Oceanas Bistro — Restaurant in Avon

I got the club sandwich and it was excellent, although I said no mayo and it had it on there. I had the Creamsicle vodka drink and it was great too. Where we had a big problem was the prime rib. We were told by a waitress at another restaurant not to go there on Monday nights. She said that's their prime rib special night and the steaks are thin. She said to go any other night and we would get a normal sized prime rib. It was nice and tender. However I have never tasted a more bland piece of meat in my life. It didn't even have salt or pepper. It tasted like it had been thawed in boiling water and served. They did take off some of my friend's bill for it. The au jus was like colored water. It didn't even help the steak because it was so plain as well. My friend was so disappointed because he had been looking forward to a prime rib for a while. I think they need to go to Sandwich Bros to learn how to make au jus. I felt sorry for the poor cow that gave its life for this meal as it was a waste of meat. My husband got the Mahi and scallops penne pasta. The Mahi and scallops were great. The pasta was terrible. Some kind of thin tomato sauce on it but it was bland and flavorless. This restaurant is hit or miss. Half your group will love their meal and the other half will leave hungry. The shrimp my other friends got said they were good. I felt I needed to leave a detailed review so your friends and family won't know what to order and not leave hungry. One family got up and left because a drunk group of guys was loud and cussing. It didn't bother us, but maybe an area for the bar and another area for the restaurant would be a good idea for future expansion. Our waitress was super sweet, but it was obvious other servers were really catering to the drinking folks more than...

The decor and the food of Oceana's Bistro is alright; neither extraordinary nor bad, just okay. Their scallops and shrimp seem to be of a better quality than their clams, which were more tasteless and very small. Their fried potato wedges are particularly good, though, so that's a plus. Portion sizes tend towards being small.

The service, however, is unfortunately very lacking. We went twice within the last week and encountered a few repeated problems, starting with our host telling us to walk to our table and not bringing us there, leaving us a bit uncertain. On the second trip we were brought to our seat. We thought the lack of engagement the first time was a fluke, but it continued with a trend on both visits of not being up front about missing / out of stock items until after an order was placed and served, which felt like a "gotcha".

The first night was a missing dressing for a particular salad that we ordered, and so on the return visit we were sure to ask ahead and sure enough they were still out, so we placed a different order for a bacon chicken sandwich. When this arrived my wife, who happens to eat sandwiches by pulling them apart anyhow, revealed included toppings we asked specifically to be held back, and an absence of the bacon. The waitress must have noticed and only then hurried over to explain they were out, but beyond that offered nothing. When the bill arrived we were still charged full price, which surprised us. It was sad to feel like we were in another restaurant that fell into the trap of not really...

We (me, my husband, and friends) visited this restaurant while on a trip to Avon NC to celebrate our friend birthday and retirement. The restaurant was nice and clean, and I can always appreciate a clean restroom. The wait time to be seated was minimal. Drinks were ok. When we asked our waited what seafood she liked or would recommend, her reply was “I don’t eat seafood”, and although that was an honest answer and appreciated, perhaps she could have followed up by saying letting me go grab one of the other waiters and see what recommendations they may have (after all it is a seafood restaurant). I will blame myself for this next comment, because I was told many years ago, whatever restaurant you choose to visit be sure you order whatever they specialize in. Well, I got the jerk chicken wherein I was highly disappointed. The color was wrong (jerk chicken/Caribbean chicken usually has a very dark appearance as it is rich in spices) and it is usually quite succulent, wherein this chicken was quite dry. Then to top it off the mango salsa was disgusting. Mango salsa is usually sweet, spicy, and the veggies are somewhat firm. This salsa was mushy and had more of a pickle taste to it. The onion rings and broccoli was ok. I didn't want to make a fuss since it was my friends birthday, so the second picture is me changing the dish to make it edible the next day.

My husband and my friends were pleased with their meals; they all ordered seafood. I did thoroughly enjoy the bang bang shrimp we had as...