Geez - how lame can you get? We rented a cabana on this super lame beach, and as a grown adult, I had to have my bag searched and a wrist band attached to show I was old enough to order alcohol. This place is (lame) island legend because a year or so ago at a reggae concert, a giant fight broke out and the entire staging area was destroyed, yet to be rebuilt. I mean, if this is the stuff of legend, that's just pretty sad. And how the hell does a fight like that break out at a REGGAE concert of all things? I had someone tell me that "you've never lived until you've danced at the beach bar at Ballard's!" Well, I can tell you what that entailed - terrible cover band, 50+ New England women pathetically flailing around, and one of them was even wearing a walking boot. Yeah, you've never lived until...you get out of Ballard's and off of Block Island as quickly as possible. Never going back. Oh, wait, yeah, it was 1000 degrees too. I'm giving this place 2 stars because at least they had quesadillas. read more

Drinks all came out of manufactured machine and tasted like pond water and without any alcohol. They used to have one of the best piña coladas but it tasted like garbage yesterday as did everything else. Fifty bucks for three watered down 'drinks' that took twenty minutes to get. Beach was extremely crowded and way more rentals than I remember crowding the beach. I understand certain difficulties due to the pandemic but this place has gone so downhill, it's very sad, used to come here every summer but will no longer . read more

When I visit Ballard's, I feel like I am in Key West without the expensive airfare, rental car and long drive down route 1. As if the prime island real estate isn't enough, there is so much more to be savored. Summer brings out the crowd, which is a little young and rowdy for my maturing taste, so I go in September, when the water is warm, the service is impeccable and it's more peaceful. We rented lounge chairs, for $19 each, which were placed according to our liking in the sandy beach spot of our choosing. You can also rent a canopy, chair, umbrella etc. A small table with cup holders was included in our dual rental. The beach front includes three tiki bars, which were not staffed on our after-Labor Day arrival. But the large outdoor bar was buzzing with life. After a nice swim in the waves, we adjourned there for some lunch. The bartender was friendly and attentive. After a round of cocktails... something with lemonade, citron vodka, triple sec and a splash of cranberry (the name escapes me, but it was perfect!), we considered the extensive menu. I decided on a bowl of the award winning clam chowder and the crab cake appetizer. I am a clear chowder kinda girl, on most occasions, but this was probably the best creamy white concoction I have ever tasted. It was not too salty - or not too anything, really. It was thick, smooth and chock full of tender pieces of clams and potatoes. A. Mazing. And the carb cakes? Oh, mon Dieux! Two decent sized cakes, lightly fried, not greasy and full of seafood. Fab. Served on a bed of greens with a spicy dipping aioli, they were to die for. My date ordered the lobster salad roll with fries. He generously shared a few bites of the lobster with me. It was a bit over spiced for my personal taste. He enjoyed it and it was very tasty, so not really criticizing. I just love the taste of lobster and don't need it to be camouflaged. But, in fairness, it is more of a lobster salad roll than simply a lobster roll. The fries were very good, too. The food bill was $55. Reasonable for such an amazing setting and upscale service. Our bellies full, we made it back to our lounge chairs to digest in the sun, listening to the surf crash against the shoreline. Endless summer is real at Ballard's..... read more

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We ate another restaurant but wanted to have a margarita at Ballards. Strawberry margarita and my skinny margarita was so full with mix taste I brought it back x2. The 3rd time another bartender gave me a tequila shot with lime. Thankfully happy read more

Ballard's is the go-to place in Block Island. It's always super busy no matter what day or time. My favorite drinks are the piña colada in the pineapple and the blackberry mudslide! It's nice that you can drink while sitting on the beach. It's free to get in but you can pay to get chairs and umbrellas. We went back later on in the night and they had live music and everyone was dancing. This is a fun place to go spend a summer day. read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Blackberry mudslide - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

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Ended up visiting Ballard's twice Labor Day weekend and was definitely impressed with the food. The drinks, even non-alcoholic, are a little pricey but they're really good too! I ended up getting a lot of shrimp at Ballard's and was pleasantly surprised by the cost and quality. My husband got the clam chowder for lunch because it was highly rated, and he raved about it the whole way back to CT. The only thing that was iffy, was the lack of attention by the wait staff. The first day, we waited a while to be served and get our check; the next day we definitely received better service but since it's mostly seat yourself and people are coming from off the beach, I feel like there's a lack of awareness when they get a new customer at a table. Overall I'd go here again, especially if I spent the day at the beach. read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Bucket of shrimp, tropical lemonade & a rum runner in a pineapple! - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

