Looking for a vibrant bar and restaurant? You found it! The energy is fantastic here year round and in the off season the wait was not bad. Loved the house salad and look forward to trying more next time. Scallops were perfectly cooked however the sweet bacon sauce was a bit rich for my blood. Oh and the staff / service is incredible!!!! read more

Limited options during off peak in Beach Haven. This is one of the few spots open every day and carries good food & booze. We liked it so much we went 2x in one day. Staff was friendly and they have a big bar...but if you have kids their booths are money! Roomy. Crayons for the kids...and a sheet of drawing paper as a table cloth...so draw your waiting time away. We have had here: Salads to start - only two choices for dressing (house made). Mix them together for a dipping sauce (balsamic and garlic ranch I think). Sea Scallops - large portion, wrapped in bacon with a maple bourbon sauce. Yummy! Although a bit on the salty side. The scallops tasted fresh and the bacon wasn't overcooked (which I like). Fish & Chips - son liked it...but hey it comes with fries, who wouldn't? I did sample the fish and was pleasantly surprised. Mahi - tasted nice and fresh. Salmon - not my forte but Ms. liked it. Key Lime Pie - delicious but no where near Key West excellent. Beer menu - local crafts on draft. Service - both time we were pleased with attentiveness. Prices - LBI pricey. Portion sizes fit the cost. Overall - 4.5 stars. ENJOY! read more

Perfect loved the salad dressing great seafood, love that' their open off peak season & good cocktails too!

The food here has gone down hill. We are here a party of 6. Only one person in the party felt there meal was acceptable. I personally had the fried tasteless frozen like seafood platter. I've had better SF platters at a diner. No taste the crab cake in particular was 95% mushy filler. The calamari was tough and definitely frozen. Not sure what's going here. Cutting corners because there busy because of lack of options on LBI. They will fill seats regardless. Our whole party would never go back. High prices for sub par food. read more

Great LBI restaurant. Terrific vibe at the bar they serve the best dirty martini. Service is excellent. It's one of my go to restaurants. You cannot go wrong here. read more

Dear Black Wale Ownhersip STOP take outs which screw your in dining patrons. 1 hour for appetizers and then another 45 minute for dinner is insane. read more

I have driven from other beaches just to come to The Black Whale for a good seafood meal. Everything is fresh. The crab cakes or scallops will not disappoint. Very friendly, attentive staff. read more

We ate here during our vacation this week. I would not recommend it. The hostess couldn't be bothered to acknowledge us when we first walked in. The food was sub par at best. The restaurant is large and clearly just cranking food out without concern to quality or flavor. My cocktail tasted like spit and was warm. Best thing about this place was our server. She was fantastic. Worked hard, very responsive and kind. read more

Always packed but soooo good!! The salad dressing is amazing and home made but the actual food is fantastic. Every year it's a staple to our vacation. This year I made the reservation and for whatever reason I was lost. I called the day of and the hostess honored it and was able to seat all 9 of us. Wait staff is very helpful and professional. I had the pasta Santa Cruz and it is what I look forward to every year. Can't say enough about this restaurant. You need to make reservations 2 weeks in advance on the Resy app. Make sure you check your confirmation!! read more

Came her with my 87 yr old mom for pretreated dinner. It was early, 5:15. I had reservations. The staff are all very nice and attentive. I had local oysters, they were spectacular. Mom had shrimp cocktail. It was good. Can't mess up shrimp cocktail unless they are small, soaked or old. Dinner, I had broiled scallops. They were just fair. They were in too much fluid and not seasoned very well at all. Below average. Dirty rice and beans side, you can tell it was mass produced. Mom had broiled seafood plater. In her words " nothing spectacular!" Cole slaw side was average. Atmosphere is a fun shore restaurant. Lots of kids, but that's to be expected. Hate to see this place when it's really busy. read more

I'm not a fan of the food, but I also don't like seafood which is their specialty, but the atmosphere is the place to be in LBI on a summer weekend. That being said, the staff is great for such a busy place - never rushed which is shown with never having an issue with bringing fresh horseradish (never know if table one had shellfish dipped). The high top tables in the bar are a great way to hang with friends and if you can get a space at the bar - grab it quick! You can easily put in your name and make rounds to other local venues, as they text you when the table is ready - so confident! The beer options are good, some local crafts are always on tap! read more

Salad was the best. Tuna spring roll was horrible. Mahi-magi was ok.Salmon was good. Felt like we were rushed, sat down at 6 had salad, appetizers and main course and were in car by 6:40. read more

Second time here, food is amazing! Service is excellent. Recommend a must when coming to LBI!

