BF & I visited Fire Island this past weekend for the first time as daytrippers for my birthday; we docked at Sailor's Haven around 9 AM and walked down the beach to Ocean Beach later in the day. After a morning in the Sunken Forest and on the sand, the town of OB was a charming (though crowded) change. We vaguely planned to eat somewhere in town and wandered until we found somewhere that caught our eye. At 3 in the afternoon on a Saturday, CJ's was pleasantly airy with a lot of people at the bar and a lot of empty tables--we were looking for somewhere classy but chill, which is precisely how I would describe the atmosphere. We were seated by the window, which I loved, and our server, Jon, was immediately attentive and warm. Ordered the famous "Rocket Fuel," which (having tasted nowhere else) was delicious and well-priced. For food, I ordered the lobster roll lunch special and BF had the fish and chips. Both plates were served with fries, and everything was so good that we were eating off each other's plates. I felt compelled to write a review after reading all the negative! This was a great place on a great day. I would not hesitate to return the next time I'm in Ocean Beach. read more

Great place. Had a blast. Great atmosphere great food and drinks. . The staff were awesome and their signature drink Rocket Fuel, AWESOME. Two thumbs up for CJ's. This is a must on Ocean Beach. read more

Not my first time here but was definitely the first time I was disgusted! Have not been privy to the dining aspect of this establishment, only the club life part. The floors were filthy and sticky and the bathrooms...my goodness!! Both toilets were overflowing with soiled toilet paper and the water was flowing onto the floor. Horrible! read more

I stopped at this bar with some girlfriends of mine before getting back on the ferry. They wanted to try their Rocket Fuel drink because they heard so much about it. We sat down at a table and my friends went to the bar to get their drinks (we didn't see any servers). I didn't have any but they told me they liked it because it was strong. The Rocket Fuel drink was $12 each and it came it a plastic cup. The reason I am giving it two stars is because of the decor. Basically, if the bar was a person it would be confused. The bar looked like it belonged in a pub but it had white granite counter tops. The tvs were playing sports. The dining area had seats with white cushioned back boards and white sheer curtains. It left me thinking: is this a pub, sports bar or modern restaurant? read more

Went to Cjs for a quick bite to eat. The food was phenomenal. I had the pretzel, the wings and the potato skins. Paige the bartender was so on point and made me the best zippy i have ever had. Kelly was ok. Jessie was also great read more

Me and my fiancé come here every summer and we LOVE IT !!! Good service from all the bartenders especially from the boss and Taylor!!!! We will always be coming here as long as there is warm weather Thank you !!!! read more

Home of the rocket fuels for sure! Stopped in before heading to a welcome party. We got rocket fuels and they were so good ! Can't comment on the food as the kitchen was close already read more

Friends got the grilled lobster entree, which everyone seemed to enjoy. I had the grilled caesar salad, which was okay. The romaine lettuce was grilled---I guess this is a thing, but it just wilted the leaves, and didn't taste that great. I ate about half of it, and wouldn't recommend this dish. Not a ton of selection ---there are a few seafood entrees, but it's mostly burgers on the menu. read more

I stayed at The Palms with my partner and stopped in at their restaurant for drinks and a couple of appetizers We had the mussels bianco which were fresh and perfectly prepared in a light wine sauce. The other dish was a the chix quesadilla. This was traditionally prepared and was equally as good as the mussels The drinks did not disappoint either We were quite surprised with the results because we had eaten on FI before and honestly expected the usual hit and miss fare read more

This was probably our favorite bar out of the ones we frequented in the area. It's a super small space (so don't come here if you are looking to dance) but the bartenders were fun and the drinks are cheap but still good. Tried the Rocket Fuel and got to experience some of the happy hour deals (like $3 shots). Music is great and upbeat-- so much so that you want to dance, but can't causative of the limited space. Would say that this is one of the better bars at Fire Island-- definitely add it to your list to check out. read more

I'll start by saying that if ALL the food was good, i'd give this place three stars. However, the potato skins were not actually skins, but rather halved potatoes with nacho toppings. The calamari was cold, mushy and there were about 15 rings on the plate in total (I posted a photo). (Side note: when we asked if it was the entire order they said the kitchen forgot some of it, and they brought out more cold, mushy squid). The entrees were not bad, and the fries were actually quite good. The poor waitress was the only person working that Friday night and was overwhelmed and apologetic. I would not go back. read more

