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

O U T S T A N D I N G. If I could give them 100 stars I would! Food was delicious but Janice who took care of us was tremendous! We had a party of 11 and the night could not have been more beautiful! read more

We were a table of two couples, and planned for a nice mea on our last night on vacation. We were here earlier in the week and had amazing food and even more amazing service and could t wait to go back. Our waiter the second time back was the furthest from the service we experienced previously. When our cocktail drinks were brought, I mentioned that they are missing the garnish and the cherry in it, and to that he replied "oh I forgot". From there it only got worse. The waiter was preoccupied with other tables that arrived much longer after we did, and while we were waiting for our meals to come out I asked for a glass of wine to have with my steak. Five minutes later our meals arrived, and 10 minutes after that our wine came out. I had to stop eating my meal to wait for my drink, as my meal would have been finished with no drink in hand. Also, we asked for bread after our appetizers since we noticed every other table had bread, and reminded the waiter 2 more times about the bread that WE NEVER RECEIVED!!! I don't expect this kind of service when you are going out and spending the type of money on a meal. All that being said, the food was phenomenal and wish I could tell you about their fresh bread that tastes delicious! I wish we had our same waitress from the previous day and didn't get stuck with our unfortunate waiter that didn't give two sh*ts..... read more

I went to the Drifthouse a little while ago with some friends and we had a spectacular evening, the food amazing, the service outstanding, the ambiance on point, what else can I say but I'll be back for more. My only complaint is that I didn't order more. I started with the Squash blossoms a most bold and refined dish. Than for my entree I dared to try the skirt steak, served a fine medium rare. The young man who served me sold us perfectly on everything. He recommended a drink with Mr. Hendricks which is the perfect summer cocktail. To top it all off we ended the night on the cake by the ocean. Everything was spectacular. read more

David Burke you should be ashamed of yourself. Upon arrival early for our 7:00, we took a seat at the bar. The bar tender was very friendly and outgoing. Unfortunately, I chose a drink called something like a watermelon Pisco. I asked if the watermelon in the drink was fresh watermelon or a watermelon syrup. He promptly said "fresh." Great! I love watermelon! The drink was a tiny glass FILLED with ice and filled with a liquid that was perfectly clear almost all the way to the bottom with a very slight tint of pink at the VERY bottom of the glass. I took a sip and it literally tasted like ice water! No alcohol detected, and definitely NO WATERMELON! Not even a tiny hint of watermelon flavor. For $13 I think? It's on me that I didn't say anything to the bartended. I should have, but he was so nice, I kept my mouth shut and drank a completely tasteless and pricey glass of nothing. We then had dinner. Silly me, I expected a quality meal at a David Burke restaurant with fine dining prices to match. First the bread. Four of the stalest dinner rolls you have ever tasted. Dry, tasteless, and hard like cardboard. Then the burrata and "ASPARAGUS" app and the lobster dumpling app comes out . The burrata "and asparagus" had *ONE* 2 inch piece of an asparagus stalk---not even from the top of an asparagus, just ONE tiny bottom piece of stalk thrown on this plate that is supposed to be a burrata AND asparagus offering! The dough of the lobster dumplings was like MUSH. I've had better dumplings from the freezer section of the grocery store. The expensive halibut entree was clearly FROZEN halibut, as there is always a VERY discernible difference in taste, look, and texture between fresh and frozen with any fish, but particularly halibut! FROZEN halibut should NOT be served in a fine dining restaurant and certainly not for $40!!! And lastly, the delicious cheesecake tree we once enjoyed at a DB restaurant in NY, now has "pops" on it that are SO TINY, you taste mostly the STICK in your mouth when you bite into it! SO TINY they were a joke. I remember the cheesecake tree from a few years ago in NYC and they were a nice size and you were actually biting into something! And now at Drift House they are a sad rip off. You can't even discern the different "flavors" as there is barely any coating on them at all. Will never go back. David Burke you should really show up unannounced at Drift House and see what they are putting out under YOUR name. read more

The food at Drifthouse is very good. We both had the seasonal pumpkin soup with rock shrimp, though a few more shrimp (they gave three tiny rock shrimp for a large bowl) would have made it even better. We had delicious octopus and scallop Vera Cruz and well-prepared salmon as our entrees, followed by excellent cappuccinos. I wish I could say the same for the service. Our server never cracked a smile. She never bothered to refill our water glasses (the hostess noticed they were empty and refilled them herself). She never asked how our entrees were. She never even asked if we wanted second martinis until she cleared our entrees and we were ready for dessert, at which point I told her that we would have ordered seconds on drinks had she asked earlier. She merely nodded. The wait staff in general is very young, which is not a problem in and of itself, except they are not trained in the "art" of serving. When food is aesthetically and tastefully prepared, and the prices match that art, most people expect service of equal standard. Unfortunately, no one has taught these servers what it means to "serve". read more

