We want to love this restaurant. Please fix the service model so it's ONE waiter per table; let the bus boys make their rounds. Tonight's service was confusing and left empty plates lingering in front of us far too long. This isn't too difficult. Clothes line bacon was cold despite the flame on it. Sprit was out of syrup so Shirley temples were not good. Overall tonight was "eh" which is was disappointing bc we love the space and Burke's restaurants in general. Popovers were excellent, as was short rib and cavatelli. read more

Overall disappointing. I hesitate to ever leave bad reviews because I worked in the restaurant industry through college and I get it, but this was a bummer, especially because we were out celebrating a special occasion. Our waitress was not very attentive, because David Burke was sitting outside at a table with his friends and she was (understandably, I guess) pre-occupied catering to their needs, rather than the 'average customers'. The food runner spilled an entire ramekin of 'lobster butter' all over my sister's purse, subsequently ruining one of her favorite bags, and there was little more than a "whoops, sorry" from our waitress or anyone else. The appetizers were okay but underwhelming, though the oysters were very good. Lobster was good, the potatoes that come with it were tasty. The wine selection was good. After we paid our check, we walked through the restaurant to go out to our car, and there were 7 or 8 people sitting together at the indoor bar hanging out and having drinks (no masks). As a healthcare provider in the area I was very disheartened to see that, especially considering what most other restaurants in the area are going through right now. I don't think I've ever left a negative review anywhere, but I will not be visiting this restaurant again. read more

Disappointed on all levels... service, cleanliness and food quality... this location does not do justice to the David Burke name

What an experience! Whether it be live music on burger night or a romantic dinner overlooking the water, I am never disappointed with the food, service and atmosphere. Truly a game changer in the sea bright area. You MUST eat the steak (any one of them will do) but do not leave there without having the toasted coconut cake, I promise... you will be back for more! Thank you Drifthouse for bringing the "A Game" to the next level. read more

Here for Restaurant Week - we ordered salad and flat bread appetizers. Flatbread arrived cold with mushroom toppings scattered on the plate with a few slices with topping in place. The salad was light and fresh. Entree's were Short Ribs with Cavatelli which was delicious and Taglaitelle Clams Casino which was dry, crumbly and tasteless. Sent it back due to dryness, but it was returned with the same lack of flavor and overcooked clams with what seemed to just have butter thrown in as a sauce or broth (?). Dessert - Ice cream sliders and pumpkin mouse tart were both good. Service was excellent. We probably won't return anytime soon. What a disappointment! read more

After a great experience at the Fromagerie a few years ago, I was excited to go to another new David Burke restaurant. The food was good, but overpriced. I guess you pay for the view...I don't know. The wait staff was unpleasant and did not seem to care after I found a hair in my salad. The manager visited our table during our main course and was surprised to hear that I had a hair in my food. Any restaurant with half the professionalism of a place operated by a "top chef" would have informed the manager immediately and the manager would be over to apologize and offer to replace or substitute the item. Not here! In today's competitive environment, great and attentive service must come along with great food. This restaurant was a disappointment from that standpoint. This place will not last one more season if nothing changes. read more

The Drifthouse has always been great - everything - the food, the service, the atmosphere, the view; and now I have one more reason to love it! Chef Toni is so accommodating! So many places won't do special requests or veer from the menu, but Chef Toni did so without hesitation. A couple of weeks ago a group of us were celebrating my partner's birthday there, and I asked Chef Toni (the day before) if she could make her favorite dish, Veal Milanese. So Veal Milanese isn't even on the menu, and to make it more challenging it had to be gluten free! No problem! Chef Toni said if we brought the gluten free bread crumbs (which they didn't have on hand) she would make it. She butterflied a huge veal chop and made the best Milanese we ever had!! And everyone else's meal was great also. A perfect evening. Thank you Chef Toni and the Drifthouse team! read more

I'm giving this 2 stars because the popovers they serve are really good! But for the most part, dinner was not enjoyable. I ordered the veg lasagna and it should have been listed as mushroom lasagna - I couldn't get passed one bite of it. Everything else was ok. But it was overall a big disappointment for a David Burke restaurant. And we still had our appetizers when dinner came out - wrong. read more

Rented out the back room for a Christmas party with 22 friends. The atmosphere was excellent with the wood burning fireplace. The food was fabulous. A special thank you to Alex who put the whole thing together for us. From the great menu to his fabulous servers, he did a great job. Thank you Alex. LC read more

We loved the bacon on cloth pins Decoration was decent but most importantly, food as very good read more

I just came from this place and wow, if Drifthouse doesn't exemplify delicious food and excellent service, I don't know who does. I ordered the oysters rockfeller and the tomahawk steak. Both were out-of-this-world. We had a somewhat complicated meal amongst the seven people I was with and the server handled it with ease. Will be coming back as often as I can. read more

