this used to be one of the best places for a great burger or roasted clams and steak fries. the changes they made to the menu is very disappointing and the food is not as good as it used to be. been going here for 25 years plus. time to look else where in the neigborhood.for good food and drinks!! why change what wasnt broken!!! read more

Friday, a friend and I went to Harpoons in Wall to find they had a new menu. They changed everything and my favorite item was Knife and Fork. They had a burger, crab cake on spinach and sauce on top instead of lobster.Hard pressed to find something to eat. I went there regularly and not pleased. The positive thing is they remodeled and the bathrooms are so much better. read more

Went there last evening for a special birthday dinner for my son's 50th birthday. Upon entering we needed to ask to be seated by someone standing at a table looking completely uninvolved. We were never told until we were seated that there was a very limited menu due to their te-opening. The pretzel appetizer was huge but the cheese sauce could benefit from some flavor. The burgers were tasteless, even the onions were flat and the bacon ( which they forgot) was undercooked. The one waitress was overwhelmed as it appeared she was serving both the bar patrons and the tables. Will not return as this was a bummer of a birthday celebration . Also no fries for the burgers just some chips from a bag read more

I came here for dinner with a group of 3 people over Labor Day weekend. We ordered the baked clams appetizer, the bay scallops appetizer, the grilled shrimp with pineapple/black bean salsa special, and the shrimp/calamari fra diavolo special. The specials were a great deal since they were only $9.99 each and the portions were large. The clams were fresh. The scallops were perfectly seared. The grilled shrimp had a good char and the salsa was delicious. The fra diavolo sauce was spicy and there was a lot of shrimp/calamari. The best dish was the grilled shrimp with pineapple and black bean salsa. Service was a bit slow but it was a bit crowded. The view of the river was nice from the backyard. I would come back if I'm ever in the area. read more

Harpoon Willy's - Grilled Shrimp with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa - Seafood Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

Great food and the bartender and waitresses are very nice and a great atmosphere Ronnie L

We like to sit at the bar and grab a beer and a burger. The bartenders are always friendly and attentive. It's a nice casual vibe!

The menu is way to big. The food was just meh... edible and nothing to be excited about. Kinda makes me think, with such a big menu, what does the fridge look like? read more

The staff was friendly the food was terrific and the ambiance comfortable. Dinner with out of town family and this place did not disappoint. Always a good choice. read more

I grew up in Brielle and have been to Harpoon Willies enough times to receive mail there. I recently visited my home town and took my sister here for our annual lunch. After all these years, it is still a cozy, fun and a fine establishment with consistently good comfort food and the staff are accommodating, always smiling and courteous. read more

Very disappointed in our last visit here and we've been going for years. Sarah was our server and she seemed annoyed to serve us, maybe because she had tables inside and outside? Tuna was overcooked when we asked for medium rare, and the roast beef sandwich special was cold. Place is good for views of the river, the drinks and the live music. Sarah still got the 18% tip as she was hovering over us with her machine to charge our credit card, but she deserved nothing as the food runners did all of the work. We will not be returning anytime soon and we will not be recommending this place to anyone again. read more

Good, fresh seafood. Great Service! Homey! I have been coming here since the days when it was the Red Ranch. It would be nice to have music again! read more

If you go, order a Coke for a drink. Really lousy pours of wine and liquor at higher prices.

Been going to Harpoon's over a decade - Great food and service as always. Had lunch at the bar today with 2 friends and asked for small plate to share some food with my girlfriend. Was told there is now a $10 "plate sharing fee" if the bartender provided an additional plate - at the bar at 12pm??? Bartender also said the if she provided an additional fork she would have to charge the $10 sharing fee per management. Could careless about the $14 drinks, $20 hamburgers or whatever the food charges may be - Would hope management would rethink this new policy - I will not be coming back. read more

Food service and great cocktails all very good. Nice views and atmosphere. Highly recommend the seared tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes!

