The Marina At Oceanport

We and our good friends were looking for a reasonably priced place on the water to enjoy a post-​Graduation lunch together. We stumbled upon this gem via a Web search.
We had a reservation, and all 11 of us were seated immediately. Our server came right over and sorted our beverage orders. We ordered an assortment of appetizers, all of which were great. Of special note were the hand-​rolled pretzels (crunchy outside, fluffy inside), quesadilla, and the onion rings. All were delicious.
For lunch, we spread all around the menu. I had an egg salad and bacon wrap, which was fresh and tasty. My daughter had the grilled chicken wrap, also good. Wife and son had burgers, which were good as well. Others in our party had salads, grilled cheese, and penne Vodka… Nobody complained. Those who had dessert raved about the peanut butter cup pie, the raspberry cheesecake, and the blood orange sorbet. My buddy and I just had coffee, which was great as well.
The service was great, with water and iced tea flowing freely. Our server and the runners were attentive and efficient. Of note, the manager, Steve, introduced himself and joked with us. He even comped a meal which arrived late.
All in all, this was a great experience on a day where expectations could have been excessive. The view is fantastic, location is easy to find and accessible. Definitely recommended.

Steve the GM needs to learn how to speak to customers.
What a shame.
Liked the food last time.
Restaurant 101, be nice to the customers.

Great destination for happy hour, dinner with small kids, date night or any occasion! The atmosphere is incredibly inviting with the restaurant being located directly on the water overlooking their marina and the inlet. Aside from the large indoor deck, when the weather gets nice, the deck opens to include a full outdoor bar. They often have live music which is great for a laid back Saturday night with friends. Of course, the selection of beers on tap and happy hour specials don’t hurt either :)
Aside from the amazing vibe the food is great! I’ve tried multiple entrees at brunch and dinner (try the quiche and seafood risotto!)
The wait staff is attentive and the managers regularly come around to check in. It’s rare to find a restaurant where management takes the time to have a conversation and get to know you!
This is a rare gem down the shore and I can’t wait to pay a visit again soon!

I really want this place to do well because of the location and we have nothing in our town! Sadly after many visits it might be getting worse. It’s really overpriced ($ 20 cheese steak!) and its food is average at best. The bread in the bread basket is really stale and some of the staff who I have seen many times act like its their first day on the job. Don’t get me started about the inside bartender. My only guess is that he is the brother of the owner because he is not friendly at all and doesn’t make drinks well. I hope they read these reviews and try and improve!

