Blue Anchor — Restaurant in Jersey City

This place has lots of potential. The ambiance is nice, but work is needed on small portion size, flavor/under-seasoning (of some dishes), service consistency, and right-sizing price/value (prices are high for small portions).

UPDATE 9/28/2024: I tried the omelette and iced coffee for brunch. I give it 2 of 5 stars. The omelette and salad were bland and I needed to add a ton of salt and pepper to give it some flavor. The iced coffee was more of a dessert drink (?). Full disclosure: I did ask for milk and sugar which I thought they would have brought on the side, but they made the drink themselves and it had lots of milk and sugar in it. I could have clarified to bring everything on the side.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 9/14/2024 I live in the neighborhood and will visit again to try new offerings and see how things improve. Believe me, this neighborhood really needs a good restaurant option - we want Blue Anchor to do well!

Business could benefit from a happy hour (with deals on full-size dishes, not just smaller versions of existing ones). Outdoor seating / more of a view of the city from inside the restaurant would be wonderful (especially for folks who don’t live around here, and if The Beach will allow it).

I ate at Blue Anchor twice yesterday (Fri, 9/13) — once for lunch, and once for an early dinner. I tried several dishes. The owner/GM, Chris, came to my table, was very nice, introduced himself, and seemed genuinely interested in customer feedback. I get the sense they’re really trying hard to do this right and are open to feedback, both positive and constructive.

Brick chicken ($20) was good. Portion size: Appropriate and filling. Flavor: Pretty good, if a little underseasoned. Could use a little more “char” on the skin. But overall tasty and the potatoes were excellent.

Fish tacos ($15) were fine. Portion size: 3 tacos with an OK amount of fish. Perhaps would expect a little more for $15 (or a lower price). Flavor: The fish was a little over-fried for my taste, but you still could definitely taste the (good) fish itself. This may be a personal thing. Would eventually love the option for grilled fish. The sauce was a standard chipotle remoulade/aioli, it was fine. Tortillas are clearly store-bought, maybe grill/warm them up to make them stand out.

Crab cakes ($25) were mediocre at best. Portion size / price: 3 small crab cakes for $25 is overpriced. These also seemed like they were frozen and prepackaged. For that price and size, I would expect fresh, never-frozen crab cakes. Flavor: They tasted good — but again as if they came from your own freezer.

Risotto ($17) was fine. Portion size: If I’m looking for a quick hit of truffley pasta that I don’t have to cook at home, I think this does the trick. I was nearing being full after eating. Flavor: Good, but again a little under-seasoned. Could have used more pepper or other spices/seasonings to counter the (good) heaviness of the truffle and cream.

Service At lunch, there weren’t many customers and I was promptly seated and served in an appropriate amount of time. (And visited by Chris.). No complaints.

At dinner, there were only a couple more customers than lunch, but service was a little slow. Drinks (a Diet Coke and a glass of wine) took probably 10 minutes, when the only difference vs lunch seemed to be there were 2-3 folks seated at the bar and maybe 5 more customers total. We tried to flag down the waiter a couple times before he came back and asked if we were ready to order food.

UPDATE 9/28/2024: I tried the omelette and iced coffee for brunch. I give it a 2 of 5 stars. The omelette was bland and I needed to add a ton of salt and pepper to give it some flavor. The iced coffee was more of a dessert drink (?). Full disclosure: I did ask for milk and sugar which I thought they would have brought on the side, but they made the drink themselves and it had lots of milks and sugar in it. I could have clarified to bring everything...

This restaurant feels like it's still finding its footing, as if it recently opened and is trying to get all the moving parts working in sync. Unfortunately, there's room for improvement across the board — from the food and service to the overall atmosphere and management.

We came in for dinner after work, and while the bar was lively, it bordered on chaotic. Several patrons had their barstools pushed out so far that they were just a couple of feet from the dining tables — including ours — which made for an uncomfortably cramped experience.

The layout of the restaurant also left much to be desired. One table was awkwardly positioned right in front of a swinging service door, creating constant foot traffic and a disrupted dining experience. To add to the confusion, there wasn’t a clear entrance or host stand — it took us several minutes just to flag someone down to be seated. Staff seemed to be using different doors for every task, making the flow of service appear disorganized.

As for the food, it was okay. We tried the happy hour deal — three appetizers for \

27 — and the fish tacos stood out as the best. The calamari and crab cake were underwhelming. We ordered the \

We also ordered a burger that arrived without anyone asking how we wanted it cooked or if we wanted to modify any toppings.Overall, the service lacked warmth or engagement; interactions with the staff felt minimal and impersonal.

What stood out most, though, was the sense of unease in how the place was being managed. On multiple occasions, we saw walk-in customers hesitate, clearly unsure about staying, only for the owner to scramble to make space — hauling out foldable tables and throwing together outdoor setups on the fly. It felt more like a patchwork fix than a welcoming experience, and frankly, a little chaotic and uncomfortable to watch.

In short, this spot seems to have potential, but it’s in need of some serious refinement — both in execution and in how it presents...

I’ve ordered from Blue Anchor a few times because I usually enjoy their burgers, but the service has become increasingly disappointing.

Last time, I requested a medium burger, but it came out burnt and clearly overcooked, more like medium-well, which really affected the meal. This time, I ordered again through ClassPass and made sure to mention I wanted the burger cooked medium. The manager or person in charge replied that “all burgers come medium.” I didn’t argue, but based on my past experiences with takeout, where I’ve typically been asked how I’d like the meat cooked, I felt it was reasonable to clarify. His response felt unnecessarily dismissive, which is how I felt throughout the interaction with him during today’s visit.

I also waited over 25 minutes for my order. When I politely asked for a status update, he kept talking over me instead of directly addressing the question. I told him I didn’t appreciate being spoken to like that. He explained he was the only one working and it was busy, which I understand, but that doesn’t excuse unprofessional behavior, especially from someone running the restaurant.

He later offered me a drink or breakfast on the house, possibly realizing he’d come off rude, but I declined. I wasn’t looking for a freebie. I just expected to be treated respectfully and receive my order as requested. Unfortunately, this experience left a...