He loved the amount of black pepper. Since he doesn’t like seafood (I know, weird) he asked for the shrimp on the side for me and they were accommodating. Plus, they sautéed it with the same cream sauce so they were extra delicious for me!
We didn’t make room for dessert.
Bonus: they told us it would be a 45 minute wait and it was more like 15.
But since we both had a case of the brown water blues afterward, I don’t think we’ll come back. Too bad. It was so good!

We went here for a late lunch on Memorial Day weekend. The timing was our mistake. The other issues, which led me to write this review are the responsibility of the restaurant.
We were told it would be a 20 minute wait, it turned out to be 40. Okay, whatever, it’s a busy holiday and we wanted a table outside. While waiting at the bar, we noticed other parties of two enter and receive those table beeper things that alert you to when your table is ready. After watching a few parties of two (arrived after us) be seated before us, we requested a beeper. At the bar there was one bartender and one bar back, the bartender was clearly overwhelmed as she was serving the entire restaurant and the bar. I noticed a woman next to me drinking what appeared to be sangria. I asked the bartender to confirm that it was sangria and then asked for a glass. It was not sangria. It was a mixed drink (vodka rum and whatever else) with soda and a cherry, lime wedge and lemon wedge.
When we were seated we noticed we didn’t have utensils. We requested them from a waiter who was not ours, since after introducing himself as our waiter, we hadn’t seen him for quite a while. We also saw a waiter spill ketchup on the floor and not clean it up. Customers and staff walked through the mess and trailed it further down the deck. We ordered the mussels, they were large and a fair size portion but the taste was lacking. We were starving so we requested some extra bread for the wine sauce. We had to ask two different waiters before we got the bread.
The lobster roll sandwich was subpar, it was lobster salad on bread. I’m a bit of a lobster snob, so we’ll let that one go.
While eating, we noticed waiters freaking out, muttering negative stuff to themselves. We saw the
hostess walk around aimlessly. No one offered to refill our waters or drinks when they were empty. After waiting for a while for our waiter after finishing our meal, we finally flagged down another waiter just to get the check. We ended up delivering the check to a waiter and just stood there while he ran it, so we could finally be done.
Yeah it was nice to eat with a view of the water. I think we would’ve been better off bringing a six pack and cold cut sandwiches to the beach.

Overpriced, packed, and food was tasteless. Overall not the best experience.
I heard of this place when it was in the news for loud music complaints from the neighbors and the fact that a construction company was placing a lien on the place for unpaid renovations
I figured if they were still open to give it a shot. Well their food matches their finances. POOR
Don’t bother — move on!

Ugh. I really wanted to like this place. I’ve been here a total of three times; twice for lunch and once for dinner. I think it has gotten worse each time I’ve gone.
Dinner (my most recent visit): the menu is pretty pricey for what you’re getting — which is mediocre service and food. I’ve gotten the clam chowder twice and both times thought to myself «I’m better off cracking open a can of Progresso.» My sister had the scallop and shrimp dish over risotto and ended up eating most of my chicken dish. The scallops were super salty, and there were about 3 of them along with 3 shrimps for ~$ 27. My chicken dish which came with an artichoke ragu and mozzarella cheese was just blah. Between waiting to be seated and paying the check, we were there for over two hours and we didn’t drink. I just think there are better seafood options elsewhere, with lower prices.
If you don’t believe the other reviewers and myself and you MUST try this place, at least come during lunch to take advantage of the waterside seating and their much cheaper lunch menu. Skip the soup, and try one of their wraps or salads.

Don’t judge this restaurant/​bar by its name. Smuggler Jack’s isn’t a divey waterfront bar. It’s more of an upscale marina restaurant.
I came here for a private party. The restaurant did a great job of accommodating us. Our servers were on point. They brought drinks out quickly and remember exactly which patrons preferred which hor d’oeuvres. The baby lamb chops were my favorite and would suggest them as an appetizer.
The parking lot is spacious and there is abundant street parking.