CJ's Restaurant & Bar - Sad appetizer serving of cold, mushy, flavorless calamari. - Bars Near Me - Ocean Beach, New York

This place is great!!! Home of the rocket fuels which were amazing and a staple of fire island! jim the bartender was our favorite! He gave us insight into the island, super friendly, and made our experience that much better :) thanks jim! read more

Was looking for a quick lunch to go had to wait a little bit because other people in front of me but I stopped in for some tacos The blackened mahi tacos are delicious ! At 3 dollars a taco you can't go wrong. Loveee it very tasty read more

My sister recommended this place but, when i arrived, I was welcomed by a bartender in a red bandana. I ordered my drinks and simply asked, "what do you have for food" He responded with "if you want food, get the fuck out of here." After ordering drinks I was so shocked by the response to my question. I asked why I was being asked to leave and he responded with "because the bartender said so" I walked over to castaway and had a great dinner. The staff at castaway was kind and accommodating. I have been coming to fire island for years and never had this type of disrespect service in my life. read more

I have not eaten here but definitely stopped in here quite a few times for a few cocktails delicious

Get off the boat...get into CJ's! Amazing Mudslides..etc. The Best Bar on Ocean Beach for a fabulous 'attitude adjustment', savory menu, fantistic service, eclectic ambience and a whole lot of fun! It's a good time...done right! read more

Love the atmosphere here! Friendly staff that makes you feel like your right at home at your neighborhood pub. Plenty of food options for different tastes. Highly recommend the pretzels and quesadillas! And without a doubt - you NEED to try the rocket fuels! (Went during covid and had outdoor seating/very sanitary.) read more

Once again, Very disappointed with our visit last night. Kitchen was closed at 8:30 pm and the bartenders were not friendly ! The male bartender was obnoxious! He needs to lighten up.Our rocket fuel's were tasteless and very chunky. On the hunt for a new stop before heading to our house on a Friday evening! I'msure of won't be hard. read more

Wow, every single person who has ever rated this dump has given it one star! I concur! This place is just so bad. Probably the worst restaurant I have ever been to. Bad all around from start to finish. Was with a friend and we were hungry. I didn't have a phone on me so unfortunately couldn't check Yelp beforehand. I think I will use bullet points to illustrate just how deserving this place is of a one star rating: -Hostess seats us and no one comes to greet us or take our order for at least 20 minutes. We finally flag a waitress down who casually says "oh no one has come by yet?" Don't they have some sort of system in place for their service staff to pick up tables? No they do not. -After said waitress takes our drink order it takes about 15 minutes to receive half of this order. The missing items are not explained. Also no alcohol is served on Sundays before noon in Fire Island. Wooo! -After several minutes and much effort I flag her down again and ask about the other half of the drink order. She informs me that they "have no hot water." Um, thanks for telling us. -We get half of our food order. My friend's omelet is burned and the bread is white wonder bread that isn't toasted yet had been left out to stale to just the right extent to resemble toasted bread. They also have two of the smallest pieces of watermelon and cantaloupe on the plate. What is the point of even having it there? Also I have no order. -So I'm waiting for my food still while my friend is eating. The waitress comes by and informs me they have to replace one of the items in my order since they're out and asks what I would like instead. Again, thanks for letting me know in the 11th hour. -Nothing is pre-bussed. We need to ask for butter, jam, ketchup, etc. -We finish our mediocre food (seriously tell me how you mess up frying eggs and toasting bread?!!) and wait for our check. Again waitress is MIA. We were estimating our bill to just leave cash when she finally came by and we asked for the check. -She brings this check out and guess what? It has the $3 tea on it that we never received and she never told us we weren't ever getting! Again, so so bad. There were at least two groups that had sat down while we were there and smartly got up to leave. The table next to us was unhappy as well. I don't think anyone in the entire restaurant received anywhere close to adequate service. How can they mess up a total of four items on a menu so badly? Skip this place! read more

Um, not good. Okay - it was lobster night and they ran out of lobster, potato (all kinds including fries) and all veggies!! What?? How can you run out of potato and veg? No kids menu. UGH. Never to return. PS owned by the palms. read more

After a terrible experience Memorial Day weekend Carly from the Palm Island hotel was kind enough to give me a $50 gift certificate so I would come back to C.J.'s. I finally decided to come back to Fire Island for my birthday and August and the staff at C.J.'s were attentive, hospitable and kind as ever. I ordered the mussels diablo which were pretty good, and the rocket fuels were on point. Thanks for providing me with such a pleasant birthday lunch! read more

