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

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

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

My first visit last night. Small but cozy place. Very informal. Has a neighborhood feel. Unpretentious staff and patrons. Very chill vibe. We sat at the bar and were greeted promptly by the bartender even though he was getting slammed. Our cocktails (Makers Mark on the rocks and Tito's up olives) were served promptly. Nicely chilled martini glass. :) Menu is decent size and as you would expect, heavy emphasis on seafood. Wine list is brief (by the glass and bottles) but many food friendly choices of good value. When we went to order some oysters, we were told we needed to put the entire dinner order in at one time. I thought that peculiar, so we took some more time to peruse the menu while we were shooting the breeze. We decided on a dozen oysters. I had the Seaford Special and my friend had the Mussels Bianco. We ordered a bottle of Albarino to have with dinner. The Cape May oysters came out first. Ice cold. Nice and briney. Served with ample horseradish and cocktail sauce. Wish they served a mignonette. Nevertheless, oysters on the mark. Their sesame semolina bread is delicious. No butter needed. The mussels were cooked perfectly. Reminded me of Jacque Pepin's recipe. Lots of flavor but not too much garlic. The Seaford Special was spectacular and awesome value. Lobster tail and very generous portions of clams, calamari, shrimp and scallops served over penne in a light white sauce. The Albarino paired well with both dishes. I finished with a capuccino which was hot and on the mark. Wonderful evening of banter at the bar. Perfect pace, tasty dishes and great service. Cant wait to bring my bride here. Oh. One last thought. This was a Tuesday night and the bar was full as were most tables. They do NOT take reservations so be prepared to have a drink or two at the bar while waiting for a table. Worth the wait! Cheers! 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

See all

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

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

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

See all

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

See all

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

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

See all

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

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

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

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

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

See all

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

See all

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

See all

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

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

See all

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!!

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

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

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

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

See all

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

See all

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

Are you looking for a fresh sea food meal? If the answer is yes Uncle Vinnie's clam bar is the place to go. They do not have an extensive menu because their specials are all driven by sea food availability and delivery daily. They do have their 'go to' menus which includes flounder, calamari, and various pasta dishes. For a real treat try their cold seafood salad. You can make this a meal of its own although it appears on the menu as an App. Highly recommended Uncle Vinnies!!! read more

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

The food is good but the portions wee small and overpriced. The seafood dishes were fantastic and the Italian dishes were good but I left wanting more food. Quantity is 8 quality 9.8. read more

A habitual favorite and we always get clams oreganato and clams casino to start. Uncle Vinnie's is always hopping and the fish is always dynamite! read more

Not great anymore. Not terrible, but not great like it used to be. The portions were reasonable, which was nice. The pasta was soft and over cooked. The mixed seafood "special" was served in a broth resembling pale red water ("red sauce") and with just as much flavor. The mixed seafood was calamari rings (like tough rubber and if it was chopped fresh, what happened to the tentacles?), tuna that was so over cooked it was like canned tuna and scallops, mussels and clams that were fine. I have never seen my husband add salt to food in a restaurant, but he not only salted it, but also added pepper and grated cheese in a desperate effort to get some flavor. Too bad. This used to be an amazing restaurant. read more