Dearest Gentle reader, a spectacular view was in order for a very special lunch desired by one of mine tiny members of the household. I was not warmly welcomed by a hostess beginning with the letter B. As she sat my table down, I had a simple request and was told by this young lady to ask someone else or to do it myself. Cold is an understatement. However, I will say this... very quickly after, a gentleman by the name of Martin was very swift and accommodating which made that cold treating quickly forgotten. Our waitress Shannon was a delight as well while giving us some splendid recommendations in which we did not regret. I thank these two lovely people for making the experience better afterwards. Yours truly, Lady Whistledown (critic) read more

We were visiting friends who live in Stone Harbor last week and they suggested this restaurant. Since it was a Friday, and Labor Day weekend, I suggested we stop to make a reservation. Our friends have frequented this place before and said they don't take them, but at my insistence, since it was a holiday weekend, we stopped and my friends husband went in to inquire. He was told "no reservations needed, but please come back after 6:30 as there is currently a cocktail hour for a wedding going on". That was no problem as it was 5 and we wanted to freshen up. We arrived at 7.....and the hostess told us she couldn't seat us because we had no reservation. My friends' husband told the young lady the conversation he had with a lady inside the hotel and the hostess said that wasn't her problem. My friend spoke up and said the hotel website even states that reservations aren't needed to which the hostess stated it wasn't her website.....my friend lost it, telling the hostess that the website is the hotels and that the hotel is her employer making it her website. She then turned her tablet around to show my friend all the reservations that they had and told us to eat elsewhere. At this point my friend's husband went inside to speak with a manager and saw the lady he spoke to a few hours before who said she didn't remember telling him he didn't need a reservation. We were eventually greeted by a young man who apologized for the inconvenience, stated the website had been updated to accept reservations and he'd see what he could do for us. My friend immediately looked at the website, again, and the reservation button led to hotel accommodations. The young man offered to seat us inside and that's when I spoke up and said we were from CA and wanted to sit by the water. He didn't like that but he did seat us. The view at sunset was amazing, our waitress was wonderful, the food was mediocre and the entire experience with the hostess and management soured our evening. read more

Water Star Grille - View from our table - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

This place was recommended so I was excited to try it. It has an amazing view - large bar area but we sat at a table. Server was so sweet. We had the cheese bread and the chicken sandwich at brunch - it was delicious. Also got the shore cosmo which had a hint of strawberry in it and was so good! It's a bit pricey but worth it for the vibes! read more

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5 stars only for Jack (bartender) was outside alone. This kid did it all, made drinks for a full bar, ran food, cleaned, had to endure ridiculous requests from guests. The hostess was actually seating tables for a kid who had zero help! I finally went in and said something because it was completely not ok. The fact that the staff was standing around in SAX and no manager in sight is unacceptable. Reeds is too nice for this and management should be ashamed. read more

Wonderful bay view. Great service - especially in a monsoon environment. Luckily we were protected. Good, creative cocktails. Highly recommend the calamari. It was lightly fried, tender, and delicious. Wasn't a fan of the humus and eggplant platter. Also highly recommend the salmon - perfectly prepared. Juicy, tender, nicely seasoned with a crisp. Loved it. I'd pass on the margarita and shrimp flatbreads. read more

Spectacular day on the water down at Cape May, beautiful! Stopped by boat for some drinks and apps, bartender was great! Martinis and Lobster nachos. Nothing wrong with that! read more

Water Star Grille - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

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Went for breakfast with a large group and were seated right away. Our server Gia was lovely and diligent!!! but whatever mess is going on in the kitchen needs to be remedied. Several items did not come as described on the menu (I.e. eggs benedict served on toast, despite the menu specifically noting english muffins.) And the bread of the avocado toast was not toasted, and was served with sliced avocado instead of the menu's specified avocado spread. One member of our party's order was lost in the kitchen, and he was not served until after we had all finished our meals (though the waitress did have this item comped). However, the items that did come as described were decent. Overall, fine service but terrible kitchen. read more