Came here on a lovely warm spring night just before sunset and sat outside with a beautiful view of the Manasquan River. The shrimp cocktail were okay. The veggie burger was tasty. Great for a casual dinner with friends or family. read more

Harpoon Willy's - Pretty outdoor seating view - Seafood Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

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It was 14.00 for an IPA beer here slad was a great salad. My son's chicken fingers were definitely done. My beef stroganoff was very good. The 103.00 bill was ....... read more

A dear friend of mine suggested this restaurant to me years ago so I started taking my family here when I was in town. The last visit I came here with my sister and husband for lunch. The cocktail menu had changed and the drinks are really strong. The waitress was too kind and exchanged it for a berry Mojito. Everything here is always delicious this visit I had a burger cooked to perfection medium rare with Swiss cheese and mushrooms. As a side I had Cole slaw which was made on premises and complimented the burger. My brother in law had a burger as well with spinach on top. He also had sweet potato fries that I stole. My sister has more self control and had a salmon encrusted in pistachio salad. I went for the comfort food instead, to each his own. There is something for everyone here. Free parking outside and it was a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon so we were lucky to get a spot. As well as our seats were next to a window and has great views of the water. I look forward to my next visit already. read more

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Meh. The loudest, noisiest restaurant I've been to in a long time. Crowded, which means it's popular with a certain type of Jersey Shore locals who drive Jeeps, pickups and GMC vehicles -- the overcrowded parking lot was full of them. Typical pub fare, with a very decent burger. The Onion and Gorgonzola burger however was quite good I must say and service was friendly but pedestrian ("you guys", this and "you guys" that -- so inappropriate when a woman is present!) My positive remarks stop there. Despite the decent burger, I see no good reason to ever go back there. read more

Visited 06/27/2019 Stopped by "Willy's" on a day trip down the shore. No ocean view, but the bay and marina view are still pretty nice. The Mrs. and I shared the Ahi tuna poke (cubed yellow fin tuna with sesame, soy, wasabi cream & asian slaw) which was delicious. My wife had their lobster fennel salad (fresh lobster, shaved fennel, red leaf lettuce, pistachios & brie cheese with honey poppy vinaigrette). My wife did not care for the honey poppy vinaigrette, so our waiter happily brought the cilantro lime vinaigrette I had with my salad. This she enjoyed very much. I had the Cabo shrimp salad (blackened shrimp over arugula with black beans, pineapple, avocado, jalapeños, tomato, cucumber, fried tortillas & cilantro lime vinaigrette. Excellent. A nice glass of Pinot Grigio for the Mrs. and a glass of water for me... and we were back on the road heading home. Happy to stop here anytime. read more

I had a private dinner event in the Inlet Room last weekend for my 60th Birthday. It was an absolutely perfect event. They absolutely exceeded my expectations. The service, food and room were all great. I can't rave enough about my experience. read more

Cool bar, and lively, upbeat vibe and atmosphere in the dining area. Not the case however, in the side room adjacent to the front door. We had a party of 11- so understand the need to accommodate us there. But- really- can you make a little bit of an effort to connect that room to the rest of the restaurant...otherwise you might as well be seated in a random overflow room in a soon to be, defunct banquet hall; in the middle of pretty much no where. Have generally enjoyed the food on other occasions- but this was a struggle. It appears the kitchen staff does not how to cook meat. Several friends ordered burgers that were dry, overcooked, and tasteless. I was feeling adventurous, and ordered the Strip special - MRare. had to send it back as it was full on Well Done. 15 minutes later I got a new, Well Done Strip. Other food orders were uninspiring. Not much else to say here read more

Good solid place to grab a bite to eat. Was pleased with most of the meal. Ordered an entree salad with salmon and thought it was pretty good! read more

Stopped in while in the area!! Great little spot, bartender was great and service was spot on.. will definitely go back.. read more

I have been going to 'Poons' for YEARS, never having to experience such terrible service and food. Waitress took order, drinks etc. Food came out, asked for mayo. Waited about 20 minutes (Not busy for a lunch time as in past). Rather then wait for food to get totally cold, I began to eat my burger (who USED to be the best game in town), it was petrified, flavorless. 25 min later, waitress cames back with my mayo. By this point, burger was disppointedly ate. I told waitress, 'you can take back that mayo, no need for it now I needed it for the burger', poor girl looked 'stupified'. Then asked 'Why is the burger so done' I was told 'I don't know I didnt cook it'. SHE would have known sooner, had she brought back that mayo and asked 'is everything ok'. I didn't observe crazy busy, but did observe alot of conversing with another, rather then helping another along. I know its hard to find people to work, BUT surely can do without a snotnosed, disrespectful person with a nose ring expecting a tip. SHE got her tip, one of which reluctantly given. Sorry Harpoons, time for a new place that takes pride in people and product read more

Food was great! Service was fantastic! The view is pretty. The establishment is adorable! Always have a good time here!

