Stella Marina Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Asbury Park

I went here as a fancy date with my boyfriend that ended up feeling like I was in a highschool cafeteria for adults. It must've been the room echoing the sound or even the bar that was across the smallish square area where we sat. We sat along the wall in front of the window where they had a long seat that covered the wall with a bunch of little tables for two. I emphasize small because for what we ended up getting it did not fit everything we ordered, which was only an appetizer, and our separate meals. We were seated next to this fake plant that made it seem like we were being hidden, mind you, my boyfriend and I don't look rich so we feel that the rest of what happened tonight was due to that. We took our time browsing the menu with our mouths watering, my boyfriend suggested the Melanzane Parmesan $18. Literally the best thing we have ever eaten!! The only thing about this dinner was the appetizer. Seasoned to perfection with delicious steamy bite every time. We tried to save it throughout the time we were waiting for our food which was about an hour or so, and not to mention fill up on the appetizer before the meal even presented itself. If the appetizer is amazing then we're in for a treat when it comes to the dinner, is what we thought the entire time we excitedly waited on our food. I ordered the fish chief special that day and it was not worth the $35 I paid for it. The fish was dry, the calamari was non-existent, a very small portion for $35 dollars. Granted the ingredients might have been expensive, but why sell something that tasted so bland and filler like. There was about 10% fish and 80% whatever the rest of my plate had on it. (I don't remember the ingredients, but I think it was squid ink, mixed with maybe some kind of bean? But that took up the rest of my plate and tasted like nothing.) I knew going into it I might not like it, but there were so many things they could've done to make it taste like food. The worst thing on the menu and the most expensive thing I ordered. Then my boyfriend ordered the ravioli, which was pretty okay.. Had this undescribable zang to it, but as a serving it was small. $16 But wait, I was charged for more.. At the beginning we had no idea what drinks they had until we found the drink menu tucked under the food one.. When I browsed over it, it all looked alcoholic, and since my boyfriend and I were going to be driving home afterwards we decided to pass. So the only thing we had to drink, was water. Which they would come around to refill, making this place seem more enjoyable. If I'm not mistaken I was charged about $3.50 per refill even if it was HALF FULL and I didn't ask for. Not to mention the fuzz and dirt in my boyfriend's water. The kicker is, on the receipt it doesn't tell you what you were charged for, except the total. If I knew I was being charged that much for half a glass of dirty water I wouldn't have gotten it. Now, that is the price if they didn't charge anything for the seemingly free bread they provided, but what do I know. This place is a rip off. They served salt but it didn't come out of the shaker, we tried two of them. No pepper. No place on the table for it to even go, our three plates were hanging off the table. A hole in the table cloth. Our waiter was nice and even tried to offer us a coffee because he could tell we were miserable, but who knows if that coffee was free or not. Not to mention an older couple was seated next to us and started talking about us. No shame in these people!! And when it came to getting out of there we asked for the boxes, but isn't it their job to fill it or at least offer? I watched this same nice gentleman walk to other tables with filled sealed boxes. Not to mention they were all very quiet when it came to speaking. We had to ask multiple times for anyone who talked to us to speak louder. The best part? There are seats upstairs, but not in use. The first floor was packed and people were waiting for seats when we left. Horrible place to eat, only about the money, and an appetizer shouldn't be the best part...

My wife and I were in Asbury Park area for a wedding this past Sunday. Arriving in the area on Saturday, we were staying at a bed and breakfast in Ocean Grove. I had been looking for a nice place to enjoy dinner. I had read the reviews about Stella Marina Restaurant and thought it would be an excellent place to go to. I had made a reservation for 7.30pm on Saturday.

We arrived to the restaurant around 7.20. I approached the hostess and told her when our reservation was for. We were asked if we wanted to sit inside or outside. Being unsure of the weather for the evening, we chose to sit inside. The hostess grabbed two menus and proceeded to walk in to the restaurant, not saying anything to us, I guess hoping we were going to follow her, as we did. She placed the menus on the table and walked away. Nothing said to us, no "Enjoy your dinner', nothing.