Really good dinner. Branzino was a fantastic bite with everything else on the plate. Lobster dumplings nice, could have been a better texture but I liked them. Wife had the oysters enjoyed the east side. Halibut was well made , sides were good, a healthy meal overall. Dessert cookie w sea salt caramel, vanilla very good. Waiter knowledgeable, attentive. No wait for food, also not rushed. Did not experience the criticism expressed in other reviews. Would eat here again. Have eaten at Ama few times before, this is better. read more

Had an amazing dining experience here!!! We came to celebrate a friend's birthday. We wanted something different and not the typical chain restaurant. They surpassed our expectations. The food were fresh and cooked perfectly. We started out by trying an array of the appetizers... soo fresh East meets West Oysters, the clothes pin bacon (which was so fun and tasty), salads, etc. The night special Porterhouse steak was phenomenal, even though I wished they served it sizzling on the salt brick to give it that zesty salty yummy flavor. Instead, they presented it on the Himalayan salt brick then took it to the back and cut it up and served it back on a regular plate. I excused it, because it still tasted so good and everyone e was loving the pasta and side dishes. Couch Potatoes was so cute... we loved the name and presentation. it was funny. The server was on point with getting all our condiments and constantly checking up on us and filling our beverages and water. Awesomeness!! I hate waiting and being thirsty. lol. Also another bonus... their General Manager, Alexander, introduces himself to us and made sure that we were all content, especially, our birthday boy. lol. He actually led the servers singing and dancing Happy Birthday. What a show! lmao. It was definitely a wonderful dining experience. I would go back here again and again and refer others here. Tasty fresh food and spectacular service... Way to go!! Thank you, again!!! read more

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I am so pleased with the by David Burke! We brought a party of 15 people to this phenomenal restaurant! It was my husband 's company party. We are so pleased with the food and service. Many said it was the best of all the years! The halibut was fantastic as well as the lobster dumplings for appetizer. The servers were so polite and attentive. Hi hank you for a great night! read more

I really wanted to like it there. The servers were very nice and so were the bartenders as for the food my biggest takeaway was mediocre and overpriced. To expand....an almost $40 8oz filet that lacked flavor and didn't cut with the tenderness filets usually have. Not to mention that came with nothing else at that price point so that didn't help matters either. The a la carte sides I ordered didn't help matters to say the least. They followed suit with the subpar overpriced entree. One would surmise that Burke's business model here is revenue stream driven with little regard for qualitative food at a reasonable price. I don't mind spending money for dinner when the food warrants it. Gave dessert a shot thinking redemption might be found. Alas not. It reeked of sickening sweet preservative filled desserts that are synonymous with chain restaurants. As opposed to finer dining deserts one would have expected to find based on ambience and price point. The taste of home baked desserts rich with natural ingredients and subtle sweetness was not found. Don't take my word for it. See for yourself. But I am hard pressed to find a reason to go back again for what it's worth. read more

So we decided to see what a David Burke restaurant was all about during restaurant week. It's way to expensive not to go pre-fix. $24 for bacon as an appetizer,really? We all like good food, but, the enjoyment of an overpriced meal only lasts until the last bite and when you pay that much, it's all just an expensive BM the next morning and you're out a few hundred. Burke's Belmar restaurant no longer exists so we tried up in Sea Bright. We went early Tuesday, before 5 o'clock, which is hours before rich people like to eat. We looked over at the bar and had a laugh. Full of botoxed people in denial. One attention seeking lady wearing a ridiculous fedora hat stood out. ​You know the kind of person who has that narcissistic facebook photo. All kind of sad to see. The restaurant was empty except for 2 couples sitting at tables along the windows with a view of the ocean. There were 3 other empty dueces along the same window. We followed the hostess as she tried to seat us at one of those crappy tables where everyone shares a long bench seat. We felt like Flounder and Pinto in the opening scene from Animal House. We were steered away from the good seats, and were forced to sit with Mohamad,Clayton Sydney and Jugdish. Before we sat down we asked about those empty tables and were told, without explanation, we couldn't sit there.,so we left. I was a waiter in college and understand filling server stations fairly ,but the patrons were always put first..Biden's policies have caused employment problems everywhere. Maybe that's the problem here. read more

Loved our waiter, Emmett! Had a reservation for 6 & they seated us in the main dining area which was a little too loud for us being we were right next to the live music (which was great) but hadn't seen our friends in so long & wanted to catch up without yelling across the table. So Emmett was kind enough to move us to the back room which was more quiet. Not only was he accommodating but he had a great personality & never rushed us when we probably overstayed our welcome. Sunset view from the bar was beautiful & food was delicious too, especially the bacon appetizer! read more

