Clam Castle / Taco Pacifico — Restaurant in Madison

I have been going to Donahue's Clam Castle for years now. It isn't owned by the same man anymore though. The new food is just HORRIBLE! The three of us ordered the very popular and excellent Golden Fried Seafood Combo. The name of that item has been changed. We thought well, okay, as long as it was the same.

It was not.

Then, we noticed the price has jumped by $19.00!!! Originally, the meal was $25.00 and that price jumped to $30.00 during the pandemic. We all understood and willingly paid it because the food was so good. So, we reluctantly paid the new price of $49.00 (almost DOUBLE from what we paid 3 years ago) and waited for our food to be brought out to the car. The new, young owner came to the car and apologized for any confusion.

We usually bring the food to the nearby beach and eat it while looking out over Long Island Sound.

We all opened our containers and just stared at the food, hoping it was at least as good as it was before. IT WAS NOT!

The onions rings were overly oily and terribly greasy and were placed on the French fries that not only smaller than they used to be but, there weren't very many of them and what there was were oily and greasy.

Everything that made the original meal so good was gone. The scallops were tiny. The used to be huge and excellent.

The original French fries were coated with the best coating in Connecticut ---- hands down! The same excellent coating was used on the clams, scallops, and shrimp. The fries used to be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The way fries are supposed to be. THEY WERE EXCELLENT!

The clams used to be big, expertly coated and cooked, and were delicious. The new ones are small and terribly greasy. The new coating is horrible. The only part of the meal that seemed to be the same is the piece of cod fish but, even that has changed. When we cut into it, we all noticed that the meat was strangely falling apart into dicey pieces that were hard to eat.

I think that the new owner who bought the place thought he could just cheapen the menu, raise the prices and, no one would notice or care ---- thinking that he would become rich overnight.

Well, I've got news for him. Most of Donahue's clientele are return customers. Most ate there because the food was the best and was reasonably priced. In the Summer, sometimes people waited two hours for their food because the food was worth it. No one complained.

All of that will change. I predict that unless the original menu is returned and the prices lowered, the restaurant will go out of business within 5 years.

What a shame. One of the best shoreline seafood restaurants went from being number one to being in last place for quality and pricing.

Not only will we not be returning but, my company won't be returning and won't be going there next month to celebrate a family member's birthday as had been planned.

The new owner managed to lose three loyal customers and 4 potential new customers after being in business for just two...

STAY away what a rip off joint $27 for fried scallops 10 of them , and no fries with the m even though they tell you they’re included. They’re crazy on their prices , now I know why the place is empty. Wishing them early business failure soon … update the order taker basically call us liars to our faces when we were leaving she claims she never told us that fries were included and that the other restaurants are even more for the food ? Guess that’s why lenny and joes is packed and the clam castle has three people in it tonight. , oh and one other thrill the outdoor bathrooms are outhouses ,not outdoor bathrooms and they’re pretty disgusting , all that money, how about updating this place WELL …the owner gif back to me via the review obviously unhappy with his nasty comment !! Yes I did get free fries after I complained about being ripped off for $27 for 10 small fried scallops , the server felt bad because she knew they lied given us the wrong information about fries being included , now as far as leaving all bad reviews , ? !!! I only leave negative reviews if the place is terrible ,which if you read other reviews your joint has been going downhill for a long time , on all the sites , so keep your nasty comments to yourself and be professional in your comments to the paying public, also don’t lie to customers about having outdoor bathrooms when they’re disgusting pot o lets and not well kept , how a restaurant on a main drag csn still have outdoor toilets is unbelievable.. So man up and admit your place has gone downhill by public opinion. Willing to dit down anytime and discuss how wonderful your business is in...

NOT IMPRESSED!!!! We've been to Clam & Lobster shacks all over New England, and always had good meals, Chowders were sometimes debatable, but the Clam Castle was the worst! They claim to have the best Chowder & Lobster Bisque, We were not impressed! I had a couple of spoonfulls, and thru the rest away...My Calamari was barely cooked, but I didn't want to complain, My husbands Seafood dinner could have been decent if the Scallops were cooked. They literally were raw and opaque color, my husband sent them back, they thru them back in the deep fryer and recooked them even after my husband had his fork in them, cutting into them and everything. So they come back, the coating was now a walnut color, and hard...the inside of the Scallops were still not cooked and opaque in color. after searching for the manager, who runs between the 2 restaurants that are owned by the same owner, they are side by side of each other, the manager finally comes and we show him my husband's Scallops, he agreed that they weren't done right, and when we brought up the fact that they thru the scallops into the deep fryer that my husband had his dirty fork in, he replied, well at 17.00 a pound, that's what ya do! So he tried rectifying the whole situation by cooking fresh scallops himself, we didn't eat them, we thru them in their garbage, actually our whole order that we spent 60.00 dollars on went right into the garbage!!! My belly wasn't feeling good, and we ran down the street to a Dunkin Doughnuts, because I refuse to use the Porta-Potty that they have for customers in the back parking lot! So long Story short,...