New Berlin Fish House & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Jacksonville

My family had a layover before heading home, and we all really wanted some seafood . This place was recommended by a local, so we thought we would give it a try. Upon arrival, I was a bit surprised with the size of the place after how the lady had told us it was one of the best places for seafood. We expected a huge restaurant that we would have to wait to get into. But like I said, it was a surprise. The place was rather small, and there was no wait. Which was fine with us. The service was fast, and we enjoyed the food. This restaurant had a small town feel to it unlike going into a larger restaurant. The only complaint I personally have. . the waitress brought our food out, and not 5 minutes later, she wanted to know if she could cash us out so she could leave. We had planned on sitting for a while and possibly ordering more food, but she seemed to be in a hurry, so we told her to cash us out. After receiving our bills, we noticed that an 18% gratuity had been added to our bill. We normally tip our servers, but if they take it upon themselves to take a tip, we don't leave a tip. Them taking their own tip didn't sit well with us. After finishing our early dinner, we needed to get an Uber since we are not from Jackson, and we just ubered there from the port. Much to our surprise, we were pretty much stranded because our phones would not get service enough (with 5G) to get an Uber. We asked another waitress if there was any way that we could get the wifi so we could get a ride to the airport. After going and talking with someone in the back, she returned and said sorry, the wifi only runs our computers and turned and walked off. Luckily, we found a spot in the parking lot that we were able to get just enough service to schedule a ride. Is this the best seafood in Jackson? I don't know. But if you're looking for a small hometown kinda place. This...

Found this place looking for a new spot for date night and something that was close to home. I wanted to make reservations but when I called I was told that wasn't necessary to just walk in but there's an option to call for reservations on their website. My husband and I arrived about 6pm and was able to be seated right away. There is bar seating for first come first serve. They only serve beer and wine because they are waiting for their liquor license. This spot opened August of 2020.

I actually went 2 nights in a row, date night and then Saturday night for girls night. Our server on Frida was Zach and he was amazing, very customer service oriented and very friendly. Our server on Saturday was Ruben-he was nice but you could tell he was very busy.

Friday night I ordered a seafood plaza with friend oysters, shrimp, fish, scallops along with hush puppies, corn & a deviled crab & a side of cheese grits. The food was good, seasoned well, fried to perfection. More than enough for 3 honestly. Definitely had a 2 go box for the next day. My husband ordered the steak and although he liked it the night before heated up he didn't care for it much. It seems to be a strip steak and the cost for just that was $38 bucks.

Saturday night I stuck more with appetizers, the crab cakes are to die for, with a side of hush puppies that were cooked to perfection, oyster rockerfeller, corn & smashed potatoes. I didn't care for the smashed potatoes much. I could taste the crab boil taste and they just took the potatoes out of the crab boil and smashed them in a bowl. My friend also had the crab stew-she stated is was okay but a bit watery. She expected the stew portion to be a bit thicker especially when our server said it was like the clam chowder consistency but none the less everything was tasty.

Definitely a spot we'd go...

Second time coming here and I don't forsee there being a third time.

First time I came here was for the dinner service, I got the boil and it was 95% potatoes.

Besides that I want to discuss today's experience. I showed up at 10:30 for their Sunday brunch. We were the first customers through the door. We were immediately seated and drink orders were taken.

While sitting at our table we hear our server yelling at the kitchen staff "YOU'RE AN HOUR LATE! STOP BRUSHING YOUR HAIR IN THE KITCHEN, NO ONE CARES ABOUT WHAT YOU DID LAST NIGHT"

I'm just sitting there like wow, the cook is brushing his hair while making food that's pretty disgusting.

I ordered a breakfast burrito and my Wife ordered the chicken biscuits & gravy. We wait an additional 45 minutes for our food to be brought to us. Mind you they have ZERO options for breakfast sides, you get what you get.

My burrito is covered in hollandaise sauce, so I'm forced to eat my burrito with a fork. I'm also given a nasty bowl of cheddar grits.... I love grits and those were NASTY.

My Wife's plate comes with one biscuit with two massive pieces of chicken and a spoonful of gravy....

We then wait 20 minutes for our server to cash us out. We put our card on the table and she just picks it up without even bringing us our check first. Then proceeds to not bring us a pen or even ask if we wanted boxes.

Overall the food was disgusting, definitely not an adequate place for brunch. Where they excel is their alcoholic drink options that they have during brunch. This is the main reason people come here, because nowhere else in Oceanway can you get bottomless mimosas.

Between the level of service and quality of food I wouldn't recommend...