It's been a while since we have been to Uncle Vinnie's so we decided to meet our friends there last night (Thursday) at 7pm. When we arrived a bit early, the place was packed. No tables or seats available at the bar with several parties waiting patiently. We were warmly greeted by the manager as he told us it would be at least 45--60 minutes for a four top. My bride noticed a single chair open on the far side of the bar so we made our way through the friendly crowd. The vibe here is causal with a very friendly neighborhood feel. We eventually made it over to the open seat as patrons on both sides skooted over to make room for us. The bartenders were getting slammed but they promptly acknowledged us and took our order shortly after. My martini was served in a well chilled glass with olives and my bride's chardonnay was perfect temperature. Soon after getting our drinks, as our friends arrived, two more seats at the bar opened up, so they took them and order their drinks. A short while later a couple of octogenarians entered the packed bar area, so we gave them our seats. At this point, we ordered another round and patiently waited for a table to open up. The manager stopped by a few times with estimated updates. He did a great job of keeping us advised and about an hour later we were seated. We ordered fried calamari and oyster appetizers. Our friends had mussels marinara, my bride has Caesar's salad and calamari and I had the soft shell crabs. We shared a bottle of Albarino (Great value). The food arrived in a nice relaxed pace as the waiting patrons were all seated at this point. As usual, the food was all on the mark. Nice tentacles with the calamari, perfecting flash fried. My oysters were cold, briney and firm. The mussel portion was very generous and the marinara had just the right medium zip. My sauteed soft shell crabs were perfectly cooked and served with tasty garlic enhanced spinach. We enjoyed our conversations and didnt notice we were the last patrons in the place. Regardless, there was no rush. I had some expresso before heading out. This place has been very consistent, even when packed. We will definitely return. Just a reminder. They dont take reservations, so be prepared to chill with the friendly crowd while you wait... and bring cash as they dont accept credit cards. read more

Always good but hard to get a seat. They don't take reservations and have limited seating. Food is a fresh and simple but delicious. read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar is a true neighborhood gem! If you're looking for a family-owned and operated seafood restaurant with five-star food and exceptional service, this is the place to go. A local family brought the five of us here, and every one of us left impressed. We all ordered different dishes--from seafood pasta creations to fresh seafood salads--and each meal was absolutely delicious. The quality, flavor, and attention to detail were outstanding across the board. Combined with the warm, welcoming atmosphere, Uncle Vinnie's delivers an unforgettable dining experience. We can't wait to come back, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves great seafood. read more

Everything about Uncle Vinny's is 5 Star. The food, the service, the drinks, etc. one of my all time favorites! The flounder franchese and watermelon martinis are my favorites! read more

Food was delicious and the staff was very friendly, making us feel welcome and taken care of. Oysters were fresh and delicious. Can't wait to go back. read more

Came on a weekend day with family. First time so we shared an appetizer and an entree. Bartender was so kind and attentive. We each got beers. Sat at the bar. The clams casino was delicious and super fresh. Great for sharing but also I wouldn't mind ordering again for myself. The pasta was cooked perfectly not too aldente but not mushy either. Came with so much seafood! Look at the pic. Definitely can share. All of it was tender. Highly recommend. read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

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Service was excellent. Server was very attentive and filled my water glass several times without me having to ask. The entrees were excellent. I had chicken cacciatore and my husband had clams, scallops, shrimp an calamari with linguini. He really enjoyed that as well read more

The service is outstanding, they anticipate each empty plate and cup. Someone was also at the door to let us in and out and genuinely thanking us for coming. The food is amazing. I had the flounder Francese and it was delicious and lemony. It didn't have a heavy garlic taste and it was so light with the pasta. 10/10 would recommend! Hurry, though, we arrived at 6:30 and crab cakes were sold out! Hope to get it next time. read more

Amazing! Delicious and fresh! My favorite local restaurant. Penne vodka with crabmeat, calamari balsamico, house salad has the absolute best white balsamic dressing, bread in the real deal from Brooklyn and everything on their special list is excellent!!! Bar tenders and owner are fantastic humans as well! read more

First time my wife and I visited Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar restaurant. We hit there very early on Good Friday at 4:15 PM and the place was almost 1-2 full. By 4:30-4:45 PM there was a wait to be seated. Obviously everyone had the same idea; eat a great meal and some fancy drink specials. We ordered a Shrimp Olive Oil and Garlic dish and Anchovies Olive Oil and Garlic dishes. Excellent food and really friendly service. I spoke with owner Lou and I told him we'll be back, a real gentleman. Thanks for a classic dish prepared perfectly. read more