Staff all amazing..New menu outside this year is terrible, stopped eating outside. Inside bar menu much better..Bring back the old flatbreads, new ones are pretty but sad.."Fresh tomatoes"? that's tomato paste all day long read more

Went to Water Star Grille for our anniversary dinner. The views on the back patio are phenomenal! Even with cloudy weather, it was a gorgeous restaurant. We ordered the calamari which was so yummy. Love the chili sauce on the side! Dinner was the bbq salon which is also amazing. The only disappointment was my drink. The display didn't seem worth $19, it was yummy other than the price. read more

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It's unfortunate that such old reviews drop the average score for this bayside gem. We were seated at a table with great views of the boat traffic coming/going (they appear to have a Dock Master assisting). We had well poured Bloody Mary's smartly individualized for heat & spice. Three of us had the Turkey Avocado sandwich on a delicious sunflower seed bread (the fresh flavors of the tomato, lettuce & avocado were amplified eating it open-face w a fork). Attentive & knowledgeable Wait Staff. I might be tempted to sit at the bar area. The hotel lobby is nicely decorated; great corner entrance onto streets chock full of boutiques. We used the valet to park, & for $15 well worth not dealing with the hassle of scouring for an open spot. (Grabbed a $4 drip coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up across the street at Coffee Talk) read more

Despite its superb location on Stone Harbor Avalon Island, this place is more about being seen than about good food or cleanliness. If you're at the bar, glasses and plates are left everywhere, never cleaned up. It's clear they need to hire at least one busser to manage this mess. The management seems mismanaged, lacking someone truly in charge. read more

Looking at the previous reviews for the Water Star Grill I am pretty surprised! I had a wonderful experience here for a Monday morning after Fourth of July brunch! We were a group of 4 walking around Stone Harbor around 10:30am. As most people know that come to the area, it can be difficult to find a place where you're seated right away, especially the week of July 4th! We arrived to the Water Star Grill at the back of the Reeds Hotel and we were greeted by a warm and welcoming hostess. She asked if we preferred to sit in the shade or sun and accommodated accordingly and immediately. Our waitress greeted us at the table shortly after we sat down to get our drink order. Our drinks came out in a timely manner. We had two people in our party with nut allergies, myself being one of them, and they were highly accommodating to this. The food came out after the food in again a timely fashion. Our waitress was attentive and polite, greeting us with a smile even when the restaurant was quite busy. The food was delicious and warm. I enjoyed the Santa Fe skillet which was delicious. Perfect mix of spice and flavor with the potato casserole being a unique addition to the dish. Everyone I was with also enjoyed their meals, the American breakfast, the country omelette and the eggs Benedict. We all split the brioche French toast, which I would highly recommend for a sweet treat! The view of the bay was such a nice added bonus and perfect spot for brunch. I would absolutely return here! read more

Water Star Grille - Restaurant view - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

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Excellent bar experience but the restaurant was laughably horrible. We waited over an hour for a table. We had no reservations and there were open tables but they were holding them for customers who had reservations pre-Covid and might show. There were open tables that we could have sat in earlier, but the staff was so comatose that nothing was happening efficiently. Had a good time at the bar and the bartender does a good Cosmo. When they finally seated us after an hour the food came out staggered. This was weird for the three of us who were trying to eat dinner together. They said it was a free flowing kitchen which I guess works for a tapas restaurant but not here. I ordered the chicken with mashed potatoes and a cauliflower/broccoli hybrid vegetable. Not only did it come 10 minutes after my parents had been served, but it was disgusting. I don't think I've used the word in a review before. Gummy potatoes and microwaved vegetables. We sent it back but in no one was that apologetic. All in all we spent an obscene amount of time at a restaurant with terrible service and bad food. The views weren't worth it. read more