What can I say? Absolutely amazing meal with a stunning view. The restaurant hosts some of the nicest, most attentive, and accommodating employees. We started at the bar with Ty, a charming mixologist. We were then escorted to our table by Alex, a delightful manager who remembered us from our prior visit. Finally, we were attended to by Lilia, a lovely server who ensured that we received our food as it was ordered. We will definitely be back! read more

Almost walked out. Service was well below par from expectations Food was mediocre. You put someone's name in the restaurant name and expect more. Guess not. If you want to waste money on lousy food and service. This is your place. read more

food good, not fantastic, especially for the prices they charge. Great view. Forced valet parking even in the off season, which is mildly annoying. read more

We live walking distance from the Drifthouse, Didn't do much for us and we tried it twice. Bronzini was $31 and a very small filet with 5 small dollops of an artichoke purée, all sides are ala cart, the staff tries so hard it seems unnatural on that particular night. Too many wonderful local and not so local restaurants around we enjoy more .....we felt Ama the prior restaurant was much better and enjoyed there food more read more

We had our son's wedding rehearsal dinner at Drifthouse this past Friday night. Everything was spot on...food, service, ambience. April, Manager of Drifthouse, was accommodating to our needs. Staff goes above and beyond. Our guests were complimentary on our menu selection. Thank you Drifthouse!!! read more

If I could take stars away I would. I have never sat at a bar and everything I was talking to my friend about I was one-upped by this short, overly loud , abrasive bartender Michelle. She literally talks over you and I mean I should say yells over you. Bar had a few of her overserved friends who were equally loud and unkempt. Expecting much more for a place with David Burke attached to it. We had a drink canceled our reservation and left. read more

Went to the Drifthouse for Jersey Shore Restaurant Week. I've always wanted to go there and heard good things. Service was good and overall staff is very friendly and accommodating. However, when we sat down to order we noticed a lot of up-charges on JSRW items. No worries. I really wanted to taste the dumplings which, when they arrived, were only 4 small dumplings with not much flavor. I ordered the duck, extra crispy, and hubby ordered the salmon. When the duck came it was cooked medium but very chewy and fatty. I could barely eat it and there was nothing else on the plate except for some kind of slaw item. Hubby's salmon was OK but nothing special. Drinks were outrageously priced. All in all, nice place and I would probably go back for "Angry Hour" but dinner?....Maybe not. read more

I've been to David Burke Fromagerie and Ama Ristorante many times and this is their combined reincarnation. We were seated promptly but then ignored for a bit, but then the service picked up. Cocktail list was creative and not too pricey. The pastrami salmon was excellent. The shaved artichokes with arugula and parmesan wasn't as good as the one previously at Ama, but still good. Excellent Branzino and spinach and mushrooms. All in all an excellent meal. I'm sure it will only improve over time. read more

So disappointed. The food was mediocre. Ordered the bacon and it arrived cold. The lobster risotto special had 1 small piece of lobster the rest was mussels. My husband ordered the $55 strip steak and it came with nothing! not a potatoe or a veggie. And it was tough. Won't be back. read more

Absolutely the worst Thanksgiving dinner....ever.!!I'm 55...We waited over an 1 hour for our 4pm reservation....It's gets worse...Service was 1 person for 11 people, no clearing help and finally after 3 1/2 hours still no desert. We took it to go paid the check got he hell out of there. If i could give it a Zero I would. No never felt so compelled to write this review. David Burke you better get better management! Truly Pathetic. read more

There really are no other words other than to say, OMG!!! We started with the octopus and chorizo kabobs, I had the ginger & beet salmon and my boyfriend had the bison short ribs, and everything was absolutely amazing! The staff is equally amazing, especially the hostess. Will definitely be coming back for more! read more

Standard and nothing too special. The wait staff are great. The wine list is very limited. I ordered oysters and mussels as appetizer and ordered their salt aged porterhouse for 2 for dinner. The oysters bordered on inedible. They were not rotten but close to it and a dozen oysters were served in a bed of ice on a 10 inch plate!! The mussels were ok but no better than a take out pizza place's. The mussels at the previous AMA restaurant that occupied this space before were sensational. When I compare them, drifthouse is very disappointing. The steak was good but not sensational! It wouldn't hold a candle to even a chain steakhouse like Morton's or Ruth Chris... but maybe better than local steakhouses in Monmouth County. read more

I haven't attended the actual restaurant yet but the tiki bar is amazing! We had a bar pie that was delicious, prices were reasonable and staff was friendly and fantastic. The wings looked ridiculously good. We look forward to the full restaurant soon after having a "taste" of it at the tiki. read more