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What a wonderful place! The food was delicious and the owner and server were some of the nicest people. It is the perfect local restaurant to visit. I would be back here every weekend if I lived closer! Some of our favorites were the watermelon martini, linguine and white clam sauce, penne vodka with shrimp, linguine shrimp with garlic oil, and the cannoli but honestly you can't go wrong. If you don't visit this place when in town, you are missing out!! read more

A Raritan neighborhood spot, Uncle Vinnie's is the Italian and seafood place to be. With no reservations, give yourself some grace on a Friday night with a little wait (although you can still get out in an hour). The staff is fast moving and super nice. They make a solid martini and have a full bar to leverage. The blue crab claw appetizer was fantastic - about 20 claws with their honey mustard (weird but really good). For our mains, we got linguine marinara with fried calamari (tons of lightly fried rings) and the penne pasta special which was Italian sausage, shrimp, and tuna with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. More meat than pasta which is a tough feat. Great meal. Excited to come back! read more

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Worth the wait! No reservations here and we waited quite awhile then sat at the bar. I got the Chilean sea bass which took forever but was so yummy it melted in my mouth. Also got the blue crab legs starter which were sweet and succulent. Would definitely go again but earlier! This place is a hole in the wall! read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Flounder Franchese on Linguine - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

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The food here is Awesome!!! Very flavorful. Can't wait to come back. It's a bit expensive but it's worth it once in a while.

Great service, friendly staff. Atmosphere is cool and casual .The food was excellent. We had baked clams, Caesar salad, linguine with clams and flounder franchise, would highly recommend all! They also make a really good, dirty martini, cheers! read more

Highly recommend. Guaranteed friendly and fantastic service, excellent fresh food, delicious drinks whether a cocktail, lemonade or beer. Owner Lou and team (Danny, Mike, Anthony and others) make this place a standout. read more

If you're smart, you will not walk to, you'll run to Uncle Vinnie's. Old school. Great food, awesome people. Reasonably priced. Hard to replicate even harder to find. read more

Great food, atmosphere, very friendly staff! They have a quirky way to get full order at once, which caused some confusion and may have delayed the order for some, especially if your party does not all arrive at once, but it was manageable. Next time we'll know this rule and come prepared. read more

Best local seafood restaurant near Bridgewater, NJ. The service is superb. The Chilean Sea bass is a must.

We came here around 5:30ish on a Saturday night and was told the wait for party of two would be around 45mins. Luckily, we somehow got seated within 10mins but the kitchen was very backed up, so waited approximately 40mins for the appetizers to come out. But once the appetizers come out, the entree didn't take long time. In the meantime, service was friendly and good and seating didn't feel too crowded or tight. As for the food, raw oysters were fresh, clam Trenton was different and if you're a Tabasco and bacon fan, you'll love them; calamari was also pretty good. The entree, linguine with clams was very average. There were some sand from the clams and those got mixed in with the linguine which I totally hated. My husband didn't seem to mind as much, but I couldn't stand that. Still feel sandy in the teeth after drinking water. Definitely need to take a Star (feeling generous tonight, or else I would've taken two stars off) for that. Overall, decent clam bar for a night out, but definitely not a place where I would be dying to come back to, overrated in my opinion. PS, if you are a big group (say 6 ppl+), I only saw one big table that would possibly fit 6 people. read more

Fabulous food and the best service! Extremely attentive, our glasses and bread basket were never empty. Dishes were hot and fresh!

Amazing food, service and definitely a local favorite. Vinnie himself is almost always there, greeting every one of his customers at the door with a smile. I live way down in Texas and visited Uncle Vinnie's twice with a six month gap in between in 2024. Vinnie not only remembered me from my initial visit, he even pointed out exactly where I sat for my first meal! Everything dish I've tried so far has been top-notch, including the raw oysters, incredibly fresh fish and pasta. The service is all around excellent and you really feel like more of a local than a tourist when here. Strike up a conversation with Vinnie if you get a chance too, just a genuinely friendly guy who loves what he does and it shows. Highly, highly recommend! read more

Meet some girlfriends here to catch up. The atmosphere and service were outstanding. The food was delicious! The drinks were amazing as well. I will be making it a point to visit whenever I am in NJ. read more

One of the better seafood places around. No reservations which might cause a wait. Menu changes a lot daily. So always check website. Seafood is pricey so just remember that. read more

Very small joint with an older crowd. Bar backs were all men when i went and the one dude made me a killer dirty martini just the way i ordered it. Went with the small seafood salad and a dz raw clams. They dumped tons of ice on-top of all the clams. If you guys read this review stop doing this. Put your ice down first and lay the clams on top. My friend said his salad and flounder francese was good. I would come back again if im in the area. Parking lot around back. read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Small seafood salad and some seeded twist bread. - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

