Carmen's Seafood Restaurant

Jimmy Yen

2023-09

Food- 5/5Service- 5/5Ambiance- 5/5Drinks- NA (BYOB)Value- 5/5Simple unassuming dockside restaurant serving up some delicious seafood options. Carmen’s is a restaurant literally next to the dock where the kids could stare in wonderment at the many boats that were coming in and out. The restaurant itself is relatively plain and simple; wooden benches and wooden table fill the dining room (amazingly built by hand by Carmen himself) and ceiling fans fill the overhead area. There is no AC so it can get warm, but you don’t notice because of the freshness and flavors of your seafood. I got the deluxe a la Carmen platter and would go back and do it again immediately. So much delectable and fresh flavors and seafood all in one dish. It was fantastic. Everybody’s meals were great. Definitely a fantastic place for seafood and really great for those larger groups.

Ethan Lynch

2024-01

It’s been years since I’ve been here, but a lot of the good memories really stuck with me, and I wanted to share them. It’s a genuinely cool place. Being able to boat into a restaurant is always really cool. Though we have that in Minnesota, this place takes it to another level. The atmosphere is perfect. Though you do have to fend off seagulls, on occasion, that’s a given if you have food anywhere outdoors in Avalon. The food was really good too. The only complaint is that there was one time that the food took an extremely long time, but I’m not docking (pun not intended) any points for that because they were also packed to the brim at the time, so I understand.Kid-friendliness: I went here every year with my sister and cousins when we were all kids, and we were never disappointed.

Steffie Pinay

2022-05

Amazing first night dinner at this place, great view very close to the water,great valet parking. Great food and service. Better to come early or little late for dinner so you can have table available for you :) Swordfish was amazing and shrimp scallops parm. Husband and me both love it! Thank you and stay safe.

Oh Doyle

2021-05

Valet service and the view are nice touches, but it goes quickly downhill thereafter. Service was mediocre and the food quality was poor given the price point. Oysters had a very fishy taste like nothing I've ever had before, mussles in the white sauce tasted like water, the lobster was chewy like bubble gum. I saved the free world by not sharing photos of the restrooms, and they added a 5 percent charge for paying with a credit card. I'm not really familiar with Sea Isle City, but I would equate this place to a tourist trap. I'm sure you can do worse eating somewhere else, but this place certainly was not good.

Philip Chung

2023-05

Great restaurant on the waterfront! Open air, covered dining, next to a boat per. It was fun to watch boats, floating Tiki bars, kayaker, paddleboarders, etc. float by during our lunch. Not a ton of "fish" options for a seafood restaurant, but if you like shellfish and fried seafood there's probably something here for you. I ordered the fried flounder sandwich and it was huge and delicious! Two crispy filets, thick slices tomatoes and lettuce served with crisp fries, tartar and cocktail sauce on the side. We also ordered the a la Carmen appetizer, 1 dozen mussels, clams, and shrimp in a white sauce. The place has valet parking only and is BYOB. Plenty of seating in the dining area for small and large groups as well as out front when it's busy and you have to wait for a table.Parking: Valet only

Kevin Pastine

2020-05

My family and I spent a few weeks at our beach house and on my father in laws birthday he wanted seafood. So we heard Carmen's was up there in reputation. So we all went, made a reservation and away we went. Seating was good inside, however, there were so many people waiting outside that it made it uncomfortable. The menu was large, plenty of options, we all ordered our food and we were visited periodically throughout the night, but was often waiting for refills... when you have 5 children under 4 with you, not always ideal. Luckily, we were seated next to the kids play area. The appetizers were all excellent. But the main courses, were mediocre at best. Not very memorable. Truly was expecting much more.

Dana

2023-09

I ordered an omelette with Swiss, the waitress brought out the food and said “we ran out of Swiss so I gave you American I hope that’s okay” - it was not okay so I asked to please have it with cheddar instead, she brought it out with American again, so I sent it back and said forget it I want to get it to go it came out again with American. So I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and bacon on the side to go, the bagel came out with basically no cream cheese and the bacon on the bagel. Food wasn’t that great at all, wouldn’t recommend and to top it all off, this whole experience took an hour and a half.Waste of time and money.

Lena Ngo

2019-05

This is one the best seafood restaurant we have ever been to. Not sure why they have somewhat low ratings, nonetheless everything was amazing! We finally got some big oysters (the places weve been to in philly were always small) and my crab crakes were filled with crab!! Yummm🤤😋 and they had crabs!! Yay!! 🦀 and omg dessert was so freakin good! Oreo cream pie!! Our service was amazing. Our waitress checked up on us multiple times, and they are working their asses off cleaning tables and serving. Will def come back. It is byob or lacosta can deliver alkie which i was surprised that this actually happens here! Alcohol delivery!!! And free valet parking. the only thing - we didnt get a bib for our crabs. But thats okay 😁 the whole place was so cute and on the bay, loved it so much. And the wait was not long at all! Probably only 10 mins.