Service and ambiance AOK. The view is great. But my tuna BLT, ordered medium rare, came well done. Because of the timelimit I accepted the food, but I regret that decision, because about an hour later I had explosive diarrhea... My wife's bang bang shrimp were fine. The bill was just over $60. read more

Even before getting in the truck and taking that ride south on the Garden State Parkway for a five day getaway on the Jersey shore, my wife had already made up her mind that we needed to visit Harpoon Willy's. And being a doting husband she got no argument from me. It was also a big plus that dear friends of ours live in the area and recommended the place. The outdoor seating is very comfortable, plenty of picnic tables set up on the back lawn overlooking the Manasquan River. We met up with our friends and sat down for an evening of good food and great company. Our waitress Trish was a breath of fresh air. She kept us in stitches and actually made me blush which is very hard to do. We placed our orders. We started with a nachos appetizer that oozed with melted cheese, onions, jalapeños and black beans. I ordered a soup of the day that was a seafood chowder filled with shrimp, crabmeat and scallops. It was piping hot and delicious. Trish came by and took our entree orders. Seared scallops, a Cabo Shrimp salad, Herbed seasoned salmon and a Chicken Milanesa. Our meals were brought out to us by Eric, the restaurant manager who came out to greet us. A very nice touch on his part and this kind of attention is what keeps the customers coming back. We all enjoyed our meals as much as we enjoyed the company. Although the place was full and all the tables were occupied we were allowed to just sit and chat without being rushed. We ended out dinner with a few coffees and some tiramisu for dessert. We almost hated to leave, but unlike my wife and I on vacation, our friends have to work in the morning. So we said our good nights with the satisfaction of knowing that we will definitely be back to pay Willy's another visit, after all we're just an hour and a half up the road! read more

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Recommend getting a reservation. Had to wait an hour and 20 minutes to get a table. My boyfriends had a scallop dinner, and it only came with four scallops for $32. I am a Vegetarian and the only thing they had I could eat was a veggie burger. It was good but it was $16 and they charged an extra $1.50 each for mushrooms and cheese on it. The drinks were Just ok and expensive! read more

We had a beautiful night overlooking the water at harpoon Willy's. This was my first time at this restaurant. We really enjoyed our appetizer of chicken wings. They were delicious. The restaurant was very busy and the wait staff handled it without a blink of the eye. I had the tuna steak that came out overcooked. Not to worry the staff wisked it away and brought me back a perfectly cooked rare steak. I love the sauce that came with with it. I was a bit underwhelmed by vegetables that came with the tuna, they were just meh. Again, I'm sure that the kitchen was very very busy so the presentation was not as thought out as it could have been. Honestly I was just happy to be out at a restaurant. All in all our experience was very positive. I would recommend Harpoon Willy's. The atmosphere was very festive sitting on the lawn. Drinks for cold and my Cosmo was perfect. read more

HW continues to deliver some of the tastiest tavern food at the Jersey shore. They are way better than the typical Irish bars that dot the shore line in Monmouth County. Beautiful scenery last night with snow falling, fireplace burning, lights twinkling and a serene view of the Manasquan river to enjoy. Their burgers are still the best around hands down and they are grilled right in front of you at the bar. If you are in the mood for fried shrimp, you can order them by the pound and they are perhaps the best fried shrimp I've ever eaten. All of this comes at a price as they are not cheap and don't go looking for any happy hour deals here, but do give them a try if you have not already. read more