I made a return here for another meal. The calamari balsamico ($14.95) was ordered as a starter. It was fried calamari tossed in balsamic vinegar with crumbled bleu cheese. There were also tomatoes and red onions present. At first look, there seemed to be a lack of balsamic vinegar, but once eating the dish, that was not the case at all. It was the perfect amount. The bleu cheese also added another dimension to the dish as well. I would have enjoyed this as an entrée. It was really tasty. For dinner, I had a large seafood salad ($23.50). This was extremely large with tons of seafood that included scallops, shrimp, calamari, clams, mussels, etc. There were a few tough pieces of fish, but besides that, excellent dish. The dressing appeared to be a simple oil and vinegar with some Italian seasoning. Dipping bread in the aftermath of that dressing was appetizing. read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Calamari Balsamico - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

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Stopped in for an early dinner on a Friday evening super friendly met Vinnie. He was reading all the peach ones wonderful neighborhood restaurant started with the balsamic calamari, which was delicious one of the specials. Also had the scallops special which was delicious and the mahi-mahi everything was cooked wonderfully delicious flavors. Also had a pumpkin martini. Definitely come here excellent food and service. read more

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This place was amazing, everything about it...had oysters, mussels, shrimp, pasta, all amazing. Drinks on point and a super friendly staff to top it off. Place was packed which speaks to the quality. Will be back here many times read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

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Food was great. Very fresh. So to be clear, I would come back. The market fresh salad with shrimp was fresh and delicious. I liked the fact that the shrimp was not heavily breaded - just a very light coating. The soft shell crab over linguine (scampi style) was also very good. We ordered just two dishes, for a party of two. Rather hard to mess up. When the bill came, my husbmd expressed some surprise at the total. I checked the bill and found we were charged for a third dish - scampi, for $19.50. When I brought it to their attention, it was promptly fixed and they apologized. However, I just have a hard time imagining how you can mess up such a simple bill, and I hate to think it was purposefully done. On the menu, the "shrimp scampi" is $19.50. Great seafood place, so I do plan to come back. Just make sure you check your bill. They lost a star for the issue with the bill. Next time, let's see what happens. read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Soft shell crab over linguine, and shrimp salad - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

We REALLY enjoyed Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar. Is it the best seafood you'll ever have? No - especially compared to places near the coast, but that's not what you should compare to. The quality of food here for a central NJ spot is on point and I can't get over the friendliness of the servers here. Once we got it we were immediately greeted, and our server was always there checking up on us and he was just so kind, funny and friendly. I really felt like a family member there. We ordered the calamari balsamico start and by god, was it a great way to start the meal. The balsamic vinegar/blue cheese/tomato/onion combo was incredible. For entrees, we ordered some fish and scallops. I unfortunately do not remember the dish names - but the fish had some delicious tomato sauce and the scallops were framed around a bed of mixed greens. I liked the scallops but loved the fish. Overall, for both taste and service, would highly recommend this place for a nice (non-pretentious) date night. read more

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I travel quite a bit for work, and that means I eat out quite a bit. I trust Yelp reviews and this time they lead me to Uncle Vinny's. This is a neighborhood restaurant that not only lets the outsiders in, but welcomes them. The food is amazing and the service is friendly and inviting! Mike at the bar was awesome and I even got to meet Uncle Vinny. Although he thought I was someone else at first, he was super friendly and took great pride in his restaurant. If you're in the area, Give this small restaurant a shot, you owe it to yourself! read more

Good seafood and service. Rustic shore feel in good ole Raritan. The best pasta & clam sauce- get it while it's hot! read more

We can't say enough about the service and amazing food at Uncle Vinnie's clam bar!!

Food is always fresh, cooked well & to order. Great little local joint, have been coming here since I was in high school. Seafood is amazing. Always buzzing, always hard to get a table but that's always how it was. Calamari Balsamico is awesome, oysters, clams & scingilli salad never disappoints. Zuppa di Pesce, Linguini with Clam Sauce & Shrimp Scampi are always go too's. Definitely get their garlic bread! They do have a beer & wine menu read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

The mussels were kind of dry but everything else was great! Loved the atmosphere and will definitely be returning

Excellent place but very busy. Food is great and ambience is local Raritan Italian restaurant. Excellent place for seafood and pasta.

Food was great owner and employees are wonderful. Great place to check out. Seared Scallops read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Shrimp and scallops. - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

Always a favorite of mine when I'm in town. Service and food is great and will not disappoint! read more

Uncle Vinnie's Clam Bar - Seafood salad - Seafood Near Me - Raritan, New Jersey

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Some of the best seafood I have ever had and I eat seafood a lot. I dream about the half lobster dish. It was so tender and perfect read more

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Love love Uncle Vinny's. The best seafood around. Very consistent. It's a great local place. Great drinks too!