Great spot! However is propane ok to torch food, like bacon a string or cheese on top of French onion soup? I thought it had to be Butane, not propane.? Propane torch used smells horrible... read more

Third time dining here and it's been great every time. Delicious and beautiful dishes and deserts. The bacon on a clothesline and octopus & chorizo skewers are outstanding. Mains are fresh and creative. Desert was fantastic! The view was beautiful, nothing better than dinner overlooking the ocean on a nice summer evening. read more

Service is not at the level you would have expect for a "celebrity chef" restaurant. Very slow and unorganized. Food was just ok. Way overpriced. Very underwhelmed. read more

David Burke definitely has a sweet tooth. Everything was too sweet: Brussels sprouts, clothesline bacon, famous popovers. The Caesar salad was like a cafeteria salad with no flavor and a ton of croutons. The lobster bisque tasted like it was thickened with corn starch. Our Chateaubriand was delicious and cooked to perfection. Yummy mashed potatoes, too. Overall, the whole experience felt gimmicky, and the atmosphere feels corporate. If you're in the area, skip this place and go to Beach Tavern. It's fabulous!! Always. read more

I had a horrible experience at this restaurant. The place is very loud and our waitress was practically comatose. To say the service was slow is an understatement. I tried the chef's "trademarked" aged porterhouse for $110. You are better off buying a steak from shoprite, running it over with your car 4 or 5 times then over cook it and it will taste the same. The mussels were mostly just empty shells. They serve this appetizer which is bacon on a clothes line, it is really 3 strips of bacon clothespinned to a string. They charge almost $20 for this?!?! The restaurant is overpriced and over rated. read more

Worst customer service I have ever experienced. We were excited to try this place with the COVID seating restrictions allowing patrons to dine outdoors. We called 30 minutes ahead to confirm seating availability and it was confirmed by the manager Nicholas. Upon arrival we were asked for a reservation and we explained that we were told over the phone that we should just come in no reservation required. They made us wait 45 minutes only to tell us they could not seat us this evening. Even with people waiting to be sat as well. The manager was horribly rude, insincere, and unapologetic about wasting our time. He denied ever confirming us to come in I'm not sure why we specifically were turned away... horrible staff do not waste your money here. read more

This should not be called a David Burke restaurant. The service was poor, they were not attentive in the way you'd expect from David Burke. They also were not good at helping with food allergies. We received food at the wrong time and temperature. They severely over cooked a very expensive steak. And then finished the night giving us less than we asked for in our to go box. Nothing about the experience justified the price. read more

Very good food service was a little slow but worth going to - a little expensive but we have a great time

Service wasn't great and simple ordering instructions were ignored. Food was not cooked properly and was overpriced for quality received.

Have to give this restaurant one star because after making a reservation through opentable.com for 4:00 PM today my husband and I were there a few minutes early so we waited in the car. We tried the front door and it was locked. Then we tried calling several times and just kept getting recorded message. Finally of course we left and went to another restaurant in the area. Of course I also checked their website and yes it said they opened at 4PM. OK DRIFTHOUSE what goes. Are you out of business? read more

Last night we celebrated our 27th anniversary and took a ride to Sea Bright to have dinner at the DRIFTHOUSE and it was worth the drive and traffic we hit on a Friday evening. We started with east coast oysters, grilled octopus on skewers, salmon carpaccio for starters. Had salmon over bok choy as our main dish. Everything was prepared perfect! Our waiter (forgot his name) was so attentive & pleasant it was a fabulous experience. Have to mention that David himself was there. Came over to talk and made our experience even better! read more

Gave this place a second chance recently, but to no avail. The atmosphere is ok but the service is appalling. The wait staff simply doesn't care. They're smug and have attitude. Prices are high Food is mediocre at best, portions are small, (wait for them to bring bread..all 4 stale slices for a table of 4) ridiculous - best advice-Find yourself another restaurant this place won't be here in a year. read more

I had brunch this past Sunday and not only was the food delicious, but the service was beyond accommodating. I was with family celebrating birthdays and spent a decent amount of time in the outside seating area. We were never rushed and were attended to the entire time by our extremely patient and knowledgeable waiter, Tim. The GM Alexander is extremely welcoming and made the dining experience wonderful, including answering all our questions with great detail. The food and drinks were amazing and the environment and view were just as great. Would definitely recommend and will be back in the near future! read more