The atmosphere + vibes was a 10/10. The food was ok but worth it for the views. The service was good too! read more

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Great view, nice seating arrangements and bar overlooking the bay! The menu is limited and looked too gourmet for us. read more

Water Star Grille - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

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I feel bad when I write a bad review. I know that someone owns this place but sometimes that someone deserves to go out of business. Capitalism should do its trick here but because of the view I think it might not. We've been tricked twice now! A happy customer tells 3 people; an unhappy customer tells 10 people... 15 minutes just to get water once we sat. Asked two people for the awning to be put down 3 feet because it was 90 degrees. Was told no by the waitress. Asked for the manager who told me 'no' then I explained how we could be accommodated. He agreed. Waitress showed up 20 minutes after we'd been sat (5 mins after water). Ordered our food and 1 glass of wine. We asked about the Tuna Ceviche. Our waitress made a gross face and said 'dont get it, its not good.' Hilarious the staff even thinks the food is bad. Thats when you know you're in for a real good time. Booster seat was broken waited 5/7 minutes for someone to come over. Never happened. Went looking for them myself. Second one was broken...then went and got the 3rd. It worked. Had to ask for water from the waitress on her 2nd trip to the table. She came back 4 minutes later and didnt have it. Had to ask again. Food came.... Then 5 minutes later the 1st and only glass of wine came... Do yourself a favor and save your money. Macks Pizza on like 82nd and Ocean is amazing, fast, efficient. This place needs new management. I also hear Icona has great service and the Avalon Brew pub is great. read more

Friendly staff! Walked in and was greeted so nicely. We were a large group that showed up staggered and I was escorted to my table. Front of the house was great. Cocktail was delicious, server was knowledgeable . Then a app was forgotten, not a big deal at all. We had a 5:30 reservations to avoid the dinner rush and to get the kids fed early. Well that never happened. 4 entrees came out after waiting for over an hour, my salad along with 4 others came out with the check at 8pm. "We have a free flowing kitchen" was explained. Kids meals came out last after the kids had to leave to go to bed. My wedge salad had to taste, and it's hard to mess up a salad with bleu cheese. It was so disappointing and super expensive. Won't be going back, the manager did come over after we asked and had an excuse. No big deal, just avoid going here if you are hungry, thirsty or want to eat within a 3 hour window. No photos to add because I got my food boxed to go along with 6 other meals because it took so long. When we got home to eat it, it was not good. read more

Great food, good service, hefty beverages. Perfect way to kick off vacation... start with the shrimp cocktail- they were huge and delish! Def go at lunchtime, better service and less crowded. read more

Water Star Grille - Fried Chicken Sandwich with Fries and ketchup. - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

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My four friends and I were just at their outside bar and had a very negative experience with one of the bartenders. We are all 21 and 22, and was refused service at the bar because the bartender rudely told us that one of the IDs holograms was weird without explanation of whose it was or why. We were treated disrespectfully and we have never had problems at other bars or scanners before so this upset us. We totally understand carding us because we look young but it was the demeanor and attitude that had us very upset. He gave us no explanation as to why we got rejected or let us explain or communicate read more

Took six people to dinner. What a disaster. The restaurant brought half of our sides with the first of three salads. The other salads were nowhere in site. Then the time comes for entrees and one of us got our entree fifteen minutes before anyone else. That was followed by four more entrees then another then minutes later one more entree and ten minutes after that the final entree showed up. When the manager asked how everything was I accurately recounted the nonsensical delivery of the food, too which he said, "we intended for it to be that way, it's a free flow kitchen". The arrogance and the stupidity. "Free flow" I guess that what's you call it when your kitchen can't figure out the difference between an appetizer and an entree. What a joke. Go somewhere else.....anywhere else in fact. Useful Funny Cool read more