Christina Snook

2023-05

This restaurant was highly recommended to us but we left highly disappointed. We were seated immediately on a busy Friday night but that was the only good thing about the experience! We sat for 15 minutes before our server came to take our drink orders. She was not friendly at all. Returned 15 minutes later to take our food order, although we were ready when she brought our drinks. Unfortunately she did not stop long enough for us to let her know that. Our food came fast and we were very impressed with that but the food was cold! Our server did return but that was before we realized our food was cold. She did not give us time to tell her about the food at all! We barely saw her! The best part was the valet service!

Tony P

2022-05

Few experiences in life can be characterized as authentic, charming and satisfying. Without question, Carmen’s checks all three of these boxes. While you might wait 30 minutes during the peak dinner rush for a table, delicious food and great service await you along with a complimentary bowl of rolls and butter. Our dishes tonight were cooked to perfection (flounder, scallops, crab, shrimp and even the pasta.)Ask for Michelle to be your server! You’ll know her by the Disney glasses, hustles to refill your drinks, requests you order by the menu number and always arrives at the table with a smile. For extra points she is quick to compliment a cleanly kept table.If you are lucky, you will have the chance to meet Carmen and Ruth, the namesake and proprietors, who go together like cocktail sauce and shrimp… you couldn’t think of one without the other.Nothing is perfect, and Carmens tends to your concerns without complaint. So enjoy the valet parking, bring your favorite bottle of wine and relax along the boats passing by while enjoying the best seafood in Sea Isle.

Ron Riskie

2021-05

Great atmosphere! Within my 10 person party, the food was hit or miss. My "Land and Sea Parmigiana" dish was a miss. The menu described it as "a real feast." It seemed to be just a few heavily breaded scallops in marinara sauce. There didn't seem to be any chicken or flounder as described. Crab cakes were reported to be very good by someone at my table. Cool place though. I'd give it another try.

Kate Aponte

2023-05

Visiting Carmen's for dinner is a summer tradition for us and they never disappoint. You get a lot of food for your money, and eating right on the water is always a treat. We like that it's BYOB. Staff is always helpful and accommodating. Valet parking is a huge perk. We'd happily recommend!

DJ Reese

2023-10

This place is the go to in Sea Isle City. New breakfast menu (havent been but heard its off the hook). We have been coming here for over 3 decades and its better each time. The staff is always friendly. They recently allowed credit cards (a few years ago). One check per table, though, so get your cash ready!! Once saw a guy skip the check. Stop by our table for the tale because its infamous. We will definitely be here.

Ashleigh Ferrell

2020-05

The atmosphere is ridiculously awesome! Went there for lunch on Monday, came back for dinner on Tuesday. Our waitress was Elizabeth on both visits, she is awesome! The food is excellent! I ordered the New York strip steak, rare, and it came out so perfect! The steak was super tender, well seasoned. My boyfriend had the broiled sea food combo.... SO. DAMN. DELICIOUS! Thank you guys for making my visit to SIC, NJ memorable and delicious ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Carmona Cadet

2023-05

Everything was excellent from the food to the service. Great location right on the water. Highly recommended if you are in the area.👌Vegetarian options: Great vegetarian options Parking: Free valet parking

Bob Catalano

2019-05

We have been coming here for many years and it is always great food and service. We have not been here in about 2 years and were concerned something changed when we saw a 3.9 for reviews. We can’t imagine why they are this low. My wife and I just had the twin 1.5lb lobster lunch special for $26.95 each and they were outstanding as usual. We love it here. Please keep it up!!

Dylan Thompson

2019-05

Terrible! This places is low key casual with the prices of an expensive restaurant. But the food was anything but. Frozen fried shrimp you could pick up from the freezer section at the grocery store.The crab cake was mushy low quality crab with lots of filler. It was not jumbo lump. For those prices I expected way better. My wife's lobster tail was tiny and over cooked. It stuck to the shell and had to be ripped out, piece by piece.This place was a huge disappointment. With so many places to eat around the shore, this will be the first and last time we eat here.

Bob Mahar

2023-10

Thoroughly disappointed. Wait staff / servers were absolutely amazing. 3 scallop dishes came out room temperature. The scallops were cooked properly, seasoned nicely, a great dish, and barely warm. We had a huge party, so this is forgivable given getting so much food to the tables at the same time. Several ordered shrimp dishes, the shrimp seemed to have been frozen, not sure, mealy. For a $35 to $42 per entree, next to an ocean, you expect high quality raw ingredients, properly prepared, and served hot. Absolutely will not be returning. Deserts were good. And again, the servers were fantastic, efficient, and did a wonderful job with out large party. But that does not make up for $400 of cold or sub par seafood ... at a seafood restaurant ... next to an ocean.