David Burke did it again! Creative fun dishes... consistently solid food... always surprising presentation... and great location. LOVE it

Everything was fantastic! Food was delicious and service was on point! My new favorite place to enjoy filet ;-)

Beyond disappointed in the service !!!! We've eaten at the Red Horse and had an exceptional experience ... from food to service. Tonight we expected similar at another David Burke restaurant. Boy were we wrong. To be clear - the food was very good... from the bacon ap to the entrees. But we didn't even stay for dessert because - at 2 hours in - our waitress couldn't be found and we were asking other waiters for drinks, to fix our wobbling table, for water etc. and to find our waitress. In fact, at one point we saw her, waved her down and asked fir some bread. She said " I can bring you more" to which we replied " we never got ANY"!!! Topping off the service debacle ( after having her take away our plates by stacking them on top of one another like a cheap diner) we paid the $159 and change bill for 2 people and were give $40 change. It's not about the Pennies she shorted us, obviously, but how dare you round up in favor OF THE RESTAURANT!!!!!! The nerve!!! Other tables seemed to have more attentive servers, so maybe we were just unlucky ... perhaps avoid the window seat overlooking the pool area if you choose to visit read more

You're definitely not in Kansas (NYC) anymore !! I know we live in NJ, but sub par from his NYC restaurants. Staff needs additional training and HEART. Seems (partially) thrown together. Not even your bacon was up to par. We have made it a point to dine at all DB restaurants, near and far. Sitting outside was disappointing, I didn't realize it overlooked a cabana community pool. Oh well. The inside Decor was tasteful, as always. The steak is always wonderful!!! Have a cake pop, or more. read more

I brought my sister here for her 40th birthday. The staff was very hospitable, courteous, and kind. The beverages were made to perfection and refreshing. The food was spectacular. My bison short rib was succulent, my sister's squid ink linguini was to die for, with hints of spice. Our desserts were so moist, and rich. I must commend the chefs at work for their masterpieces. If you would like to go out for a phenomenal dinner with incredible drinks served to you by an outstanding staff, go to Drifthouse by David Burke. read more

This has easily been my favorite meal in NJ... ever. Our dinner started with oversized popovers for the table. For appetizers, we got the Pretzel Crusted Crab Cakes, which is as much of a visual treat as it is to your taste buds; and Brussels Sprouts, which I just have to order everywhere I go. I had one of the specials for the day, the Strawberry Gazpacho with Jumbo Lump Crab, which was the perfectttt summer dish. My friend had the Lobster Cavatelli which had heaps of lobster meat in it, and my other friend had the Branzino. Every dish was beautifully plated and the menu items were incredibly unique with flavors that I'll be dreaming about for weeks to come. Even though we were full, the desserts were calling our name, so we ordered the Toasted Coconut Layer Cake and really splurged with the Chocolate Cake "Baked in a Tin" which is a show all by itself. It even comes out with a tasty surprise right beforehand! We had several of the cocktails which were all innovative without being overly complex. The vibe was pretty nice too, with deck seats overlooking the pool and beach. My advice -- try one of the specials! Chef is always experimenting with new ingredients and flavors, and you can tell that a lot of ingenuity and passion goes into each and every one of his dishes. read more

Four of us went here on Sunday night. We were seated right on time for our reservation. We shared 3 appetizers: lobster dumplings, the eggplant tower special and the artichoke salad. All 3 were very good. Entrees were very good as well, the branzino, linguine and rigatoni were delicious. Drink prices are a bit high but the food value seemed very reasonable. We drove past on a Saturday night and the traffic and crowds on a Saturday may alter the service but our server William was excellent. read more

Everything was superb from valet (Ron) to atmosphere "Art from Detour Art Gallery" to service at the bar, Veronica. We drank delicious Bere Sangiovese by the glass, shrimp cocktail app - amazingly chilled, crisp; Caesar Salad dressed just right; Organic roast chicken, crispy skin, moist flavorful meat inside; flourless chocolate cake that was light and full of rich, dark chocolate flavor, not too sweet. All was wonderful. read more

Had my B'day dinner there 3 weeks ago. They were accommodating when we asked to be switched to in-door dining at the last second. The staff was attentive but not overbearing and our waiter served us up a few laughs, which is always nice. Food was good, the Organic Chicken was delightfully delicious. This is definitely a place to revisit and recommend. read more

What a great change from what Ama was the last couple years. The ambiance was nice, but it always has been. The food was spectacular. It had the David Burke feel, that DB presentation you expect and everything was great. We started with the bacon and artichoke salad. Both were excellent. My wife and I both had steaks that were perfectly cooked and both delicious. The pasta course was also phenomenal. We loved it so much that we want to bring our kids there for an upcoming burger night. We will definitely be back! read more