So this was supposed to be my «do or die» visit. …last chance. Went there the other night for dinner. By now I have spent a few hundred bucks here, «trying it out». I think I’m done.
I ordered the Fried Calamari– terrible. Listen… most places use frozen, I get it. But the quality of the frozen makes a BIG difference. Are they tender with a light breading or batter coating? Or are the tough with a dense, flavorless, hard as a rock crispy. These were hard as a rock crispy. And for $ 12, a waste of money. These are worth, maybe, $ 6. Even the dollop of marinara they serve with it couldn’t soften these little rock nuggets.
On to the main course. I ordered the Sesame Tuna ($ 22). A healthy portion of tuna. The tuna wasn’t firm, as it should be. But it tasted fine, and was cooked (I asked for rare), «OK». I say «OK» because the searing on the outside was uneven. The accompanying rice was flavorful. The highlight of the dish was spinach! Fresh, cooked and seasoned perfectly to my liking.
For dessert I ordered the special an «Apple Crumb Pie/​Cake» kinda thing. Very, very dense but very good. Serve with a light whipped cream on the side and drizzled with a nice caramel and a sliced strawberry. Nice presentation. The problem was it came out cold. It should have been (at least) warmed to room temperature before it was served. But again, though the portion was right for the density of the dish, $ 7 for this dessert was a little over-​priced. …not by much, but over-​priced, non-​the-​less.
I couldn’t close this review out without mentioning the staff. Craig (GM) came by our table to offer his availability should it be needed. Nice job, Craig. Jenn, our waitress (again) was very pleasant, soft-​spoken but still unsure of herself. The busboys or food runners (whatever you want to call them), are a nice group of confused kids, that apparently are in training here. And there needs to be some communication or SOP established with the bread (simple and insignificant, I know. But bread can be a loss leader for restaurants. Some customers want more, and more. During my 14 years in the F&B industry, I’ve seen people stuff rolls –AND BUTTER– in their pocketbooks). The waitress brought bread out, we politely declined it (Wifey wants me to reduce my carbs). About 5 minutes later, a busboy brought bread out. Which we declined, also. HEY Craig, SOP: have either the waitress OR the busboy bring out the bread. Not both! And if it’s the busboys, have the busboys agree between themselves who is going to handle which tables, or at least tell each other, «…table 12 doesn’t want bread!»
Oh… also… there was a waitress from inside who apparently knew customers who were dining on the deck. She sat with them for a while to socialize. I understand this may be a «family, casual, friendly» place, and maybe she didn’t have any customers… but surely staff which have nothing to do can be utilized in productive ways… salt & pepper shakers always need filling; silverware and glasses can be wiped of water spots, etc… But a waitress sitting with customers just looks like– the place isn’t busy, so the staff can do as they please.
Will I go back? I don’t think so. Can I recommend it? Perhaps if they have a Happy Hour– as a nice place to go for a drink and sit by the water. But then again, the «outside» bar is a turn off for me. Too «industrial».
Based on the quality of the food and value, combined with the inexperienced floor staff, I need to stick with 2 stars. But I wish them luck.

We live down the street and refuse to come here after 2 failed attempts. Prices high, the shrimp risotto which was supposed to be their signature was awful and shrimp were mushy. Taco bites are frozen trader joes. Really disappointed, won’t be coming back any time soon.

Could be one of the worst restaurants I’ve ever been to. Everything we ordered was either cold, undercooked, or just not good. Fried calamari was mushy and seemed like other items were from a frozen package. There were so many bad appetizers, that we decided not to send them back, but rather to just pay and leave. A manager came by and asked how everything was and we just said «fine.» There was nothing we could’ve told them to improve this place.

Mediocre food and nine and ten dollar drinks in Oceanport? Really? I was so excited to hear that they were doing something with such a great venue but now that it is here and I’ve been there I don’t think I’ll ever be back. I was shocked at how understaffed they were. I don’t think any of the food was made on-​site. There was only one server behind the bar so it was slow service as an insult along with the super-​expensive drinks!

The atmosphere is great. Beachy, on the water, beautiful open tables all facing the water. The food is… good, at best. I had the lobster roll, and it was more bread then anything actual lobster. The biggest problem we had was with the portion size. Everything is small. I had 5 onion rings, and paid extra to get them. Um, five? Really? And they aren’t big. My friend had three shrimp in his shrimp parm. For the price, he was expecting a dinner portion, not an appetizer portion (and he ordered the dinner). My lobster roll was big… but it was big on bread, that’s about it. I tasted no actual lobster.

Food was disappointing. We only had appetizers but the few dishes we had didn’t taste freshly made. More like it was frozen. Staff was very nice but we won’t be returning.

Decent place to stop in and get a drink and they do have a place to smoke but on a late Sunday afternoon, all they have is. Brunch menu. No options for someone who doesn’t like eggs or burgers to speak of.
Too bad, I would have had a few more drinks and have bought an entrée if there were some options.
They wouldn’t even do an order of calamari for me and its closing on 2:00 p.m.

Came for the first time for their happy hour which is 4:30−6. Half price wine which came to $ 3.50 per glass which was great but the food was ehh. We got wings which were pretty good but the taco bites were out of a box frozen that I remember from my childhood. Not worth it for food but definitely for the drinks.

Decent food, great price.
‘Beachy’ space with nice dock views.
Will come for HH!