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Endless amounts of seating and space! Multiple bars but not every bar serves the whole cocktail menu! All the beach bars don't include slushees and cocktails. The mudslides were strong and delicious and very attentive service. Fun, energetic environment for anyone and of all ages read more

FANTASTIC VIEW!! I only gave three stars because the waitress seemed half asleep most of the time. Also, the quahogs were just pathetic. I love quahogs, also known as stuffies. These were so pathetic, the meat and stuffing only filled half the shell read more

Location great, food ok and service good. Do not get their mudslide - worst mudslide on island. Yellow kittens, Champlains, or Payne's Dock for the best mudslides. read more

Expensive but gorgeous venue with attentive staff. Food is decent, but the tiki bar on waters edge is well worth it

alright as I stand at the bar actively being ignored... watching nothing get ringed in the register, this place is on a cash scam stashing money to the side up pricing drinks. The location is good and the food is good but the staff is horrible!! Never again!! read more

Our server Erin Light made the experience even that much better! Such a fun beach with non stop music, food and drinks!!

Spent much time last weekend with 3 other couples at Ballard's. Ballard's is Block Island premier beach bar. Like anything on the island just expect to spend some money, nothing is cheap. With that being said, we had a great time enjoying the beach service bringing us drinks right to our chairs. We took turns buying buckets of beers ( best value) . We ended up eating at the restaurant a few times over the weekend. I had a pretty decent grilled chicken sandwich with fresh mozzarella and pesto. The wings we ordered sauce on the side and they were extra crispy. Just the way we like them. This year they added a sushi/ raw bar and we order some delicious clams and shrimp. A nice added touch. Ballard's is well run and a clean spot. A + vote from a beach guy. Will return next season with plenty of cash . Lol read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Grilled chicken with fresh mozzarella and pesto. - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

I have spent a considerable amount of time at Ballards this summer. It is close to the ferry dock which is great if you don't want to venture too far. They have a full bar, live music all the time, friendly staff, and a great atmosphere. I find that some of the items on the menu leave a little to be desired like I was a bit disappointed in the lobster roll and how bland it was. However another time we got a bucket of shrimp as an appetizer another time and it was delicious. The french fries were tasty. The portions are fairly big. The drinks are amazing. The prices are a bit pricey but I find that is the case with most places on the island. I like to go for a morning bike ride or do some sightseeing around the island and then end my day enjoying some drinks and enjoy the beach. They do offer beach chair and umbrella rentals but you can also bring your own. read more

What a perfect sunny day at Ballards! Spent the day with my 3 girlfriends and my 15 year old daughter... who had her 3 friends with her too! They swam and enjoyed their Virgin frozen lemonades decked out with cherries. We hung with the amazing Amelia & Rachel from South Africa & England at the Tiki Bar who kept our drinks full and and chatted with us about everything! Great girls with infectious positive energy! Such a great day & experience! read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

Great drinks... if you aren't insulted by the bar tender in order to get one. My boyfriend (22) was getting drinks, while I (21) was going to get a spot on the beach. While he was ordering drinks from the bartender, Amelia, he asked for 2 drinks (one for me and one for him). She then said "virgin right?" He said "no alcoholic please"and gave her his ID. She said "oh you look really young and I can only give you one since your other person walked out". I understood as some bars have a 1 drink per person at a time policy. When I was at the bar, she ignored me and then proceeded to tell her co- worker to "go help that girl". I showed the guy bar tender (who was nice, polite, and didn't treat me like a child) my ID and he made a great drink. All in all I understand that bartenders need to watch out for underage drinking. But, there's a difference between just asking for an ID and making your customers feel belittled. read more

First time on Block Island! Ballard's was a great experience. Rented a child cabana and two lounge chairs. Staff escorted us to our preferred location on the beach, and gave us the famous flag you can raise up or down when you need food or drink. Staff was asking if we needed anything frequently. We had lunch in the shade, with a pina colada of course. Showers there to clear the sand before the next adventure. Live band! We will be back. read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Tiki Bar! A taste of a tropical paradise... - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