Horrible Service, Subpar Food, Expensive prices, Zero Hospitality.. yup that about sums it up. Went to Cj's around 7pm on a Wed night. Not many people were in the restaurant at this time and there were only about 3 other tables dinning. I was two friends and it took 40 mins to get their Fried Flounder Sandwich and a Appetizer Sampler. Their food came out 1st and I was told it would only be a few more mins for mine. I had ordered the Prime Rib Special well done which included garlic mash and sautéed string beans. After waiting another 10 mins one of the food runners comes out with a Lobster. I politely mention that I did not order the Lobster that I ordered the Prime Rib. He apologized and took the Lobster away. 5 mins later our waitress comes over and tells me she put in the wrong order and it would only be a few more mins for my steak. The party I was with already finished eating and where ready to go. I explained to her that I had been waiting almost and hr and that everybody was finished eating already. She then apologized and offered to take the meal off the bill. Feeling that this would be sufficient I accepted and continued to wait on my meal. 10 mins later my food arrives and I couldn't be happier because I was starved. This happiness then turned to disappointment. Instead of garlic mash and sautéed string beans (which was indicated on the menu) I received sweet potato mash and asparagus. After all the trouble I decided to just roll with it and eat the meal. 1st tried the asparagus and they were cold. I moved on to the potatoes and they were cold. I then cut into the steak and it was bloody and rare, not well done as ordered. Now I am fed up!!! I call the waitress tell her what is going on. She apologizes and asks if she can do it over or get me something else. At this point I wanted nothing more from this place besides speaking to the manage. I stand up and take my plate over to the bar where the manager is working and begin to explain the situation. He is standing there stuck looking at me like it's his 1st day on the job or something. I then explain to him that this plate had to go through a number of hands such as the chief, the person who plates it, and then the person who delivers the food ie the runner or the waitress before it gets to me0 Why would they bring me a meal like this? His response to that was they only have 2 people in their kitchen and it didn't pass through a number of hands before it got to me. Really... really.. is the managers response? Two people in the kitchen and a waitress is more than enough hands as far as i'm concerned and being they really weren't that busy and already screwed up the order they should have paid special attention to it. After expressing that to him he then asked me what else can he do for me. How about an apology for starters!! The waitress apologized but he never did. Only after saying that to him he offered me an apology. After being there an hr and a half , aggravated, and hungry there was nothing more that this place could do for me and I just walked out. You would think that a restaurant of Fire Island that has so much competition being that there are so many restaurants in such a small area and that they only do can business 4-6 months out of the year that they would pride themselves in great service and would want you to return... guess not!! read more

Bottom line do not come here in the off season. Never been here during the summer and in all honestly it's probably better then, but from my experience going in mid September I can say with confidence that I will never be back. Service is laughably bad, waiter was awkward and honestly thought he might have been high. Menu had almost everything but about 5 things crossed off probably because it was the end of the season....but still really? Even half the things not crossed off we're unavailable (something we found out when we tried to order). There were flies all over the place which makes me question how sanitary the place is. Go to albatross instead. read more

The onion rings were pretty good. Everything else was not. Took 45 minutes for food to come out. The coconut shrimp was $14 for FOUR pieces!!!! Service was terrible. My bbq sauce never came and we were never given water. read more

This place is the tits - the service from Rob and Eric is next level. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.

Had some drinks for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and it was a pretty good time. Service was attentive at the bar plus they did this fun horse pool, which I thought was interesting and different. It's probably the cleanest bar I visited this weekend. read more

We are year rounders and we love CJ's. Character, atmosphere, great drinks, burgers and fries. And great bartenders - Rob, Eric. While everything is expensive on an island, CJs is better value than most! read more

30 thirsty reunion goers all sat down at once. The waiter was also the owner. I'm giving 5 stars. Honestly the food was prob 4 stars but the effort, degree of success, and Personality of the place... I was pleased. I had a really top notch lamb burger. Hot crispy fries. Ah crud. I'll go 5. Good drinks. Fun joint. read more

I recently visited Cj's in Ocean Beach,Fire Island. The food was phenomenal! My girlfriends and I shared the mussels with wine sauce (YUM), sweet potato fries and coconut shrimp. All of our appetizers were delicious and the local drink that is famous at Cj's the Rocket Fuel was out of this world. The establishment was clean and the staff was very accommodating. So good that we returned for dinner! Great local place for good food and awesome drinks. read more

NO stars. Place is HORRIBLE!!! Service was beyond ridiculous and the waitress yells "FUUUUCK!" Across the restaurant while you wait for your lunch with your 9years old. Rather go to McDonalds. read more

A hidden treasure! Rob, the skinny hippy bartender, is without a doubt the best bar keep! Highly recommend a zippy or seven.

