The White Whale

So disappointing. With the name of this restaurant and the fact that it’s right by the sea we thought the fish and seafood here would be great. Wrong. The scallops were frozen, tasteless and tiny. The fish and chips special was served with rectangular frozen fish patties. I could’ve stayed home and opened a box of processed frozen fish myself, I didn’t expect to be served it as a seafood special. We also ordered the kids meal which said on the menu it came with a drink and dessert, we didn’t receive either. This place isn’t cheap either.
The indoor dining room is pleasant but the covered room outside is kinda scruffy, and I noted with alarm that a working power strip half hung out of the window was being rained on.
Places like these are the reason people are gun-​shy about giving independent restaurants a try and why they won’t stray from the big chains, where at least they know what they’re getting.
The coconut shrimp deserves a special mention. My mother got it and said it was fresh and tasted wonderful. What a shame the rest of our food was so bland and awful.
Wouldn’t go back.

I have to say, every time I’ve been here it’s never busy. But the food is always great! The only reason why I gave this only 4 stars is because the Parmesan cheese that was served with our meal was spoiled and I didn’t realize until I put it on my food and tasted it! The waitress was great and got me a brand new dish, but it just left a bad taste (pun intended) in my mouth. I got a special, the bay scallops with linguine fra diavolo. It came with a salad and since my MIL’s entrée came with a salad as well, they upgraded both of our salads to a large Caesar salad which was delish and huge in portion! My hubby got the fish cakes which are so good and filled with chunks of scallops, shrimp and cod. I would definitely go back to this place, but would check the cheese before putting on my food!

I came here for lunch with my friend on a weekday. The food & service were EXCELLENT! The waitress Nora was very attentive and friendly. I had a 3 course lunch with salad, skirt steak & lobster tail and dessert for $ 20!!! The food was very good!!!
I will definitely come back with my husband for lunch or dinner. It’s a small restaurant, but I like that, it felt cozy/​homey. Good spot to eat & hang out with girlfriends. If your on a budget, and who isn’t, you will Love this place!!! Good place to go on a date!

super casual with really great lobsters, clams, crabs and the like. I wish this place would play some tunes or add a guitarist outside because they are selling themselves short! A great solution for dining outside after a pool day. If it’s steamed, broiled or raw– good! Waitresses so lovely on two ocassions-​many thanks :). Though the place outside could use some ambience, it is an easy, reliable pleasure. Rated yes

They had lobster on the menu and for the specials, but they were «out» of lobster?
The mussels came filled with more sand than the south Shore. Sent them back. Shrimp cocktail was bland and rubbery. They had lobster tails, which had an awful taste. The waitress tried but we were sadly disappointed!

A spot on the water with immense potential and some kinks to work out. In terms of food they tickled my tastebuds with the seafood cake appetiZer and seafood bisque. I ordered the captains platter as a meal, hhhhhhhwhich was presented to me as a large plate of scallops, shrimp, one baked clam (served in aluminum clamshell with no intact muscle below the breading) and two filets of «sole» as menu describes. Whether it was sole or not I could not tell you, as the filets were way past their shelf life (being a seafood oriented restaurant cook I know the taste and smell of decaying flesh). All components of dish were broiled in a hot oven and merely dusted with paprika, dehydrated from being rocked in the oven and plated. Scallops were the most plentiful ingredient on plate but had the texture of poached chicken breast, signifying that they were the froZen product that comes from restaurant depots freeZer rather than the dry packed or diver variety. Aside from food, the ambience is that of a smoker friendly dive. I was a smoker and never fancied the aroma of indoor smoke residue. Definite potiental here with much to improve

Very disappointed !!! Went here this past Saturday and to start the bartender was very rude and acted like she didn’t want to serve us ! Second, the waitress was rude. I think she thought she funny when we asked for bread and she told us NO because then she would have to wrap our food !!! We also ordered a second round of drinks but instead of the drinks, she brought our check ?!? Not good for business but then again I don’t think they wanted our business !!! Never again

Call me disappointed.
When you look up ‘lunch’ from Jones Beach on google maps, The White Whale pops up first with a four star review. This is why I downloaded the Unilocal app today.
The seafood chowder was disgusting. Gelatinous, full of imitation crab meat, and $ 10.
The broiled scallops and mashed potatoes were flavorless and poorly prepared. The scallops were broken and grainy.
I ordered water the moment I sat down and revived a glass 20 minutes later between the soup and main course. There was one other table seated outside.
Do not recommend.