I can't really believe I'm writing this because if I don't have something good to say I generally don't publicly say anything. But horrible. Jeez. Great service. Lots of staff. But horrible food. Had the octopus and chorizo app. Greasy. Tasteless. Ooof. My wife had the short ribs. Salty. Period. And I had the soft shell crabs. One of my favorite things in the world. Probably my forte is at Brightsons in New Orleans. Great spot in general. But David Aargh! I mean really insulting. Coated in soggy flour. Just horrible. So sorry. I wanted it to be great. We were very excited to go but for goodness sakes ... Btw we're huge foodies. Pretty good cooks ourselves. Have eaten our way around the entire world. Eat everywhere. Locally Love love Angelica's. Really like Second Jetty. Bahrs is Bahrs so lives up to its expectation. But this was shockingly bad. Again sorry. read more

Food was very good, unfortunately the service was not very good and certainly didn't match the upscale food and prices. The poor service took away from the overall experience. read more

My wife and I went there last Wednesday night at the bar had eight people the barber came over gave us some mortar very polite it took 12 minutes for the bartender to acknowledge us at the other end of the bar as the people at the bar already had their drinks and he was just socializing. We ordered appetizers they came out in about 4 minutes product was warm at best we are the grilled octopus with chorizo it was cold we asked him to take it back it said they for 20 minutes he never took it back we asked the barback lady for the check she alerted the bartender who came over gave us the track and said oh by the way I have your stuff coming out and we told him we're not interested don't waste your time on money at this place read more

Delicious food! Go on a Tuesday night for the burger special ($29) which comes with a glass of wine, a starter and cotton candy for dessert. Lobster roll is an option on burger night too. Don't skip the clothesline bacon - it's delicious! Kale Caesar is a nice salad option. read more

Six of us went for dinner. We all found the food and the service to be mediocre. One of us had to return the mussels entre because it was so bad. I ordered the crab cake and it had no flavour. The one dish that was good was the Maple Bacon on a Clothesline. read more

Where to begin! First, the ambience...great room with comfortable seating, great artwork and a cool vibe. We had a wonderful server who went over specials with us, checked with the kitchen for special food accommodations and was attentive and professional. The appetizers were unbelievable...the octopus, the bacon, the oysters and the artichoke endive salad was a great combination of starters. My friends who have certain dietary restrictions were accommodated and each and every dish was as good as the next. My coconut cake was as light and refreshing and the cheesecakes pops were presented BEAUTIFULLY! Definitely a restaurant I will come back to again and again. read more

Same setup and atmosphere as Ama. The name implies the chef is a big deal but the food is pretty average...My steak was rare instead of medium and I had to send it back. I'm not saying it's bad- it is good- but it's one of those places where you're paying for the location, not for super food and drinks. read more

First time since it was ama...went for happy hour with some friends, so disappointed that I was told they only had one Chardonnay! Asked to taste, which I didundrinkable!!! Mentioned to the staff that they may consider adding some chards to their list! I was then told they have a French Chardonnay offered by the glass, which was very good but $18 a glass!!! When out with a group, it's not fair to order that high end, since we are all splitting the check!!! Right? When I mentioned that, it was suggested that I just order a bottle from the wine list...I only wanted an acceptable glass of California Chardonnay or maybe 2!!! Didn't feel they were very receptiveburgers were very good, but won't be going back unfortunatelyeven Donovan's serves josh Chardonnay! read more

We recently had a party for my daughter at Drifthouse and it couldn't of been any more perfect! The food was DELICIOUS, the room looked beautiful, and the staff was beyond helpful. All our guest couldn't stop talking about how much they enjoyed everything! I also can't thank the manager, Alexander, enough for all his help. From the day we booked the party, he was there to answer any questions and make sure the day went smoothly. We had such a memorable time and we can't wait to be back soon! read more

Went for dinner on a Saturday night. Very crowded and noisy. Were seated very quickly. Took a very long time for cocktails..waitress was very apologetic....Mussel appetizer was very good. Salads were disappointing. Halibut entre was spongy and dry. Pork chop was good. Duck entres were served room temperature as if they sat waiting for the other entres to be finished. They were kind enough to re do the duck dishes and make them on the house. Dessert and coffee was good. That being said, we probably won't return to this location. We've been to other David Burke restaurants and expected a much better experience for the price/reputation. read more

My family and I arrived at this restaurant at 6:30 and were not out until 9:45. Our food took forever and my children's pasta was cold and dry. The only acceptable thing here was the desserts. I must say though the employees were very nice and understanding. read more

