Ocean House Oyster Bar & Grill

Marcello Musumeci

This place was charming beyond measure. The space, which apparently used to be a diner, is extremely cozy without feeling claustrophobic. Service was excellent the night I went, although it did seem like they were overstaffed, so I'm not sure if that's the norm. I will be happily returning and will update this review. I had oysters, and my wife and I both had different fish mains. Everything was great, and the wine pairings recommended by our servers were on point every time. We are looking forward to our next visit.

Hayden Gutt

tl;dr staff was vocally transphobic, and called me shortly after we left to complain about the note I left indicating our dissatisfaction at their bigotry. Unrelatedly, food was mixed quality. Won’t be back for the foreseeable future. Having patronized this restaurant dozens of times, and having emphatically recommended it each of those times, it pains me to have to write a scathing critique, but I trust you all will see why I felt compelled to do so. My nonbinary partner and I were seated at 8:00pm, their last seating slot on Wednesday evenings, for which we arrived promptly, were seated promptly, and were attended to adequately. I have somewhat more complaints about the food than I have in any prior visit, with both the special crab appetizer and the entree trout being somewhat poorly seasoned and on the bland side. Other than that the food was its (generally) consistent superb. The experience however, devolved significantly when we heard the staff in the nearby kitchen loudly mocking non-binary people, and particularly gender neutral pronouns, which my partner wears easily visible accessories indicating their usage of(this evening it was earrings with They/Them in bold text). We elected not to let this abhorrent behavior ruin our night, and proceeded with the rest of our meal, skipping dessert (understandably, I hope). Even so, I felt compelled to make my dissatisfaction at their unacceptable behavior known. When I received the bill, ~$135, we left a gratuity of ~15% of the post-tax, alcohol-included amount. I also wrote on the merchant’s receipt that the gratuity would have been 20% were it not for the transphobia, which I felt was a reasonable tip and accompanying statement (if a little TOO generous and forgiving). The coup de grace of the staff’s insolence was that not 5 minutes after we left the restaurant, I was called on my cell phone (which I had given to hold the reservation, and not put on the written admonition) and berated for “being unreasonably judgmental” (I paraphrase). During the call, the woman from the restaurant both insisted that their comments were not pertaining my partner(instead mocking a “friend” of one of the staff members) and yet confirmed that they had noticed and noted my partners visible gender markers, before unceremoniously hanging up on us when we indicated the hypocrisy of their asking not to be judged… for their abhorrent judgmental bigotry. I don’t think we will be returning again in the near future. I don’t see how appropriate restitution could be made and our concerns that we would again be accosted by intolerance allayed. I don’t particularly want the ignorant staff at fault to lose their jobs, but I don’t know how to verify my significant other’s safety, in that they’ve been appropriately educated about basic principles of respect and decency to gender non-conforming individuals, so we will almost certainly be avoiding the establishment in entirety, which is unfortunate given my former fondness for the place.

Elyse Jagerman

This evening I had a fabulous birthday dinner of delicate Thai glazed salmon, tender green beans, scrumptious wild rice. My dinner companion had crusted cod over spinach, and roasted potatoes. There wasn't a bite or crumb left on either plate.Everything perfectly cooked and service was impeccable. Loved the experience. time, I had delicious scallops. Will definitely return for a 3rd time.

Angela Katsavavakis

Very small place and in high demand. Outdoor seating available. Simple yet nice decor. Prompt service. The food was not bad yet it didn’t deliver. The bread was outstanding yet when we requested more the second batch was not good, seemed like a day old bread. The octopus was tender and well prepared. The baby arugula salad needed more dressing. The clams were full of sand (perhaps change your clam provider to one that “desands” the clams while still alive). The raw oysters were good, pitty that they used a standard cocktail sauce and that the mignonette was too “vinagry”.