Great seafood and EXCELLENT service. My family was there (a group of 12), for lunch, and we all enjoyed our food & drinks tremendously. The staff was very accommodating and we felt so welcome & at home. I would definitely go back next time I’m in New York!

This place is horrible.
I was here a while ago,
And the food was disgusting!!!
Also, white whale smelled really bad.
I would not go here if I were you.

Attractive German-​oriented menu with a great assortment of specials. Calamari appetizer was crisp and nicely prepared. Bay Scallops were well seasoned. Asked for brown sauce to accompany potato dumplings and the gingersnap flavor made it excel. Not as crazy about the potato pancakes which were bland. So was fried Fisherman’s Platter. The White Whale gives you a nice portion of food for the price. Pubby, casual atmosphere makes everyone feel at home. Next time, I’ll order beer because white comes in little one-​serving bottles, odd for a restaurant with a bar. Not a lot of parking for its popularity.

Great seafood, steak, pasta, Old world German meals and more. Canal side, comfortable environment with warm and friendly service. A Long Island gem.

Food is ok – lots of butter in there clam sauce. Clams were terrible! Waitress was ok. The bar area stunk like smoke and so did the bartender. Your in the service business your staff should not smell like smoke. Would not go back

Watch out — you may get ripped off. My family and I enjoyed Thanksgiving at the White Whale this past November, and when it was time to pay the bill, we presented the waitress with two payment cards: a $ 100 Visa gift card and our Amex card… my husband explained to the waitress that we wanted to use the gift card and then pay for the rest with our Amex, and she said this would be fine. She returned to the table a few minutes later with 2 receipts, 1 for $ 100 and 1 for the remainder of the bill… she instructed my husband to sign both and said they had tossed the gift card after the transaction went through because it was empty. **Here’s where the ripoff happened.** My husband signed the receipts, put them in his wallet and we left. A couple of weeks later, our Amex bill came — with 2 charges from the White Whale: 1 for $ 100 and 1 for the remainder of the bill: the waitress did not put the gift card through and someone held onto it, leaving us to pay $ 100 more than we should have. As soon as he realized this, my husband went directly to Amex and explained the situation; I work in the credit card business and thought it would be best to let them negotiate with the restaurant. Long story short, Amex said they could not get anyone at the restaurant to confirm and that because my husband signed the receipt, we’d have to pay it.
Now here’s the thing: When presented with this, the restaurant should have given us the benefit of the doubt and refunded the $ 100 charge because when there’s any question, the customer is right. It would have fostered good will and we likely would have returned next Thanksgiving and recommended the restaurant. Instead, I must say that I am disappointed with their decision and would recommend instead that everyone avoid the White Whale because they clearly have dishonest staff.

The restaurant is owned by the Carl Hoppl family and it shows, being a patron of his restaurants on my youthful years. The stuffed mushrooms are perfect blend of seafood, breadcrumbs, the twin pork chops are just too much food since they are gigantic, but oh so good. The waitress’s go the extra mile to make sure you are well fed, and happy with the service. The seafood entrees are very good, as is the German cousine, my husband loves the jaeger schnitzel. A great meal for a decent price!

Eating at the White Whale has become a tradition for my daughter wife and I… Was it because of the first visit where we pulled up and my daughters eyes lit up seeing the Whale outside?(This is a constant source of laughter with us)…or just the easy, relaxed sit eat and joke atmosphere with down to earth servers… As the other reviewers said… is it fancy… NO…is the food the best… NO…theres hits and misses but all in all if u want value on a brunch including drinks. u cant go wrong… AND their scrambled eggs were nice n fluffy…(ive had em in more $ spreads and they were like powered eggs!)…JUST GO free of any high expectations sit casually and enjoy for what it is… a very good value…

Tried the place for the first time. Maybe it was an off day but the food was nothing to write home about. Seafood bisque was so, so, Had the Captain’s special, clams served in a tin clamshell… LOL way too much breading for my tastes, Shrimp was so over cooked, you could not eat it. Scallops was OK no sear on them and nothing special. Salad was OK needed a few more things. Prices where good if the food would have been better. The place was not crowded in fact there was only about three tables, so it was not like the kitchen was rushed and they made mistakes.
The wait staff was very nice, service was great. It’s just that there are so many great places to eat, if you are going to have a restaurant on Long Island, it better be good ! These days. more people know there food. Don’t take my word for it give it a try and see. Just giving you a heads up.