This restaurant was disgusting I went with six other kids who all ordered pasta and bacon as an appetizer. First off the drinks we ordered took thirty minutes to come. Second of all the bacon was all fat and basically inedible, the bacon took an hour to come out. Then our food came after two hours. The pasta was cold and dry and came in extremely small portions, to sum it up it was horrible. I do not recommend this restaurant read more

My wife and I had dinner there recently because I won "dinner for 2" through a social media contest that David Burke was running. The experience was amazing from start to finish. From contacting the GM (Alexander) to make the reservation, to the warm greeting we received by the hostess when we arrived, to the prompt and friendly service from the bartender as we had a cocktail before dinner and especially from our server (David) throughout our dinner. Food, service and atmosphere all deserve 5 stars. It is by far one of our favorite go-to places. If you have not dined there before I highly recommend it. read more

Warning all discerning Monmouth county diners! if you want to keep your palate in fine form, don't visit this slop house! My wife and I have been fans of Ama for many years but this place just went from the sublime to the ridiculous....David Burke's laissez-faire approach to his restaurants just got even worse..he should be paying you to eat here! read more

My husband and I went to DRIFTHOUSE to celebrate our anniversary. We had been to AMA many times and enjoyed it and were looking forward to trying DRIFTHOUSE. We sat down and it took a while for our waiter to come over. While looking over the menu we asked if there were any specials and the waiter said "everything on the menu is special." We ordered and our appetizer came. We had small bread plates and started to eat our appetizer on these plates and then someone brought us appetizer plates. We realized at that time we didn't get bread and confirmed this with the couple next to us. We asked our waiter and he said "Oh I was just going to get it." We said forget the bread since we already ate our appetizers. While waiting for our entrees we overheard our waiter offer specials to the table next to us. My husband asked the waiter about this and he said the chef just added them. First of all it was 9pm, are specials added this late? Secondly, the special was a type of soup that would need to cook for hours, so obviously it couldn't just be added on. This is where it really went downhill. We got our entrees and were eating them. Our waiter never came over to ask how everything is or if we needed anything. He never gen topped offf our wine glasses. The maitre d came over and asked how we were enjoying everything and we asked her to sit down so we could explain what had happened. Her response was more than disappointing. She said "we're only open for 2months and we hope it will get better." After that she brought us some type of appetizer which was not good. When we finished our meals, our plates were cleared and our waiter didn't even speak to us. He set down the dessert menu and that's it. Needless to say we didn't have coffee or dessert since we were so disappointed. For us the expectation for an upscale dining experience is not only great food but great service. It's a shame that this happened to such a great restaurant. We would never return to DRIFTHOUSE. read more

I came here for Fathers Day with my family and I had an amazing experience! It has a nice ocean view that is beautiful.The service was great and everyone was very welcoming. Since we were a large group we had plenty of appetizers and they were all phenomenal!! My steak was excellent and as well as the desserts. I definitely would come back and recommend this restaurant. read more

Whoever gives this place more than one star is lying or had an anomaly of an experience. Tried this place twice and both times were a huge disappointment! All the food is bland and average. Nothing was impressive; not the food, not the absentminded staff, not the atmosphere. Our special drink was blended with ingredients that clashed. Our meals were missing MAIN ingredients. Staff was frazzled. BIG PASS ON DRIFTHOUSE. Thumbs down. read more

I'm not a fan of burgers, and they seem to all taste the same. I ended up sitting at bar, had the bartender Danny recommend this so called "patented dry aged burger". All said and done. I literally had the best burger in my 31 years of existence. read more

Delicious dinner with a nice ocean view. Service and food were excellent. Eggplant tower and shrimp and octopus Veracruz were both very good. They accommodated my husbands allergies very well. And the best part was that I left my purse at the table and they came after us to return it! Nice people. Highly recommend. read more

Loved it. We always liked David Burke's Formagerie but hadn't made it to here until tonight. It was a slow night but it was lovely Cara, our waitress was knowledgeable and attentive. The food and drinks were perfect. Every bit of the evening was perfect. This is truly a chef's restaurant. Try the toasted coconut cake, it's not like what you'd expect, it's light and creamy. Not a single bad moment in our evening. Loved it. read more

We went there last night for my birthday. Four adults and four kids (ages 14, 14, 12 and 11). Our waitress, Brianne, was amazing. The service was great. The food and drinks outstanding. Five of the 8 at the table had steaks and raved about them; my husband commented on how well it was seasoned and perfectly cooked. Our favorites were the clothesline bacon, hipster fries, octopus and chorizo (the octopus was so tender), the halibut was very fresh and desserts were amazing (the coconut cake was out of this world). We will definitely be returning. The only downside was the entrance was hard to find--it is inside the club, so you have to go in the seahorse doors. I just wish it had a better sign. read more