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A small group of us (4 people) went to Ballard's on Friday, June 10, after hearing great things. We sat down at 5pm, and were told our waiter would be right with us. 20+ minutes later, we still had not had any server come over to our table. We had to ask another staff member for assistance, who was very nice and took our order. We then waited another 30+ minutes and had to ask to check in on our food. After checking in, our food magically appeared instantly. Throughout this whole experience, the restaurant was nearly empty, yet there were 6+ Ballard's staff members standing around gossiping and flirting. We complained to the manager, Howard Gilette. He had no excuse for his servers' poor service and said he would refund us for the $160+ bill as he understands we live far away and would not be returning anytime soon. We had to leave to catch a ferry, and while on the ferry we received an email with a very insufficient $50 gift card to the resort. This "solution" is offensive and pathetic, as Ballard's clearly knew their staff had messed up and had promised to resolve it, then sent this poor excuse of a resolution. We do NOT recommend dining, drinking, or wasting your money at Ballard's. Update as of 6/14: We have attempted to contact a manager of the restaurant multiple times in the past 3 days and today the property manager, Steven, called us back. Instead of offering to better understand or correct the situation in a friendly manner, he opted to scream at us and threaten to have us arrested for "extortion" for posting this review. LOVELY staff they have at Ballards! read more

We went to Ballard's on Friday, June 10, after hearing great things. We sat down at 5pm, and were told our waiter would be right with us. After 20+ minutes, we still had not had any server come over to our table. We had to ask another staff member for assistance, who was very nice and took our order. We then waited another 30+ minutes and had to ask to check in on our food. After checking in, our food magically appeared instantly. Throughout the whole experience, the restaurant was nearly empty, yet there were 6+ Ballard's staff members standing around gossiping and flirting. On our way out, we complained to the manager, Howard Gilette. He had no excuse for his servers' poor service and said he would refund us for the $160+ bill as he understands we live far away and would not be returning anytime soon. We had to leave to catch a ferry, and while on the ferry we received an email with a very insufficient $50 gift card to the resort. This "solution" is offensive and pathetic, as Ballard's clearly knew their staff had messed up and had promised to resolve it, then sent this poor excuse of a resolution. It is now 3 days later and though we have made multiple phone calls to Ballards leaving a name & number for a call back, we have not been able to get in touch with Howard or any other manager to resolve this situation. We do NOT recommend dining, drinking, or wasting your money at Ballard's. read more

Hands down the best spot on the island. Came for the day and honestly didn't leave until the ferry forced us to. The amount of bars, drinks, beach, and food is to die for. I ordered a few drinks (which were all strongly poured) and coconut fried shrimp with sweet potato fries. Though it was drunk food, the fried food hit the spot. Service is obviously a little slow since this place is massive, but the great spot and views make up for it. Prices aren't terrible and they could probably get away with charging more, but they don't. read more

3 stars for the ambience and always having live music. It's a fun place to go, but the food doesn't live up to the standards and/or the prices. My niece and I had the ballards burger. Tasted like a frozen burger. There was nothing special about it. Fries were ok. The hubby had buffalo wings, which were huge. Big wings doesn't mean good wings. I prefer my wings smaller. One of them also had a huge vein sticking out of it. I can't believe they actually served it!!! My nieces boyfriend had the lobster alfredo, which he really liked. Pineapple margarita was good. I wouldn't pay the extra money to have it served inside of the pineapple. Pina colada wasn't very good. read more

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The most horrific experience I've ever had at a restaurant!!!! First time at Block Island, figured let's go eat at Ballard. Worst ever!!! Ordered Two bacon cheeseburgers, bothe came out raw, uncooked. Ordered half dozen of clam cakes, only got four of them instead of six. Ordered two Pina Coladas, got charged 13.00 not only for the pina colada itself... but than we also got charged another 13.00 each for the pineapple shell that the drink came in!!! The God damn pineapple shell that costs 2.99 if you go to the supermarket and buy it. That should be totally illegal what they did. And what they do. People please do not go this rip off of a place!!! Horrible horrible horrible!!! Again horrible horrible and horrible read more

Had a group dinner and bonfire here last night-- was super fun! Obv right on the beach so it was beautiful. They accommodated our large party well between several tables. They have a large and diverse menu, and kits of lobster which I love! They had different flavors of mudslides so after seeing everyone else rave about how good they were I got the salted caramel one and OMG... fantastic! Also ordered the California lobster roll which was a lobster roll w avocado and bacon in it ?!?? Brilliant, and delicious. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food. Someone got the whole lobster I had been eyeing and it's freakin huge just FYI! Also they had live music inside and all the doors open so could hear it outside (I believe there's currently a restriction on outdoor music w COVID or something), and he was great. Lovely environment. Some complaints-- they seemed pretty lax about mask-wearing w the staff. Everyone had their mask half on or barely on. And they didn't have disposable menus-- but I did see a girl wiping them down. The chairs/ tables don't seem to be spaced out enough but it's not bad. My fiancé complained that they only had one IPA on the menu (also despite having a Harpoon IPA beer-battered fish offered, but no harpoon ipa?) so thought that was pretty lake. He got a martini instead but he enjoyed that. Overall, great time! read more