It pains me to give this place one star. The food is poor at best. The crab and guacamole dip is a plate of chips with a tiny scoop of guacamole and a sprinkle of crab on top, not even mixed in, not even jumbo lump crab for $24. Carly our waitress was rude, could not answer a basic question about the menu (nor did she offer to find out the answer) and did not come back to check on us during our meal. The grilled shrimp I ordered on my Caesar salad wasn't actually grilled shrimp; it was cold shrimp cocktail which had such a bad taste I was afraid it would give me food poisoning so I didn't eat it. After having such a horrible meal I looked on yelp, curios to see the reviews, and I realized I should have read them first. It's no surprise this place barely gets two stars. read more

Water Star Grille - Receipt - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

Sister and husband said best meal ever. Said it was worthy of a 45 min drive which made me skeptical. Yet it did live up to expectations. I can't say it was my best meal ever but I would go out of my way to return. The shared plate approach makes going in groups better but go with people that share same taste. ORDER -tuna nachos (recommended by waiter) -pasta bolognese (brother in laws favorite) -Asian chicken salad -mezze plate (recommended by waiter) -old bay fries -monogany wings -chicken Alfredo flatbread (sisters favorite) -hibiscus margarita -blackberry bourbon mixed drink (forget name) -s'mores dessert GOOD -atmosphere. Right on water -everything has good flavor and presentation -shareable allows trying many things -waiter brought free wings which were on of my favorites -brought out food quick -good location in shopping district of stone harbor -valet parking -turf flooring nice on feet -surprisingly comfortable chairs -nice bar for after meal or before on waterfront BAD -guy walked thru location without shirt -toilet exploded -slow bussing, no crumb cleanup -negative aspects of shared plate (have to agree, not good for small parties) -could have more menu items with steak -no reservations but not a problem for us BOTTOM LINE Great place to go with large group, great food and atmosphere. Recommended even if a little out of the way. read more

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Ok let's be real- I've been here once or twice before with mediocre eats, HOWEVER, the lobster nachos arrived and changed my mind IN A BIG WAY. The meat! The guac! Game changer. Highly recommend. read more

Water Star Grille - Lobster nachos - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

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Fantastic location with outdoor bar and seating on the bay. The bar service has a good crowd with pleasant staff keeping up. Unfortunately that was the best part of our experience. We sat for dinner and it's all downhill from there. Consistently poor service, missing on all the basics such as timing, keeping up with water or drinks, or following up on food orders. Also long periods of absence in between. The sharing menu is a good concept but only if it can be executed. Ordered (6) items and forgot the last (2) items completely. We continue to give them a second chance and they ALWAYS come up short. read more

My family came here and was extremely disappointed with the menu for gluten free options. For such an upscale restaurant you would expect there to be more options for people with food allergies. The swordfish was the only thing on the menu that we could order. It was only ok. Really nice staff and beautiful scenery. We would love to go back but can't really eat anything there so probably won't be back anytime soon. Second time at the Water Star Grille and it was still bad. The restaurant is beautiful and the atmosphere is perfect but the food is just not good. My family loves the Asian chicken salad but I have a gluten allergy so I can only get a few things on the menu. The salmon was probably some of the worst I've had and the vegetables were gross. The rice was only ok. Pretty disappointing again. I would love it if they changed up their menu for next year. read more

Water Star Grille - Salmon - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

The outside bar is a lot of fun. Great to watch the sunset as well as watching the beautiful people. But the food not so great. Had lobster nachos that were $35. They were awful!! The food is just OK so don't go for the food go to the bar for the atmosphere and sunsets. read more

Went to the Reeds twice during our time in Stone Harbor. The view is great. The drinks are average and they are expensive. The food was very average. Especially for the price. Out of 16 people everyone felt it was not worth the money. The only reason to go here is for the view. There are much better food options in Stone Harbor ! read more

