Saltwater — Restaurant in Margate City

Everything about this place was a bad experience. Just walking into the restaurant was unpleasant. The hostess was miserable. She seated the two of us at a very small table near the kitchen. I approached her and asked if we could move to a booth as the table was uncomfortable for my aunt who has some mobility/pain issues. She said yes followed by an eye-roll and a "we would be happy to accommodate you", emphasis on the "happy", although she was anything but. I will say that our waitress was wonderful. Very sweet, very receptive, attentive, and even complimented my dress. I ordered Gnocchi, my aunt ordered the eggplant parm which comes with a side of gnocchi. I can't remember the cost of hers, but my entree was $18.

The next nightmare was actually receiving our food. I understand that the gnocchi are large (way oversized, actually,) but I was disappointed to only receive 10 of them on my plate. That's close to $2 per single gnocchi. My aunt's "side of gnocchi" was laughable, in fact, we did laugh. THREE gnocchi as a side for eggplant parm! It says nowhere on the menu about the ridiculously small portion size, and it is not described by the staff. We hadn't ordered an appetizer because nothing looked too spectacular to us, so before either of us even touched our plates we knew we would be leaving this place hungry.

The waitress asked repeatedly if we would like to order anything else, although we hadn't even mentioned the portion issue, and it was pretty clear to us that she was aware, even just a few nights after opening, that people were leaving hungry. Eggplant parm comes with a side of pasta in any restaurant. If you are going to offer gnocchi as that side, you need to make it clear you are giving them a toddler-sized portion of gnocchi, as I'm sure my aunt would have just asked for spaghetti as a replacement if she was aware that was the case.

The gnocchi itself had a weird consistency. A bit gritty. The sauce was decent. Neither of us were, in any way, happy with our meals. Since visiting I have told everyone I know to steer clear of this place, it's a waste of time and money. When speaking to family and friends about this, several people mentioned that the people who run this restaurant have owned others in the past, and none lasted long. I am not surprised, and the reasons are clear.

I would not return to this restaurant if it were the last one in town, and I would not recommend it to anyone either. It might pass for the PA tourists who don't know any better and haven't experienced the other local restaurants, but it certainly will not fly for locals. One visit is more than enough to decide you will not be going back, but hopefully I'll help you save yourself the trip with my review.

We actually went to another local business immediately afterwards for snacks, because we came in starving, and...

THE BEST GNOCCHI'S we have ever eaten...the Ricotta flavor, wow!.....my mom (almost 102) ate her Entire meal!!

I made a comment to the busboy how picky of an eater my mom is, and she ate her entire meal! He surprisingly brought out the one owner! She, Lori, and her Husband own the business.

My meal was the Paselli, with peas and prosciutto. Mommy's was Ragu with a big Turkey meatball and sausage.

My husband had THE SICILIAN with

Olives, hot peppers, capers, and eggplant in a marinara sauce

Heather got the square pizza with mushrooms and rosemary. The pizza....something's special about the dough....airy, tasty.....unbelievable!

The owner, Lori, came out to meet my mom, like she was a celebrity! We had a great conversation about FOOD of course!! I shared about my mom's parents coming over from Sicily in 1911. My grandmother was known for making her Big Meatballs! Actually my mom made big Meatballs too. And even tlhough Saltwater's meatballs are made from Turkey for a healthier alternative, my mom and I enjoyed them....the fresh spices they use made a BIG Difference in the hearty flavor.

As time drew to dinnertime, also, we, being musicians, noticed the changeover from a lunchtime Rock to dinnertime with Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and a nice blend of popular ballads. Great music playlist, too!!

We will plan...

After having terrible service and leaving Johnny's Cafe, my boyfriend and I walked down the street and figured we'd try Saltwater in hopes for a better experience. What a mistake that was! We were seated quickly by the hostesses who were all sitting on their phones very uninterested when we walked in. Then we waited at least 10 minutes to be greeted by our server, Gianna. I figured we better get our drink and food order in while she was there since it took so long to acknowledge us to begin with. I ordered the entree gnocchi and my boyfriend ordered a regular pizza. The gnocchi came out first and after realizing the pizza wasn't coming anytime soon, my boyfriend told me to eat so it wouldn't get cold. The pizza was brought out about 20 minutes after I received my gnocchi when they were both supposed to be entrees. So I was done by meal by the time my boyfriend got his. Meanwhile, our server never came back to check on us or ask if we wanted another round or anything! She was more interested in socializing with the hostesses and other patrons that she knew. I've worked as both a hostess and server for many years and it takes a lot to make me write a review for bad service. Please take your...