This is my favorite restaurant on the island. The food is fine, but it's lively in there, the service staff is among the best I've seen, and the beer is served exceptionally cold. read more

We love this Bar & Staff & Happy Hour Appetizers! We've been going there for years! But recently went for dinner, drinks were bad, tonic tasted like club soda, drinks returned. Second drink was same & awful. So we ordered wine. Salad dressings are great, but salad was not as in the past! Very expensive & very disappointed!! read more

Unpleasant and unhelpful. Called ahead and was told that they had "just stopped" taking take-out orders so asked if my mom would be able to sit outside and eat. Told yes, but we might have to wait. Called again to make sure they were still serving. Told yes. Came by with my mom and was told that the outside porch had just been shut down and that the only choice was eating inside (although there were people still sitting outside). I think they didn't appreciate our level of caution in trying to protect a grandma with a lung condition. Too bad, because we've been going to the original SBS since the mid-80s, but this is one we won't be back to. I'd tell you about the food but we never got to eat it...... read more

Great cocktails and amazing seafood. We like to sit out front on the counter on the deck. It's a nice, higher end spot with a hard working chef and kitchen. read more

One of my favorite places. Absolutely in love with their new sesame encrusted tuna with mango pepper sauce. Also love the broiled seafood combo and the tuna appetizer. Definitely try mixing both salad dressings together! Key lime pie is also great. Lastly, great portions for the kids. read more

Cannot day enough ! This was a pleasant dining experience, made reservations for my family of 7 at 500m Seated right away, servers were knowledgeable And most important attentive ! Excellent menu ! We had the full selections of seafood Everyone commented how everything was fresh & seasoned properly and hot! Cudo's that what dining is supposed to be about Definitely a repeat and a recommendation . read more

Fabulous food. Have eaten there many times and never had a bad meal. Establishment appears very clean. Only criticism is their rest rooms could be a bit larger. If you are seeking great seafood that is very fresh and well prepared, try the Black Whale. read more

Just had the best Tilefish prep ever at the Blackwhale in LBI amazing fresh spring ingredients. The drinks were great and happy hour appetizers, classic calamari and dollar oysters can't be beat, rare tuna egg rolls, were also great. We are regulars and we're impressed with off season level of freshness and attention. read more

Best seafood in town! Had the linguine clams. Only complaint it's very loud inside.Family Style Salad

I will start by saying that the food here is delicious and that is the only reason I didn't give it 1 star The service is horrendous here and I am still upset from last night. Seven of us ate here for my sister's birthday. We ordered appetizers and entrees. When I ordered a glass of Malbec, the server scoffed and was weird and I thought nothing of it. Because of her reaction, I kept looking at the drink menu and realized there were two on the menu and one was the cheapest glass on there. I don't understand why she didn't mention there were two since I had missed that. Drinks came and I tried mine and it was really bad. Like bad. I love wine and was really in the mood for a Malbec that night. I asked her which Malbec she gave me and she said the "$8 one". She said if I didn't like it, she could give me the other one. After a lot of hesitation, I asked her if I could have the other one and felt terrible. I don't like sending back anything but I figured who wants to hate their drink the entire time. This is when she said "sure" and then threw my entire drink into the plants next to my table. Salad came and everyone got a fork but me. No one had napkins. By the time everyone finished the salad she came back to find out I still had no fork and no one had napkins. She finally had my new glass. I then asked for a fork and by the time the appetizers had come, she still wasn't back. Luckily a really nice busser helped us and immediately came back with some when we asked. Why didn't we get full silverware at the beginning? When our server finally came back, she realized she had come back with extra and just put them on the table when we didn't need them anymore. In the end, we didn't let it ruin our night and we still were nice to her and tipped her at 20%. My family noticed she was rude to us but let it go. But I will never forget the night a server threw my glass of wine into the plants. read more

Didn't eat here...no outdoor seating and inside was dreary, with a Weird smell, rude hosts.

An extended weekend getaway called for even more seafood and good times on a Monday. After a couple of places didn't pan out do it its still being LBI's slow season, we remembered walking by the Black Whale on the way to the wedding rehearsal dinner. And we we entered we discovered a classic fish house that was a whale of a good time. Since they just finished a beer event over the weekend their was still plenty of solid picks from Forgotten Boardwalk Brewery on tap. It it washed down well with the bacon wrapped scallops and shellfish combo we ordered as appetizers, and the complimentary oyster crackers and horseradish spread that they hook up. The Whale is a casual butcher paper place mat kind of place, which is a good thing considering how big the and succulent the broiled fish combo that paired a jumbo lump crab cake with flounder, shrimp, and scallops. add in a side of dirty rice with beans and it was one of the most filling seafood meals that I ever enjoyed. And all of the above made it a solid beach destination. read more

This is a large, loud and popular place. The service was excellent. The food, however, was just okay, nothing particularly special. I'd probably come back, but I'd try some other places first read more