We went to lunch on Friday, 7/15/22 sat down and ordered Mojitos and apps. When tour drinks arrived they we in the form of a slushy with strong sour mix flavor. There wasn't any mint or mint flavor nor and hit of rum, after a few sips we decided that there was no way we could drink these lousy beverages. When the waiter returned we told him that we did not care for our drinks and could be get something else. He then said that he could bring us something else however we would still be charged for the 2 Mojitos. We declined and asked for waters. Our apps of coconut shrimp were great, hot fresh and delicious, however after the beverage issue we decided to eat lunch elsewhere. read more

Go for the view, location, and drinks. If you want to jump off the ferry and enjoy some beach time this is the place to go. It's about a 5 minute walk from where the ferry docks. You can also rent chairs here and hang out the entire day. This spot is huge so there is plenty of seating at multiple bars, but the beach can be tight so get there a bit earlier. They always have a a lot going on so you won't get bored. If you want something a bit more quiet and laid back Ballard's probably isn't the place for you. Rent a moped or bike and head to one of the quieter beaches. If you want a more robust experience with full service check Ballard's out. The food can be a bit uneven, but the view, location, and service more than make up for it. read more

3.5 stars. I'd call this place a pretty big tourist trap, it's right on the beach and is massive so there's unlikely a wait time. My friend and I ordered some margaritas in a pineapple, not knowing that pineapple costed $5 or something haha. The pineapple was cool, but it was extremely shallow since they didn't carve out the bottom... so in reality I got a tiny glass of frozen margarita. Each drink was a whopping $19, oh man oh man I learned my lesson the hard way. We shared the diablo calamari, a $17 dish that was 70% shredded lettuce and cherry peppers, 30% calamari. It wasn't spicy whatever, and the calamari didn't taste the freshest. But on the bright side, our side order of fries were crispy and actually worthy of the $5 we paid for them! The service is pretty slow and the bathrooms are pretty gross, so that didn't really help. The reason this didn't get 2 stars, is because they played Toto's Africa during my stay. They get this additional star for playing the greatest song ever. read more

Our family has been coming to Block Island for 20 years and have visited Ballard's on many, many occasions. Food is always great and staff has always been friendly! Our kids have great memories of the arcade and dancing to live music when the bar was inside. They are 22 now, have grown-up and are now ordering their own drinks. During our visit last week, my kids ( who are very nice and polite) were treated very rudely by the inside bartender, Amelia, due to their age. It just wasn't necessary. It was mid-day on a Thursday so it wasn't as busy as the weekend. Went to mention something to the manager on duty - who kind of gave a half sincere sorry. We know things change and grow but I hope this is just a one-off situation and Ballard's continues to hire and train friendly staff. read more

I just went to Ballard's for the first time yesterday. What an absolute rip-off. First of all, my waitress impatiently asked me for my drink order literally before I even sat down. I told her I needed a second to look at the menu and she reacted as if I was the one being rude. A little while later, my friend asked the same waitress what flavor White Claws they had available and she told him that customers don't get to pick what flavor they get. I am going to repeat that; CUSTOMERS DO NOT GET TO EVEN PICK WHAT FLAVOR WHITE CLAWS THEY GET. She literally told him that he will get whatever flavor the bartender randomly grabs, as if they are too busy to accommodate what customers actually want. I worked at the most popular bar in New Haven, CT for five years and there was not one single night when bartenders were "too busy" to serve a customer a drink they actually want. Absolute bullsh*t. On top of all that, my friend and I ordered frozen drinks and they had ZERO alcohol in them. We quickly realized we had to order beers if we wanted to actually get our money's worth. Additionally, every item on the menu is overpriced. I got a coffee, four drinks and fish tacos and I paid $80. Instead of complaining about all this, which I ABSOLUTELY wish I did because I am still furious, my friend group decided not to fight that battle and asked for the check. WE STILL GAVE HER A GOOD TIP, despite being treated like absolute sh*t by our server and the restaurant itself. We then went to the beach area hoping to rent an umbrella (which costs $25) and what do you think happened? THEY HAD NO MORE UMBRELLAS, OF COURSE. So, long story short, expect the frozen drinks to come with no alcohol. Expect your server to be impatient and rude to you. Expect them to give you whatever flavor White Claw they randomly grab, even though you are overpaying for it. Expect to leave with a much lighter wallet than you arrived with. Annnnnnd expect them to run out of umbrellas. Have fun! P.S. I actually just remembered something else: two of my friends ordered salads, and when they FINALLY got them, neither of them got dressing. NEITHER! Ballard's does not deserve the business they get. They clearly hate their own customers and it shows in literally everything they do. read more

