Carmen’s Seafood Restaurant

I wish I had read Eric F’s post before going to Carmen’s this week. I’ve had great times there in the past, but I was always with a group. This week I went solo. I was promptly seated next to the water. So far so good. It was an off-​night and very peaceful. After I ordered, my salad and entrée came at the same time. The waitress said the kitchen wasn’t busy so things were fast. Never mind that I didn’t want my salad and entrée at the same time. But then that was pretty much the last time the waitress gave me the time of day. Her other table was a party of ten, and she was doting on them. Of course she is going to make more money on them than me, but I should at least get some attention. I wanted a refill on my iced tea, but that was not possible. I finally flagged her down and got my check. She apologized for taking so long to get me and mentioned that she had a big table. I hope they gave her an extra big tip. I’m not sure I will go back to Carmen’s again. One thing for sure is that I won’t go there without a big party. I was glad to see Eric F’s post to see that I was not the only one treated so poorly. Just because we’re not a big group doesn’t mean we don’t matter.

Get ready to wait… forever. I’ve come here a number of times because of the location and the food simply takes forever to come out of the kitchen. It’s disorganized from the top down and seems like nobody is running the place. True shame because the food is decent and the view on the water is great, just seems like nobody cares about the way that the operation is run.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our experiences at Carmen’s. On our most recent visit, the wife went with the broiled scallops and shrimp combo and I had the sautéed soft shell crabs. Both entrees were terrific and were also accompanied by two sides and a salad. I am still salivating over my winning selection of the soft shells!
The kids enjoyed looking at the boats and scenery. Like many places down here it is a BYOB. We made a pit stop at Fred’s Tavern in Stone Harbor and picked up some Sam Adams Porch Rockers. They complimented the meals and even more so the setting perfectly. According to a handwritten sign in the restaurant, the La Costa will also deliver if you should forget to bring your own libations.
It gets very busy after 6 and is a little pricey but that is pretty much par for the course down the shore. Free valet ended up being convenient.
Enjoy it!

Five stars for the food, two stars for cleanliness. The forks that my party of 6 received had food remnants with food still (⁴⁄₆ forks were dirty). The food, however, was amazing! I had the fried scallops and fried crab cake: both were delicious! The others in my party got the mako shark (local and delicious), the broiled scallops and flounder (local and delicious), and the fried flounder (also local and delicious). Bottom line, ask what’s local and try and stick with that stuff! I saw someone got the Mahi Mahi and I laughed since that is a purely west coast fish… the sides are pretty good, we tried the coleslaw, the fries, the baked potato, and spaghetti w/​sauce. All were superb! The service was fine, no mistakes were made and our waitress was very competent. If you want good local seafood that isn’t done super fancy, this is the place!

2 of us decided to go for dinner. They were packed.
First of all don’t go here if you are a small party. They don’t care.
We were told 20 minutes but it turned into 1 hour. When I questioned the hostess (dark hair and glasses) she was surly.
When we finally got seated our waitress told us she would be back in a few. They dropped off the bread but we never saw anyone at our table again. The waitress was helping big tables and came back to the one close to our’s but never acknowledged our presence again.
I noticed on our table the tip from the previous seating and I thought to myself this waitress doesn’t care about that tip why is she going to care about mine. She, like the restaurant is focused on the other larger tables.
So we got up and left — 80 minutes after we arrived. The surly hostess saw us but didn’t wonder why we were leaving .
I would never go here with a small party. I won’t return this year with a large party either .
By the way the 1 star was for the bread and the valets. The bread was pretty basic Italian bread — at least it wasn’t stale. The valet guys seemed very sympathetic to us. They were quick and efficient.

Really wish there was a 3&½ stars because this places isn’t a three but it’s not quite a four. We always come here once a year, just as tradition, with the family. Sitting on the dock right next to the water makes this place a great spot for dining. Their red sauce with crab meat is amazing, it’s sweet and had tons of tender crab. The last time I was here I wanted to try soft shell since I’ve never had it. Some say it’s best fried but I’m not into paying big bucks for fried food. So I got a special, 2 soft shell crabs with a jumbo lump of crab meat over angel hair pasta and a white scampi. The crab was delicious but the soft shell legs were a little too chewy for me. A lot of very young staff it seems like, but I guess you have to give everyone a chance.

Went to Carmens for first time thus year and enjoyed both snow and dungeness crab. Both were perfectly prepared and served with butter and old bay on request. Add a nice e starter salad and bread and you have a great night. Don’t forget to BYOB!

Had lunch here today on the water. Very nice setting and food was no better than average. 2 stars for no bacon on our turkey clubs. We got a sorry about that out of them. If they would’ve made it right by adjusting our check maybe I would give 3.5 stars. The shrimp peelers were over cooked and the fried shrimp under cooked. Tried the tomato, basil and mozzarella salad and it was awesome. Basically 2 stars is for the setting and the service which was good.

Dinner tonight was ok, Excellent salad and Manhattan Clam Chowder… excellent Sword fish. We were here for my annual lobster fest… I was not pleased with my lobster. I believe he was cooked ahead and re steamed when I ordered him. Not hot, filled with water, tough bits in claws… I’ve eaten a zillion lobsters in my time, I know a fresh sweet lobster and a rubbery reheated boy. Sad to say, I got rubber boy tonight.