Yes, White Whale smells a bit off. Yes, White Whale is definitely the place for an early senior citizen dinner. Yes, they should invest in a meat mallot as the chicken was too thick. But, I have to admit the chicken marsala flavor was good. And the service was efficient. A good quick, no frills, meal. that is probably better appreciated when you can sit outside away from the musty odor.

I’m going to have to clarify my review system before I give this 4 stars.
I rate based on expectations and needs the specific place may fill. Both a pizzeria on Long Island (Umberto’s) and a classy white glove restaurant over-​looking Central Park (Asiate) can be 5 stars. It doesn’t mean that the two are comparable to each other, or in the same ball-​park. It just means Umberto’s is five stars for what I expect — great pizza, and Asiate is five stars for what I expected there — a complete dining experience, from location, to the food aspects and service. Hope that makes sense.
If you’re looking for a fancy pants restaurant, this isn’t the place for you. If you’re looking for modern décor, or even clean décor for that matter, this place also isn’t for you. And lastly, if you’re not into seafood, you probably shouldn’t bother.
However, if you’re looking to sit outside on their back deck while enjoying some simple seafood in the sun, this is your place. This is the main reason I come here. For reasons I can’t explain, Long Island is very short on places to eat outside (if someone can explain this phenomenon to me, please do). And I love to eat outside. There are only about 3 or 4 tables out there, but when I come here we’re generally the only ones on the deck. And I’m talking about the uncovered part of the deck, not the covered part.
And as long as you keep the food simple, I think you’ll be fine. We start with a bucket of steamers. It really doesn’t get any simpler than some steamed clams served with water to clean the sand out and a cup of melted butter. Same with the mussels, keep it simple and you’ll do fine. As far as entrees go, the simpler the better. I usually go with the broiled captain’s platter, which is just a bunch of different seafood items and no fillers like pasta or rice. As far as sides go, this is the only time I try the German here, they have this purple cabbage that is just enough and just right. Folks, if you stick to the basics I think you’ll do just fine here. Same with drinks — go with wine or beer, stray off to a mixed drink level and it’s not their thing.
The rest of the food is diner level, and most tastes like it comes premade. I would recommend staying away.
But do yourself a favor. On the next nice day, grab your gal and head over to the White Whale. Get a seat on the back deck — if you’re lucky the house across the street to the right will be playing some light tunes — order yourself a bucket of steamers, or some mussels, follow that with some more seafood (remember, lay off the pasta), wash it all down with a carafe or two of the house white and just sit back and enjoy. Keep it simple. This is the reason I come here and why it’s 4 stars.
If that last paragraph isn’t your thing, then you should definitely stay away. Anything outside of that and there is a great chance you’ll end up hating this place.
Someone mentioned that the clientele tends to be on the older side, that’s a very accurate depiction (although I don’t agree with their subsequent insult, unnecessary, but more likely the kind of person who would get his ass kicked by most of these old people if they were twenty years younger). But who really cares if there are old people, are they bothering anyone? I’d rather have old people than a bunch of fools on their cell phones.

While certainly not for everyone, the white whale is a good local spot if you meet the following criteria:
1. You’re not pretentious
2. You don’t mind a dining room that is mostly composed of seniors
3. You’re a seafood fan
Located down on the water south of Merrick Rd in Seaford, the White Whale serves up quality seafood & some German fare as well. My family has been coming here for years & we have always enjoyed good meals here. It’s not fancy, but on the plus side it’s not a cookie cutter Applebee’s type joint either — basically, it’s a local mom & pop operation where you can get a great meal if you can get over yourself & relax.
Minus one star for seemingly unnecessary upcharges– why I have to pay more for Caesar salad than house I have no idea (I’ve had both — it’s good but nothing that would break the bank for them if they gave it away)
Bottom Line — come to the White Whale expecting a casual atmosphere with good food & a nice outdoor setting… expecting fancy? go somewhere else