Wouldn't recommend , food takes over an hour for basic fried items. The staff is rude & unhelpful . The beach waves are too big for swimming and combined with the rocks it's literally painful to swim. Go to a different spot when visiting block island. read more

This place is huge and has a very large number of tables indoor and outdoor. Has a very big wrap around bar in the middle and has a stage on the side where people were drunk partying while we were there. The food came out pretty fast but it's ridiculous that a 1.25 pound lobster is 35 and a 2 pound Lobster is 59. It barely had any meat in it was so not worth getting the 2lb one. Clam chowder was pretty good nice thick and creamy a very small portion for $7 though. But it's a fun environment right on the beach music Seafood drinks it's just the spot to be when you're there read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Clam chowder - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

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This place is total Garbage. They stack every one on top of each other on the beach. Drinks are $20 each and it's basically all juice. They charge you $31 for an umbrella and $31 for a beach chair (if you didn't bring yours). No room at all to enjoy your self on the beach. Hundreds of people stacked on each other on the beach! Food was waaay over priced and the food wasn't good AT ALL! This was a one and done for us! Never stepping foot in that place! read more

Had a lobster roll it was not fresh and tasted terrible!!! The service was worse! There's a bunch of servers that take their time and Don't come back to the table after the food was delivered!! Couldn't get another drink! Do yourself a favor... don't feed into the hype and go elsewhere!!! read more

I have been to BI many times. I have avoided Ballards every time. This time , it's off season everything else is closed, and we want lunch. The view here is AMAZING. Our server was nice, but clearly not very experienced. I asked about a cocktail in a pineapple, only to be brought a cocktail sans pineapple. Our app came, it was delish, fresh and not oily.I ordered steamers for my entree, they were bland. There isn't too much one can do with steamers, but they were bland. We got our check.. 2 apps, 1entree, and 1 cocktail.. Are you ready 98$ .. Are you effin kidding????? The steamers were 24 bucks? That's market price ??? Hells no! We go to BI regularly, and we will NEVER. Give this place our business again read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Nice view! - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

I saw a lot of racist comments on other sites, e.g., NY Post (no surprise there), about this incident that clearly started at Ballard's. Lots of blame to go around here, but let's start with Ballard's. Overpriced, overcrowded, and complete lack of security. What happened should be no surprise to anyone. Greedy owners should be damn lucky no one was seriously hurt or killed. Let's see if anything changes. read more

It's a nice place with great live music and multiple tiki bars BUT they try to screw you to tip more. Let me explain, they automatically charge an 18% gratuity to ALL checks. They dont accept cash. Once you ask for your check the bartender will ask you for a cash tip in addition to the 18% that has already been added. They will whine and complain and tell you they are only getting 10% of the 18% gratuity and the other 10% is split amongst the rest of the staff so they ask us the customer to make up for it! Ridiculous! The bartenders issues should be with management not the customers and if they feel they aren't being compensated enough they should seek employment elsewhere instead of harassing and complaining to the customers. We will not be back. read more

We came here while on vacation, it also happened to be a rhode island holiday so it was PACKED. Cant say I enjoyed this place at all then so we tried coming back on a normal day. Beach staff are great and very helpful! The frozen drinks are good, food is fine we had quick chicken tenders and fries as a snack and it was decent. There are plenty of better beaches to go to but if you want a crowd and a slightly gross dance floor this is your spot. read more

Overall, I like this restaurant. The view and atmosphere was great. I love that you can walk right onto the beach. The karaoke was enjoyable. I ordered the baked stuffed shrimp. I love seafood, but didn't like their shrimp, but the pasta was really good! The drink in the picture is a Berry Cosmo, it tasted good. read more

Ballard's Beach Resort - Beaches Near Me - New Shoreham, Rhode Island

A great spot on the block. They really updated the beach facilities with more outdoor dining and tiki bars. Food is ok not the best but you can't beat the location and convenience of walking a short distance and plop on a nice beach with all the amenities. The 4 stars is for the location and facilities and 3 stars for the food. read more

At Ballard's with bums at the beach Under fronds with stories to preach Sing me a song Cornhole and beer pong Like Saved By The Bell summer season and I'm Screech read more

beach bar and beach club review only**** I mean I totally wouldn't eat here with all the other great places on the island. This is the place to be, however you got to the island, live there, bike, ferry, boat, private yacht! people from everywhere looking for a good time and drinks. all ages and people FUN place to go when you get to the island or having the last drink. Love this place, fun and exciting. if you are looking to have a glass of champagine and a quite day. Do not go here, this is beach bar type of day. read more