This joint is getting a 3 star rating based heavily on the fact that it's on the water. Patios overlooking the water always positively impacts my score...I guess you could call it my Yelp character flaw. Anyways the actual dining experience wasn't bad but also wasn't great either. The food itself was all over the board & lacked consistency. The guacamole with lumps of crab were a nice touch and surprisingly went well together. But on the flip side, I ordered the short rib cheesesteak for my mains & it was dryer than BYU's campus. Also the meat to bread ratio was way off. When I think of a cheesesteak, I think of mounds of meat between a soft bun...not a slice of beef jerky between a toasted everything bagel. On top of having subpar food, we had so so service. Like a lot of places, they were understaffed probably due to COVID. We had plates sitting on the table from our apps, when we were eating our entrees which was less than ideal. Also a side note about this place was that the seagulls were aggressive & swarming above. One of them must've thought I was Odell Beckham Jr. because it pooped on me. It got on my mask so I had to get a new one in town...all around just a crappy situation. Overall, the kitchen needs an overhaul here because the rest of my party was dissatisfied with their meals as well but all were satisfied with the ambiance/view. This spot is great for drinks and small apps but buyer beware of coming here for a full fledged meal. read more

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"I've got nothing" Yes, this view is nice and the interior is quite upscale for this town. The bar isn't all about heaven's waiting room....maybe not my scene. But for the restaurant, from start to finish this place *****. The guacamole was the w****t I have ever had. well I could go on and on..... But My mom said that if I don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I really don't even want to waste my time writing about this place. read more

Let me start by saying I hate writing 1 Star reviews! FREE FLOW KITCHEN at the Water Star Grille! When we arrived we were told the kitchen operates as a free flow operation. The waitress explained that it means when the food is done being prepared it is immediately brought out and the items will be served to the table. We had no problem with the concept but the execution was horrendous to say the least. We were a party of 6 for dinner. The dinner salad arrived. 10 minutes later an order of scallops arrived. 5 minutes later the second order of scallops along with the flounder arrived. 4 people were now served. They started eating. The other two guests waited... and waited... and waited. Everyone was done eating and the salmon and chicken dishes still hadn't been served. 50... yes 50 minutes later I told the server to 86/cancel the salmon which hadn't arrived yet. A few minutes later she arrived with the salmon and chicken! Because I canceled the salmon it was served but taken off the check. BTW the hot salmon was served COLD! Twice, I had asked to speak with the manager. No one could find him/her. One would think that when a problem arises the manager would be right on top of things, especially because of the exorbitant prices they charge for what was mediocre food at best. Everything was priced almost twice what it should be considering the preparation and menu selection. For example, salmon was served with potatoes & corn! Double starches! Corn or the potatoes, one should have been a green veggie! Drink prices are ridiculous! The setting is pretty but as the sun sets it is right in your eyes and they don't have an adequate number of umbrellas to offer shade. In summary, the server's are good but the kitchen is not ready for prime time. Free flow or not, food should come out in a somewhat reasonable sequence close to the table order. Management is not attentive to client needs and problems and could not be found. Perhaps he/she was in the back of the house screwing things up? Paying about $70 a head one would expect more. Based on our experience, I would avoid this place. read more

If I could give it a zero I would. We walked in and asked the hostess about the other restaurant that we heard was in the hotel since we never been there before. She answers us in a nasty manner. Then we o Proceeded to ask her if we can see a menu and she hands us this card that we had no clue what to do with it. After that we were done and decided to go eat in a place where we were treated with respect. First impressions are very important and from reading other reviews I think management should train their employees on how to treat customers read more