Really a hidden gem. We drive home from work every day behind fort monmouth on oceanport and have been watching the rebuild of The Marina. For about 6 months we figured it was just a boat marina so we never paid any attention. One day we pulled in the parking lot just to see what was going on and realized it was a restaurant! Such a gorgeous view. There is a beautiful outdoor area with pretty lighting and the inside was remodeled with huge windows.
I love Guinness so when they poured me a fresh pint in an actual Guinness glass I was ecstatic. Finally some place else to go without the headache of red bank or pier village parking! I didn’t need any more convincing but when I tried the lobster bisque soup I almost cried (a little exaggeration). Grilled cheese… amazing.
To top it all off… happy hour has an amazing menu for $ 5 and the chef knows what they’re doing. DEFINITELY WORTH A VISIT.

Decent happy hour drinks and food. Music could be improved. Excellent service. Servers and bartenders are ALWAYS courteous and helpful. Very nice view.

My husband and I so badly want this restaurant/​bar to succeed. The area really needs a local spot to meet with friends for a drink or a casual meal.
The pros:
Great location.
Fun, casual back deck/​screen porch feel.
Nice bar with lots of stools and TVs.
Competent and friendly service.
Hands on manager.
The cons:
The food. We’ve tried more than half of the dishes on the menu and not one has been better than average. Most of it has been pretty bad — even the daily specials and soups.
We’ll continue to stop by for a drink but will steer clear of the food until something changes.

Went for lunch on a lovely 75 degree day and it was very pleasant on the deck and I’m sure it will be a big attraction for the NASCAR and pro football crowd. The food however was all served warm, not hot and the barbecue ribs and and the roast beef sliders were chewy. Onion rings obviously from frozen and had no taste. Wait staff was efficient, but many others looked like high school kids with their first job.
We also felt prices were at the upper range for that type of place.

Every fledgling needs to Learn to fly…
Came here a week after they opened… Service was disorganized, but staff was awesome, food was great. Been back a few times since. Each experience is better then the last.
Wait staff is wonderful, hostesses are friendly, bartenders are great. Brittany and Renee (bartenders) were very accommodating re: food oder and said food came out amazing. Drinks are great. Definitely check them out.

I know this place just opened. We went on the third day they were serving. Dinner was good, but the service was just too slow and ruined a decent meal. We gave up waiting for desert and asked a manager for our check. The staff is friendly and seems to be trying but the food just does not get out to the tables.
We went again tonight with family for my wife’s birthday. Bad move– I should have been scared off the first time but we want a good local restaurant so we tried again. Aweful.
The wait for appetizers turned into a vigil. The table near us filled up after we had ordered. They received appetizers and dinner while we looked at each other. Once the appetizers did arrive they passed as good– if you do try this place go for the French Dip Slider appetizer. Not worth the wait but it’s not bad.
Our waiter was clearly embarrassed and tried to explain the kitchen was backed-​up. More like confused and disorganized since our neighbors were already eating.
The second vigil was the wait for dinner– which unfortunately finally came. Really disappointing.
The Honey Glazed Salmon– had no glaze and was cooked dry. The garlic mashed potatoes were a lump of unseasoned paste. The bed of spinach was the best part of my dinner.
Other dinners:
The crab cake sandwich came on a dry roll, nothing but dry bread. No butter, mayo, sauce just dry roll.
The same was true for the chicken sandwich, no seasoning– dry roll. It was ordered with extra-​mayo.
The lobster roll sandwich received no praise but rated as blah.
Again, they just opened but they are killing themselves with this food and poorly run kitchen.
They have a bar and the obligatory flat screen. But, that is for the drinking crowd who are happy to eat burgers at the bar. If you are looking for a restaurant, look elsewhere like the ones in Sea Bright.
I paid $ 120+ for a long wait and lousy food. I gave them two chances so I’m done.

Outstanding atmosphere that makes this fantastic town even better! Very impressed for night one of this business. We tried two apps (clams half shell and French dip sliders) and an entrée (seafood risotto) and all great. Good times.