With a friend visiting from 1,200 miles away, a day trip to LBI to experience the true New Jersey Shore brought us (and two family members) for a return visit to the Black Whale. My first visit was in 2012 during a trip and based on that great experience, I opted to choose the Black Whale again for our party of 4. Unfortunately this experience was average (at best) and with the price paid, poor considering the food and service. We arrived early on a Monday (shortly after 4pm), so we had no trouble getting a table and prompt service. That would be the highlight. The server was average, and needed some attention to personal hygiene. He was polite, but did absolutely nothing to make the experience special. The $14 shrimp cocktail shared with the table was average size and dry (as if sitting out too long) - something you would find at a place known for cheap fare and good service. Two in the party don't eat much seafood and ordered the chicken sandwich. When I asked how their sandwiches were, both said "good" as if to be polite. Good is not a compliment in any restaurant. My $24 Asian BBQ Shrimp were of the same lame variety shrimp as the appetizer. The best meal was the $27 Sea Scallops but the presentation was so blah. Not a touch of color on the plate. Various staff brought the dishes, never knowing who got what (i.e. no front of the house training). At no point did anyone resembling a manager / supervisor / owner ever come by and ask about our experience. It's really not fair to rate them average, because in my estimate they didn't even get the basics right. Maybe they were having an off night, but that's not my problem. $200 for 4 people (with tax and gratuity) is perfectly fine - if the food is excellent, the service professional and someone beyond a student working a summer job comes by to check on the guests. Since the Black Whale failed on all these accounts, it became a mediocre experience and I would not return again nor recommend with so many restaurant options on the island. We finished with the $8 elephant ear dessert which consisted of dry elephant ears, ice cream, whipped cream, sauce and strawberries. My Mom requested the Kiddie dessert, which was a far better deal at $3, but I don't think they even wanted to offer it to her (and she is a senior citizen). read more

Black Whale - Exterior Sign (Missing the Whale) - Seafood Near Me - Beach Haven, New Jersey

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Fun, energetic, local favorite. Service was on point, even at their busiest time. Prices were very reasonable and portions were very good. The crab cake was excellent as was the Tuna, the fried oysters, the calamari, and the fried artichokes. We had a large party and they handled our orders and our needs with ease. I will be back. read more

Casual seafood restaurant with full bar. Very good value. Always a good meal. Never disappointed. Would like to see them take reservations in advance. read more

Went here during Restaurant Week 2023. The food was decent, but just can't believe they would charge me $4 for my second glass of tonic. It's just soda for god's sake! read more

Great staff service and consistent delicious fresh menu! Parking tough during summer months but can work around that with timing.

Everything we come here the atmosphere is up beat and fun. Bartenders are attentive and interactive. Drinks are strong and delicious. Happy hour specials best I've had of all restaurants I have experienced. There RAW oysters and sooooooo much cleaner and tastier then the other Hot spot RAW bar happy hour. The giant shrimp cocktail for $10 was OUT of this world. Very big portion. This will be our new Happy Hour Happy Place whenever we are in LBI.. read more

Great Seafood. Super crowded! I recommend making reservations! Most dinners come with salad. Two different dressings for the table. A creamy garlic and a balsamic . Both are wonderful! read more

Food takes mad long , Horse raddish tastes like shit. And it's brick af. Not pleased. BlCk whale resturant is gassed up.

We come down to LBI every summer and always go to the Black Whale. Although there usually is a long wait (45min to an hour) it's definitely worth it. The food is the best on the island. We get the lobster dinner for two and it's so much food and a great price. They have good cocktails as well. During COVID they have a great set up outside which is really enjoyable. read more

I love the black whales fish specials. They always have great choices. My meals are always good. I hate the waiting time on weekends and I hate the attitude of all the hostesses. We get that you are busy and don't care if people come or go, but don't tell me it's a two hour wait just because you want me to turn around and go somewhere else. Do your job properly. Have never actually had to wait 2 hours for a table. Wish they had bought tuckers and expanded. Would have been amazing. read more

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I've eaten here once off season so it wasn't packed. Service was OK and the portions were a decent size. I have dietary restrictions as I am gluten-free and dairy free which I explained to the server. So she made some suggestions off the menu and altered somethings for me. I would say the food was average to good as I had a variety of items. The reason for the two stars is when I finally got home I was suddenly sick to my stomach from what I eat. So either they gave me something that either had gluten or dairy in it or the food was spoiled/bad. I came to that conclusion since that was the only meal I had eaten that day. read more

We got take out tonight and the food was delicious. Very disappointed there were no utensils or napkins. We were staying at a hotel so that would have helped with our meal, which ncluded a salad. 4 stars for food though. read more

Had a great lunch at the outdoor bar, the Dumpster Bar!!! Sean the bartender was very attentive and friendly. Had a great burger, clams, fish tacos, and ahi tuna rolls. Yum. Even the dog got to sample some of the burger read more

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This is one of the most popular restaurants in beach haven. It's always so crowded and if you're lucky to get a seat at the bar for dinner in a Friday- Sunday night in the summer, grab it. Otherwise the wait will be close to 2 hours. They do not take reservations but you can put your name in and they'll text you when your table I ready. The crab cakes here are their specialty. Can't go wrong with the sandwich, appetizer or entree. I also love the mussels in linguini with spicy red sauce. The mussels in red or garlic appetizer are also awesome. All the food is good but not the best on the island. It's totally overrated but also good food. read more