Party of four headed out to brunch last Monday You can't beat the view in stone harbor from the Grill Our lunches were delicious and I didn't get to snap any photos of our food Highly recommend and will return Wait staff was super pleasant as well Also I never give 5 stars the first time I dine at a restaurant because I want to leave room for my next review... read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. Brought my friend there to celebrate her birthday, little girls night in the town, why not have dinner waterside? To start our waiter had ZERO personality. His name was Namecio. Absolutely TERRIBLE. We ordered the shrimp Cobb salad... the first time it came to the table it had NO SHRIMP! (After numerous attempts of waving him down or calling his name as he walked passed his table not even looking at us) he finally took the salad back for them to place 3 shrimp on it this time there was a hair in the salad. Instead of trying for another 15 minutes to wave down Namecio, we flagged down another waiter and just told him forget about it. We did not even want to attempt a third salad. Namecio NEVER apologized. NEVER mentioned it to us UNTIL I asked if he heard and his response, "yeah it's off the bill".... WHERES THE CUSTOMER SERVICE?? WHERES THE APOLOGY?! Horrible customer service. Bland food. The crab guacamole. The chips were stale, the guac was alright. (For $24 Chipotle's guac beats this both in price and flavor) the ONLY thing that was alright was the drinks. WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND!! I even asked for this to be brought up to someone higher up since nothing was done and the clueless hostess could not even direct me in the way to speak to anyone. RIDICULOUS. Talk about flavor. Their food has ZERO flavor. I've never had a buffalo chicken flat bread that did not even taste the slightest like buffalo sauce. It was chicken cheese and bread. Not worth the price. read more

Horrible customer service. I called two days prior for reservations for our 20th anniversary. I was told they don't take reservations anymore and seating wouldn't be a problem as they didn't have any reservations for our night a Tuesday. We artived at 7pm and were told they had no tables until 9:30 pm because they had so many reservations! I live in SH, typical as to why locals hate this over priced restaurant with mediocre food. read more

Had drinks and some appetizers at the bar. The bartenders were friendly and the view was great. We did not like the margarita flatbread. The sauce was bitter and it was served/cooked with whole cherry tomatoes which added to the bitterness. The lobster Cobb salad was decent. read more

My family and I went here for dinner last night - their patio area is beautiful and impeccably decorated. This is a great place if you are looking for a picturesque evening at the beach as there are beautiful views of the sunset & you can even bring your boat right up to the dock! The service was amazing and far superior to other restaurants in the area. As a New York City girl I am accustomed to a certain level of service and I was absolutely blown away by both our waiter (Chris) and the manager (Nigel), thanks again to you both! The concept of the restaurant is to share plates, portions are large, so we ordered a variety of choices to share. One plate was better than the next and the service continued to be superb throughout the meal (checked in on us at the appropriate times / did not disappear when we were ready for the check). Overall would definitely recommend this place and would say it is a place that cannot be passed by on your vacation down the shore! Food we ordered: -Wagyu Beef Slides: excellent, didn't even need ketchup -mezze plate: great hummus accompanied by warm /fresh pita and cucumbers, cherry peppers. Great to share - Asian chicken salad: very good flavors and a large portion great for sharing with the family. - side of asparagus: amazingly fresh and grilled to perfection read more

Water Star Grille - Sunset view from the restaurant - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey

We loved it, Wonderful atmosphere and great food. Service was pretty good. The bartender wasn't overly charming but did his job. At least they show up for work! read more

Fantastic spot to sit and have a drink with a friend and relax water side. Comfy seating at the bar or in couch/chair areas around the bar. The bar closes early (midnight on a Saturday in August) because of hotel guests and proximity to homes. Bartenders are not the friendliest and drinks are pricey. read more

$25 for crab guacamole and literally it was an ice cream scooper amount sprinkled with a few shavings of crabs. Give it a little bit of effort for that money. We decided to not eat dinner there since the apps were disappointing. Positive: beautiful space and views. read more

Beautiful ambiance with comfortable outdoor seating and an excellent view to watch the sunset. Outside bar is well stocked with heavy pours and a responsive staff. The inner lobby bars are relaxing and a little out of place in NJ, this is without a doubt the new high-end place to casually go out for a drink and light bites. read more

Water Star Grille - Sunset drinks - New American Near Me - Stone Harbor, New Jersey