Disappointing. My husband and I tried this place based on other people's reviews for the first time but were sadly disappointed. We made a reservation for 6:00 PM on a Sunday but arrived 30 minutes early and were accommodated very easily. However, after being seated and placing our order, it seemed to take longer than normal to receive the appetizer, Melt Away. We could see that other patrons were seated after us but received their appetizers before us. My husband also ordered a glass of wine that took more than 10 minutes to arrive at our table. The Melt Away was delicious. Lump crab, scallops, & gulf shrimp fondue served in bread bowl w/ vegetables. My husband was not thrilled with the celery sticks or broccoli, but I liked it with the bread and celery sticks. For the main course, we both selected the seafood special of shrimp, mussels, scallops, lobster, and linguine with tomato and spinach. The portions were large but the lobster was tough/ overcooked and over half of the mussels were missing because they were overcooked too. Our waiter did not ask how our meal was going and took a long time between courses to come to our table. We are not sure if it was just the waiter and the day of the week that made this experience less than appealing. read more

Harpoon Willy's - Seafood Special: Shrimp, Scallops, Mussels, Lobster, Tomato, Spinach, Linguine - Seafood Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

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I'm really truly terribly upset that this review had to turn this way. I have been pushing off writing it because I'm just really disappointed that this couldn't have been resolved other ways. I came to Harpoon Willy's on July 1st with my boyfriend and if I had written this review as soon as I had gotten into the car after dinner, this would've been a 5 star review. The ugly came the day after. I will certainly spare the details of how terribly ill I felt for 2 and a half days after I ate this meal, but it was ugly. I woke up the next morning with a sharp pain in abdomen and was very surprised to have had food poisoning after this meal. I called the restaurant after the meal just to try to inform them that I believe I got so sick because of the lobster I ate (my boyfriend ordered something else) and the manager honestly didn't care at all; I guess I expected a little sympathy when I say I have been ~in the restroom~ for days after. Maybe invite us again to make it better? Guess not. Anyways super disappointed to have spent over $100 on dinner and feeling like garbage for so long after without a care from management. Anyways, the dinner was yummy I guess lol. read more

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Harpoon Willy's (née The Red Ranch), might have the distinction of being the most southern restaurant in Monmouth County. This landmark is located on the banks of the Manasquan River neighboring two boatyards. This historic waterfront setting is a draw for locals and tourists, especially in the summer season. The atmosphere and dress is casual. They do cater to groups. Dinner reservations are recommended especially in season and they accept most credit cards. There was also live music. However, my experience was not that great this time, considering I have been here 10+ times. There were two things that irked me, one being the appys are very small for the price and the noise level is almost unbearable, making it kinda difficult for conversation. This venue is just a place to be seen and noshing on good food. read more

Delicious food great vibe. Even Management brings food out and makes sure everyone is happy. It is loud on the weekend but Im ok with that. read more

I went their for dinner tonight. First of all felt very rushed appetizers came out then meal right away. Then my waitress Alex was snarky and screwed up the order. Had to wait for one persons dinner to come. She didn't even offer a discount refund or anything. The went to pay and they didn't except amex. I was going to say something to the manager but I was so aggravated just left over priced and too rushed no good. Tom Stampe read more

Always a good meal and ambiance here. Had their zuppa de pesche and it was to die for.

Comfortable dining experience. Decent cocktails. Lovely food (great lobster salad & seafood). Nice to sit outside / view of river. Friendly service. read more

Harpoon Willy's - Harpoon Willy's outside dining - Seafood Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

The pasta with shrimp, lobster and scallops in a wine sauce is devine. Between the Seafood specials, Chicken quesadilla, and of course the onionzola burger as a wrap this place is the best. We also like that it is a real local crowd, due to the off the beaten path location. Enjoy, but don't tell anyone,hate for it to get even more crowded ! read more

Noisy, boisterous, hard partying crowd filling up the bar. If you're looking to meet a Jersey shore divorcee on the make, you've found your place. Everyone is really friendly and ready to chat-maybe the point of the noise is to encourage you to have to lean in close to have a conversation? The above isn't a knock, it serves a purpose. Certainly above average pub food, they move your dinner out quick, and the prices don't break the bank. The wait staff has seen and heard it all, and aren't fazed by any request. Easy parking too. A must visit if you're looking for a blonde in Lily Pulitzer on a summer weekend! read more

Food was just ok! The server had attitude like we were bothering her. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. The lighting felt dark couldn't see what you were eating. It was just terrible. read more