Came in here for happy hour as we were leaving the beach and ordered the lobster roll. I must say it was delicious, we even told the chef. They used really fresh lobster. The drink specials were great. Will go back. read more

This place is best for a rocket fuel and some fun. Bartender was very attentive and friendly. I had lunch at the bar but the food wasn't that great. I'd recommend it for happy hour, an afternoon drink after the beach or as a late night spot. read more

My wife and I recently parked our car in lot 5 of Robert Moses State Park hopped on our bicycles.....destination - C.J.'s in Ocean Beach. We had done a share house on Fire Island in the early '90's, and always enjoyed a good Rocket Fuel at C.J.'s to start our evenings. Our mission on this day was to have one more. I didn't know this, but the path from Robert Moses to Ocean Beach is not paved the whole way. There are several areas where the path ends, and you have to trek arduously through loose sand, dragging your bicycle under the blazing midday summer sun. When we finally reached C.J.'s, we were parched and weary travelers. We dismounted, and slowly limped into C.J.'s and found a seat at the bar. The air conditioning was blasting cool air and the beat of the non intrusive music created a lively atmosphere. I ordered two waters, and two rocket fuels. My wife and I smiled and each other, and settled in to our seats. I went into my backpack to get our my wallet. My wallet? My wallet!! My wallet!! I took it out to pay the parking fee at Robert Moses, and must have left it in the car. Our waitress was just about to make our Rocket Fuels, so I quickly yelled to her to cancel the order. I explained to our bartender, Kim, that I had forgot my wallet, and I thanked her for the water and apologized that I would not be able to tip her. I was embarrassed. My wife was pissed at me. Dejectedly, I slunk out the door and seated my bike. As we rode away, I heard....HEY!!! And saw a dude with a ponytail running after me. He asked if we were the one's with no wallet. "Yes" I said. "Let me buy you both a drink" he said. "No, that's okay, were good" I said. "I insist!!" he said We returned to our seats and were served the coveted Rocket Fuel. It had not changed. Delish. Brain freeze. Floater on top. Fantastic. We had a nice conversation with ponytail man, who's name is Rob. Rob told us that he is the manager, and is going to buy C.J.s. Rob was very warn, generous, genuine, and friendly. Our barkeep, named Kim, was a beautiful sassy blond with the gift of gab. She also is a kickboxing and yoga instructor (which I kind of think is a paradox). It felt like we were in an episode of "Cheers". Anyway, we had a great afternoon enjoying our new friends, the music, the air conditioning, and, of course, our Rocket Fuel!! Five thumbs up!!!!!!! read more

We frequented CJs around three times while on a week long vacation in Ocean Beach. Each time the bartenders and servers were wonderful. There was a great band there late one night. And they have an amazing vegan burger that's made in-house. It's super hard to find vegetarian friendly food on the island. Thanks for a great week, CJs, we will be back! read more

Had a great burger and drink at the bar. Eric the bartender was very friendly and provided great service.

I came here last summer for the first time, and I can't wait to come back. The food is great, the prices are a tad steep but it's Fire Island, expected. The night time crowd is nice, it's a very chill place to hang on a nice night. Not to mention it's a 5 minute walk from my hotel so, definitely convenient! I loved the live music also, a nice touch. read more

Terrific find. If you don't order the calamari "out style" you are making a mistake. Also the all you can eat sushi bar is amazing and provides all the sake you can drink. Our waitress Paige was fantastic read more

Great drinks but OMG its EXPENSIVE!!!!! $14 per drink!!!! The ATM machine at the door should have been a clue :-)

Arrived to open house for the summer, cold rainy fire island day. Only a few places were open and noticed bar at CJ's was open. JJ made us the perfect Bloody Mary with a splash of steak sauce and lots of white horseradish and topped with a crispy stalk of celery. Ordered perfectly done medium rare burgers with sautéed peppers and onions in a tortilla with the most perfectly done French fries. When I learned it was happy hour and cocktails were only $4.00 I got a second Bloody Mary. Karen and JJ couldn't have been nicer. Glad to be back home in Fire Island. @isabelsummers read more