Dock & Claw Clam Bar — Restaurant in Beach Haven

Despite wanting to eat here after seeing so many awesome reviews, we had an unenjoyable experience on Labor Day night. We showed up as a party of two with a dog and was told we just had to wait for an outside table, but we reassured having the dog was not an issue. I was happy to wait however long, especially given the holiday crowds. Throughout our 30 minute-long wait, six parties of various sizes that came after us were sat. A very kind busser assured us he was cleaning off a specific table for us (and even pointed out the table). A minute later, a group showed up to the restaurant, took the table without asking the host, and were immediately served. Someone else (the manager?) tried to tell us that another party sat ahead of us had been waiting since before we showed up, but we saw that entire party arrive and put their name in after us. I understand that we were a small party and had to sit outside -- and I don't mind waiting at 1st come 1st serve places -- but I didn't appreciated being lied to by the staff. We weren't given a specific reason as to why all the staff seemed to ignore us, and we wound up leaving after seeing almost every outside table turn over for other people. If this was all just caused by busyness and miscommunication, we would have appreciated being told that by the manager instead of being dragged along. In the time we waited, we truly could have ordered, eaten, and made the table available for other guests. I look forward to coming back to actually try the food soon, but I'll wait for a slower day and not bring my...

We finally got to Dock & Claw Clam Bar and it didn’t disappoint. We got burrata bruschetta and street corn apps - both were awesome. Bruschetta was super fresh and the street corn was absolutely loaded with flavor - best street corn I’ve ever had. My wife, who doesn’t love corn, said next time we should each get our own so we don’t have to share it 😂

For dinner we got blackened shrimp tacos and the mexi-cali crunch salad with chorizo. The tacos were a little bit of a mess but worth every bite - but somehow the salad was the star of the show. When I tell you this was one of the best salads I’ve ever had…. Huge portion, dressing was killer, chorizo was fantastic (not too spicy so my wife loved it) and they had peanuts that they roasted and tossed in hot sauce (again, not too spicy) that added a nice crunch. We will be back for sure, I can still taste that salad and it sounded like their burgers and po boys are worth trying too.

Service was great, they were very friendly and helpful with recommendations. We sat outside with our pup who they had a fresh bowl of water for. Only knock is that we couldn’t order drinks with dinner, so next time we’ll come prepared. It’s not cheap, but nothing is on the island and especially not in beach haven. The portions were generous and we both left there...

What an extraordinary little restaurant. As you approach, you can't help but wonder what the heck you have gotten yourself into. The building is kitchy as heck, the menu is a little short and abrupt, the dining space is tiny... but the staff are fantastically friendly, and the food is craveably good and fairly priced. I have a big appetite, and an appetizer and salad filled me up entirely! And what delicious appetizers they were. The Korean spicy duck wings are craveable, full of umami and gochujang... absolutely awesome and delectable crispy... I would go back now for an order. The swordfish skewers are the size of a dinner order of swordfish well seared and covered in an awesome chimichurri sauce. The actual raw bar items are delectable (even the cocktail shrimp are great!). Their designated shucker is hard working and he does a great job. Deserves every penny of "shucker's tips " which go in a separate container. The soybean soy salad was fantastic. The green goddess salad was admittedly a miss; mildly bland and difficult to mix the dressing on. The steamers are great! Overall an amazing experience. We went twice in 3 days. Remember it's BYOB. Their home-made hot sauce (for sale by the bottle) is both delightfully light...