Surf Taco - Lacey — Restaurant in Lacey Township

If I could give this location zero stars I would. Overall food was good so credit to the cooks but the counter personnel should not be working with food. Was excited to go but this would be my first and last time. I placed an order approximately an hour and a half from closing for a wrap that had chicken in it. When I got home it turned out to be beef instead. Ok no big deal, I'll eat it. However the two younger kids at the counter were goofing off while I was placing my order so that's probably how it got messed up since no one read it back to me. The receipt was for some other customers order so who knows. I sat and while waiting for my food I could head all sorts of loud noises coming from the kitchen. Turns out the younger kids that work there were throwing stuff at each other back there. Two kids emerged from the kitchen covered in some sort of white sauce. After they wiped themselves off, they proceed in clear view of other customers waiting for their food to pick their noses right behind the counter while bs'ing with other employees! There was no manager to talk to. I ate the sandwich as a girl brought out my bag from the kitchen and obviously those two kids didn't touch it. I work in the area in a restaurant and if I were the manager there I would have fired those two clowns in a heartbeat. Judging from other reviews of this place it seems that the owner doesn't care to "FIX" these issues. Sadly nothing can be done to make me eat...

Living in and around Monmouth and Ocean county for decades, I've become a huge fan of Surf Taco, and have eaten at nearly every location (one more to try!). I love how consistent my favorites are across locations, I can always count on the food being fresh and delicious with very little variation. However, there are nuances in the service and attitude. I know we all have off days and it's hard to always keep a smile when you're working retail and food services, but I'm never anything but polite and respectful of everyone on the other side of a counter or phone. They tend to employ younger staff, which is also common in food services, but I hardly get smiles when I come to pick up at this location. I truly hope they have better days ahead and find happiness, or find a way to leave it at the door and not bring whatever ails them to work. Happy employees make tasty food. This location is middle of the pack among the 7-8 locations I've been to more than a few times each. I'm still coming back and hoping they can find a way to smile, if not for me, for something new else who needs it in their day....

Really an amateur operation. Takeout orders are wrong at least half the time. My last visit was a large order. Two “shareables” were left out of the order. When I called about it, I was given the “option” of coming back and picking up the missing items, which would have been at least 1/2 hour round trip. I asked if it could be delivered, whereby I was told they have no in-house delivery, but I could order and have Uber deliver it, but I would have had to pay for it again.

I asked for credit, which the “manager” indicated they would provide. But here it is over 1 week later, and no credit has shown up on my credit card. They also said I would be put on some kind of “courtesy list” and would receive the missing items free on my next visit. The mere fact that they have such a system tells you all you need to know about the level of service you can expect at Surf Taco.

I’m never going back to find out if this “system” actually works, but...