I had to use the restroom. I went and came back, only to find out no one had been to our table to even acknowledge we were there. We were in no hurry, so patiently, we waited almost 10 minutes before our waiter even came to our table. Short and rude, he mentioned no bread or water had been brought to the table. Maybe he was having a bad night, so we ignored his rudeness. Since we had been sitting there for quite some time, we had decided on drinks and an appetizer. We placed the order for drinks and appetizer, and shortly after that someone came by to fill our water glasses and give us a basket of bread.

As I said, we were in no hurry, so we relaxed, enjoyed our drinks waiting for the appetizer. People watching and taking in the atmosphere of the restaurant, it was a short time before our appetizer came. We had ordered Calamari. $25.00 for the appetizer, we thought a bit overpriced, but we were looking to enjoy ourselves, so didn't hesitate. Our waiter stopped back at the table to take our dinner order, which we did. A rectangle plate of calamari and breaded zucchini was brought to us. Just as much zucchini as calamari, (Not a good size portion at all for the money being charged). No flavor to the calamari without using the sauce given with it. An all around disappointing start to our dinner. We were still willing to deal with it all, hoping for better things. Well....

After a few sips from our drinks, a few pieces of bread and about half of the appetizer, I look at my wife in disbelief for what I saw, as she looks at me to tell me she saw the same mouse I saw run past here feet, along the booth bench, run past an open door to outside to stay in the eating area of the restaurant. We had enough. I told her we were leaving. Looking for our waiter, but nowhere to be found, I went back to the hostess. Explaining only the mouse situation at that time, the manager on duty was standing behind her and asked where I was sitting. I explained where and he proceeded to walk towards our table in front of me. Obviously not seeing the mouse, he started to treat us with attitude and disrespect as if we were the problem. He said, "The restaurant is by the boardwalk, what do we expect". REALLY! I told him we were not staying, we would pay for our drinks and the appetizer. At that time, our meals were being delivered. We were not staying to eat them. He asked if we wanted to move to a high top table or outside. We said no, we wanted to leave, again, we would pay for the drinks and appetizer. He said he would be right back. What could he have been thinking?! We were trying to not cause a scene, but he wasn't helping the situation. Wouldn't any responsible manager have just apologized, comp the food and drinks to get us out of there. We stood there for a couple of minutes before he came back to tell us, "He doesn't know what else to do, he wasn't charging us for what we had. We could take the meals with us if we wanted to". It took him to walk away and make us wait a couple of minutes to come to that conclusion! WOW! That is customer service at it's best!

As you would think, I DO NOT recommend...

Stella is dead to me. Very disappointed. The place went downhill after the highly publicized worm incident. I've been a happy customer for 10 years. I emailed management my concerns after a horrible experience two weeks ago and received no response. Never going back.

-Our usual calamari appetizer was sloppily prepared. The dish was under-fried white and mushy (not golden brown delicious) with a huge chunk of fried lemon about a half inch thick. My favorite part of that dish is usually the paper thin fried lemon slices! The fish, at least, was tender.

-The tequila cocktail was unbalanced, watery and bitter. My client even commented that I usually order two when we dine at Stella because I typically enjoy them so much. I unfortunately had to send it back.

-The meatballs in the appetizer were notably a smaller size with a huge, chewy ligament chunk in one of them. I've never had a meatball I didn't like, until yesterday. Too bad that the inedible bite was my last bite (I couldn't return an empty plate, obviously). The sauce was wonderful, as usual.

-Naturally, our server offered a replacement cocktail, but he came to check on us so late into the meal, that we had already finished our appetizers. I wouldn't order another drink when we were already finished eating.

-The establishment wasn't that busy. It was a typical afternoon in low season, a quarter of the tables were full. I'd expect the quality to be present in that scenario.

-I also was a little turned off by the fact that the kitchen loudly questioned my request for a side of ricotta. Half the restaurant heard the runner ask a second time for a little saucer of ricotta to put with my meatballs. I prefer to eat them that way, a typical style of serving meatballs in the Barese region of Southern Italy. It was embarrassing to have other tables look at us, as the kitchen staff loudly and verbally disagreed with my simple preference and request.

-After the ricotta-gate incident, the runner delivered a one-ounce shot glass-sized steel cup, half filled with ricotta. Clearly insufficient, I wouldn't dare ask for more. (but the ricotta was delicious...