Ocean Blue Restaurant & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in City of Utica

My review...

I had been looking forward to trying Ocean Blue for quite a long time as I'd heard wonderful things. So with father's day approaching and restaurants finally opening back up, I made reservations through their website. This would be both my first time at Ocean Blue and my first time out since things opened back up. I really wanted to go on father's day with my daughter but they were completely booked so I settled for what they had available today 6/20/20 which was at 2:30pm. I figured, late lunch or early dinner. My 10 year old daughter and I arrived on and were seated right away since it was nearly empty. Our waiter Jeremy came to the table with skew water and took our drink order of 2 diet Cokes as we were looking over the menu. While he was getting our drinks, I realize, this is a brunch menu, at nearly 3pm. There was almost nothing on the menu other than breakfast items and some appetizers. I was so looking forward to the phenomenal dinners I'd heard so much about. When Jeremy returned with our drinks I told him I didn't realize they were only serving lunch. He just nodded yes and left without any explanation or alternative. He returned a few minutes later and said "Did you wanna talk about food?". I ordered Some lobster bisque for my daughter, some calamari and a dozen steamed clams. I also ordered the only burger that was on the menu for my daughter without the fried egg and a steak and cheese sandwich for myself. My daughter very much enjoyed the soup and she said the burger was good and also really liked the cole slaw. I also enjoyed the potato salad and the cole slaw with my sandwich, however the steak was very salty and slightly overcooked. The appetizers were a different story. The calamari was quite soggy for most of it but the bits that weren't soggy were cooked well and tasted very good. The steamed clams were typical clams for the most part but there were several shells that were badly broken and required picking shells out of the clams. Jeremy came to the table twice to offer my daughter another diet coke and the second time to ask how things were. My daughter knew I was disappointed and upset and asked me to please not say anything and make a scene in front of her so I didn't. We finished what we could and another gentleman brought us some take out containers and the check. I understand that things lately have not exactly been normal and there's likely going to be some time to get back into the swing of things. I'd heard that the food and atmosphere was second to none at Ocean Blue and that the staff were friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. The atmosphere was indeed very nice, the food could definitely have been better, but our server today just fell short of the hype. I know the wait staff greatly depend on tips to make a living. These are strange time we are living in right now. Maybe he was just having a bad day, was tired or just not back into the swing of things yet. My bill came to $85.91. I didn't short change our server and tipped $18.00 for a total of $103.91 on my card and we left at 3:45pm. I will try going again sometime once things get more back to normal because I want what most people tell me about Ocean Blue and what I see here in the pictures on this page. I did very much enjoy spending a meal with my little girl for fathers day a day early. ...

KELLY AT OCEAN BLUE SAVED MY CHRISTMAS! I owe this wonderful, delicious restaurant, and more specifically this exceedingly kind and understanding staff member big time. For a nice meal, support a business that truly cares for others and dine at Ocean Blue. This crazy story is below:

For Christmas I told my grandma that I would buy her a nice meal to be delivered on NYE. I live in California so could not bring it over myself. My grandma recently needed to move out of the house she spent the last 60 years in, and without family to make a meal, was deserving of an uplifting gift to bring in the New Year. The restaurant I was going to order from listed delivery on Google, but after calling , in fact did not deliver. This is when I began to panic needing to find an upscale alternative that delivered which is not easy to come by.

I searched around and found Ocean Blue. After calling them and speaking with Kelly, I found them on Door Dash. When I went to make my order, I was unable to complete it because the restaurant was listed as closed. I called Kelly back to ask why this was and she told me she would figure this out for me. Already, she went above and beyond to do this. Apparently, they were listed as closed because the holiday's are so busy, and they couldn't be taking door dash orders on this especially busy night (New Year's Eve). BUT, because of my circumstance, she contacted her door dash rep to open the restaurant in the app for just a few minutes so I could place my order. Again, she went even further to help a stranger on the other end of the phone.

The restaurant suddenly was shown to be open, and I quickly placed my order. After a few minutes and to my dismay, the driver cancelled... I called Kelly back and she said that it made no sense and she would have the door dash function turned on for me AGAIN... Mind you, this is during PEAK dinner rush hours. After some back and forth with the restaurant's door dash rep, I was able to place the order a second time. This time I specifically said the food was being made, and I NEEDED the driver to deliver.... They cancelled a second time... At this point I felt like such a burden to this very busy staff member, and was ridden with stress thinking my grandmother would be eating a frozen meal for NYE.

I called Kelly for maybe the 8th time, and she said "Grandma's hungry" and got a staff member to drive the food over in their personal car right then and there.

Kelly, you have no idea how much this means to me. I can not thank you enough for making this happen for me. Truly, I wish you a happy new year. And to the driver, Ashley, thank YOU! I can't imagine the stress you all were under making...

We recently dined at Ocean Blue Restaurant and Oyster Bar after a day in Utica and were drawn by its stunning atmosphere and decor. While the food was truly exceptional and worthy of praise, the service fell short of what we anticipated for a fine dining experience.

Our experience started on a positive note, as the host was incredibly friendly, engaging, and welcoming. However, once seated, we found the service lacking. Our first waiter did not introduce himself, explain drink specials, or suggest signature cocktails. Additionally, as it was our first time dining at Ocean Blue, we would have appreciated an introduction to the restaurant, including some of its signature dishes or what makes it special. We noticed other servers sharing this type of information with nearby patrons, which made its absence for us even more noticeable.

While we were deciding on our drink order, the waiter checked back every 30 seconds, creating a sense of pressure rather than attentiveness. When our drinks eventually arrived (after quite a wait), a different waiter informed us that he would now be taking over. This transition was fine, but it would have been helpful if the staff had clearly communicated who was responsible for our table. This lack of clarity continued throughout the evening.

Appetizers took a while to arrive, which we understand can happen in a fine dining setting, but during this time, no one checked in on us. When the appetizers finally came, they were dropped off by yet another staff member who did not engage or clarify their role. By the time we received our entrées and finished eating, we had been there for two hours and had to flag down another server just to cash out. The overall lack of continuity left us feeling forgotten.

While the food and ambiance lived up to the restaurant's reputation, the service did not match the quality or price point. For a $278 dinner for two, including one alcoholic beverage each and an 18% tip (which we felt was generous given the service), we expected a much smoother and more attentive experience.

That said, we believe Ocean Blue Restaurant and Oyster Bar has great potential. We’re open to giving it another chance when in the area, hoping the service will align with the fantastic food and...