Misael Fernandez Jr.

2022-05

Being generous with this rating. Went to take the family for seafood. Arrived early.. and was directed to sit at a table that was not even clean. When I finally got the attention of an employee the young lady grabbed a spray bottle and sprayed the table once.. spread the solution across the table and walked away leaving the table in about the same condition as before. So I got a roll of paper towels and wiped the table down again. We then waited almost 20 minutes for someone to take our order.. Nobody made an effort as they ignored us when walking by. We finally decided to just get up and leave. Lucky for us we did not have to drive far. Just a few doors down was Mike's and the service was amazing!

Bob Johnson

2023-09

I have to be honest I wasn’t impressed by this place. Everyone swears by it but we went at a perfect time there was no wait and no huge crowds.. yet the lobster came out cold. We were responded to with “well what would you like us to do?” We just wanted it to be hot the way it’s supposed to come out. So I’m pretty sure they microwaved the lobster after that. It was flavorless (before and after being microwaved.) the sides were a joke. How can you serve surf n turf and have no real veggie for a side. Baked potato or corn.. oh or mixed veggies from a bag. The view was amazing and the service other than the one comment was good. All in all I don’t think I’ll go back.

Pat Lynch

2023-05

Crab cake appetizer was large enough for lunch, and was very good. Employees were all very nice.

Karina Barna

2023-08

Accommodated us the day of for a party of 9 reservation. Our meals were absolutely delicious! Atmosphere was very pleasant, FYI- BYOB, in case you didn’t see that prior. Service was ok, did expect it to be a little better in terms of making sure our waters & drinks were filled. They came back a little late to ask how everything was, but we went on a Saturday night, and they were packed so we understood.Dietary restrictions: Pasts sauce is not dairy free, but there were some other options

Lisa Kelly

2023-07

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Cindy Nieto

2023-10

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BOB BRADLEY

2023-11

Have been wanting to try here for a bit and went here for the first time tonight and the food was so so. Ordered surf and turf and my steak came out almost well done and my lobster was sticking to the inside of the shell. I had to fight to get the lobster out of the shell. I had to wait for another steak. And the was no discount on the bill for their mistake. Not impressed. Server was really nice.

Laura Harkin

2023-08

A really nice place to relax and have a great meal. They are a BYOB restaurant but don't worry if you come without, you can always have it delivered. They don't mind. I had the crab cakes and they were awesome. No filler cakes with minimal crab here my friends. They make true crab cakes with only enough filler to keep the shape. I was happy all around.

Tom Gilmour

2021-05

Typical Seafood restaurant with plenty of fried and broiled seafood options, dock side atmosphere. Nothing creative on this menu...in fact boring for me. Not worth $70.00/ 2 pp no alcohol. I had the Mahi Mahi and it looked boring, tasted boring. My girlfriend had grilled swordfish. Nicely char grilled but nothing special.

Ryan Spies

2023-09

We arrived with a very stubborn and upset three year old. He decided to sit outside on the sidewalk and protest. If you are a parent, you know this night is not going to go well. Low and behold, a very nice woman who worked at Carmen’s tried her very best to cheer up our son. She was so sweet, and even brought him a live lobster to lighten his mood. Even after he rebuffed her initial attempts, she stuck with it and eventually got him to smile. It completely turned our night around. Only someone that truly cares about people would act like this. The atmosphere inside, along with the staff, was warm, fun and sweet. The food is what you should expect from a casual seafood restaurant at the shore. The setting along the water was great.

Jason Corcoran

2023-09

This was our second time coming for breakfast. The food is good. Everything was cooked well and the hash browns are very tasty. 3 stars because both times our service was subpar. Most of the staff was sitting around on their phones. They had to be reminded by invading seagulls to clear the table. The server both times was less than attentive. This appeared to be the case with most of the wait staff.As I said, the breakfast was good, but there are lots of places to get breakfast in and around sea isle. I won't be back.

Joe Prato

2023-08

Waitress was friendly. It was not very crowded, yet it took about 40 minutes to get our meal. Sausage was missing and did not arrive until we were ready to walk out. On the check, we were mistakenly billed for Lobster and Scallops.When they corrected the bill, they took off the Lobster, and added a BLT, which we did order but were now double charged for. My wife’s BLT had very little bacon on it compared to what it usually does.We eat at Carmen’s several times during the summer and this is the second time in a row we’ve had problems.We love the atmosphere of sitting on the water, but feel the quality and staff has deteriorated.We probably won’t go back again for a long time.