Chilean seabass was pretty bland/​really bad. Everything else was very good. Service was great. Sides were great. Byob was great.
Come back every year but definitely won’t be back for the sea bass.

4 stars for breakfasts, but 2 for dinner.
First the good: breakfasts are pleasant, peaceful, and generally pretty good. We’ve noticed that items like French toast and pancakes tend to be taken off the griddle a little too soon so order them well done if you dislike them being a little gooey in the center. Sides were all good. Bacon ordered extra crispy came out perfectly extra crispy.
Now the not so good: Sorry, but not coming for dinner any more. The waitstaff is perpetually inexperienced, there are constants errors, and someone in our party always eats alone because of a mistake. Also items seem to arrive at the table haphazardly which is really a pet peeve of mine.
Also, and I’ve now noted this occurring 3 times, kitchen staff (or staff working up in the fish market area) are always coming into the dining area filthy dirty (like head to toe), dripping sweat, and stand and drink sodas out of the fountain. I’m sure they are nice folks, but Carmens should put a beverage dispenser in the back of the house for them.

Fucking blows asshole! Place couldn’t even serve my god damn child a fucking chicken nugget fuck you Carmine’s I’ll never be back. If I come back I’ll beat your ass

I was very disappointed with how rude and miserable the hostess was for starters so that already had me boiling. The only thing I really liked was the lobster and salad but then how can you mess that up. We ordered calamari and scallops and there were ok. We ordered chicken fingers and fries for kids and that took a while for them to bring out. Not happy with Carmen’s and will just try a different place to eat tomorrow.

Not worth it, overpriced below average food. Great location, but that’s it. Everything taste either boxed or premade and frozen.

The service is terrible and everyone was super rude. The food is way over priced and not fresh. Go to Mikes instead (about a block away). We will never go here again. Horrible experience.

We come here at least once per summer and have always had a great experience.
I’m reading some recent reviews, and it’s a shame that folks have had such negative feelings about the place.
It’s not the cheapest place in the world — but my experience has always been fresh seafood and good to great service.
Maybe we just lucked out this summer — but our server was adorable, and took good care of us. (had to ask for water refills a couple of times, but once we did, she was right on it)
We were told we’d have a 15 – 20 minute wait — and they were right on.
Our dinner consisted of:
Deviled crab bites
Fried Calamari
Mussels in red sauce (my fav!)
Soft shell crabs (sauteed) (2 orders)
Fried flounder/​shrimp platter
Broiled scallops and shrimp
All dinners come with a fresh tossed salad and choice of two sides.
Our bill came to $ 185 for four people.
Servings were generous.
Valet Parking a plus

Came here on Sunday night and it was the slowest service I’ve had to date. It’s BYOB so at least we did not have to wait for the drinks.
I would have assumed the waitress forgot about us, but we were a pretty memorable table of 15. She did not take our orders or great us until 30 mins after seating. And only delivered one bread basket. It took an arm and leg to finally get a second. When the food did come it was delivered very scattered. My one friend not being served until 20 min after the group.
The apps were good. Clams casinos and crab cakes always a crowd pleaser. I should have ordered seafood for my entrée, my mistake. I got the angle hair with meatballs and it may have been the worst spaghetti sauce I have ever had. It was dry.
Regardless this place has an awesome location. Just beware everything is overpriced, probably to make up for lack of alcohol sales.

Great byo place for sea food in the great city of sea isle.
Wait was long, to be expected. Then the hostess forget about seating us so a little longer than usual.
Service was fair, our waitress was friendly but just very busy.
I had the Alaskan king crab legs which were great just slightly overpriced compared for surrounding restaurants.

Carmen’s is in a prime location, but lacks the quality, swag and professionalism of a true seafood restaurant.
See below for a list of «wtf» moments
— Rude staff: they all look like they were forced to work there
— Décor: random shit hanging from the ceiling, made it look like I was in my 90 year old great grandmothers attic.
— Band: consisted of two musicians. One guitarist and some chick with a flute. Their choice of songs included «My Heart Will Go On»… Yes the Titanic song … Noose round my neck depressing.
— Food: fried «jumbo» shrimp looked like something out of the prepackaged frozen section of my local grocery store.
Flounder was as thin as pancake and was more dry than the Sahara Desert.
Scallops were tough and drenched in frying oil.
Tartar sauce was some store bought brand and tasted like… Well nothing.
PRICE $$$ — each entrée ranges from $ 25 – 30 and is no where near worth that. I don’t know if it’s to gyp people or because it’s BYOB. But all I do know is that this joint is overrated. Next time I’ll stick to my McDonalds fish filet thank youuuu!

The food was good for sure. The gripe I have with Carmen’s is the price. Way too expensive for what it was but I feel like the quality of the food is what justifies it. Went once over my week stay in Sea Isle and didn’t really have the urge to go again within the same week.
With all that being said, that food was good. Got myself the land and sea parm and it was great having breaded seafood prepared with the chicken parm. The side of angel hair pasta would have been great if it was actual spaghetti as advertised but that wasn’t a huge deal breaker.