The Oar — Restaurant in New Shoreham

From the moment we arrived, we felt unwelcome. We showed up around 1:30 PM on Sunday, May 25, waited briefly in line, and asked for a table for two. The two young women at the host stand exchanged eye rolls and radioed in to check availability - no greeting, no warmth, and no option to choose where we sat. We were simply told to go upstairs. Their behavior honestly reminded me of that old SNL sketch “Jeffrey’s,” where the staff is too cool and too annoyed to be bothered with customers.

Upstairs, a friendly young woman by the register greeted us, and we were seated by a man I later learned - by reading lips - was named George. Our server, Natalie (whose name we only knew from a labeled tablet she carried in her apron), never introduced herself. She had distinctive eye tattoos on the back of her ankle, which made her easy to recognize as she walked by… frequently, but rarely to our table.

We ordered two mudslides, a miso soup (which was extremely salty), a Musashi roll, and the Tuna Loco. The sushi arrived quickly, delivered by another staff member, but with no chopsticks or soy sauce dishes. I had to track someone down to ask for them. George flagged another young man who eventually brought them over.

Shortly after, Natalie appeared - without a word - and dropped a paper check on the table. When we said we wanted to order more food, she simply entered it into her device and walked off. The new order (clam chowder and the Red Dragon roll) was again delivered in pieces by others. Natalie only stopped by once, mid-meal, to ask if we were okay - barely slowing down as she passed our table on the way to the next. I overheard her telling the guests next to us that she had the busiest section, but from what I observed, she was only covering four tables - three, if you exclude ours. Meanwhile, we watched the tables around us turn over multiple times while we sat waiting, which made our experience feel even more neglected.

When we were finally done, she came over to check us out electronically, hovering over my partner - who felt pressured to leave a tip - and said, “Thanks for your patience, I’ll be right back with a printed receipt.” That receipt never came. We waited over 30 minutes. She passed by us multiple times, clearly visible in the dining room, but made no effort to follow up. We sat there so long that I managed to read her lips in conversation and learned the floor manager’s name was George.

To be clear, we were a quiet party of two. Our order was simple: two mudslides (a bit watered down this year), a miso soup (not recommended), a clam chowder (mid), and three (amazingly tasty) sushi rolls. Yet somehow, we didn’t leave until well after 3:30 PM. We weren’t lingering - we were just constantly waiting.

In the end, I briefly spoke to the other floor manager at the register, who had just arrived, and shared how poor the experience was - from the dismissive attitude at the host stand to the nonexistent service. I made it clear that our server, Natalie, never should have received a tip, but by then it was too late to adjust anything. The very kind and apologetic young woman at the register - who had no reason to apologize - was able to provide us with the printed receipt in a matter of minutes.

We stay on Block Island every Memorial Day weekend, and in years past, I’ve had great experiences at The Oar. This year was different. It wasn’t particularly busy, but the service was careless and impersonal. For the prices they charge, basic hospitality and follow-through shouldn’t be too much to expect. Thankfully, Block Island has plenty of other restaurants, and it’ll be a long time before I...

The waitresses here are down to earth and friendly. The view of the "pond" os AMAZING. Lobster roll is good. Clam chowder is Great! The boats and the water are right there. You need to do steps to get into the "building, but they have a lawn full of picnic tables and chairs if steps aren't your thing. They sell branded tshirts and skirts of all things.

Full bars- alcohol and sushi. We enjoyed the sushi here the most. Drinks were okay, we didn't find anything spectacular, but maybe we weren't trying hard enough. The decor is fun to examine while we waited for sushi or if looking the other direction the boats are just AMAZING!

Next door is the boat marina and I STRONGLY recommend visiting here. Prices are awesome and they have some grocery items, beach goodies, t-shirts and a sweet and kind staff who are ready to help.

Restrooms and showers for marina and beach are under the Oar. Buy tokens for the showers! A boat taxi was shuttling folks back and forth from dock to boats out in the water. Fun guessing game to see which boat would be occupied next. Our guesses were poor at best...

There is also a rental shop here for mopeds and bikes and the like.

PS- 2018- One thing Block Island has going for it that I was so pleasantly surprised by was their HIGHEST QUALITY I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED seasonal staff. These folks are the top of the class. Way to go ! From the Spring Hill waiters at Victoriaa and their housekeeping and laundry crews, to the Oars waitresses on the deck, to Dick's waiter Jason, to the grocery store's checkers, to all the kids at the stores downtown. Incredible. Hate to have to share one downside- the management/owners.

They must/ really need to pick up their game- these kids /folks outshine you 1000% percent. (Fudge shop guy is the exception- he holds his own with personality and...

For all the amazing and great places you could go to on the Block, the Oar is not one of them. The only thing this place has going for it is the views of the marina, other than that, the food was mediocre, the only way to enjoy it is getting at least three of there overpriced drinks, but ultimately our experience came down to the horrible service from one of their managers.

An older lady with blond hair was in charge of seating us, later to find out that it was one of their managers. In all my years of sitting down at restaurants I’ve never been talked down to more or been talked to in such an uninviting attitude than I was at the Oar. All because we had asked if we could join a group of our family that was already sat down. We were alright with not all sitting at one table together, as I explained to the manger multiple times, but yet she still proceeded to be just nasty and rude to us.

It was clear through watching her “run” the floor, that she is not meant to be in the service industry. Her inability to treat people kindly during a rush shows that she needs to try to find a job elsewhere and work on how she treats other people.

If the service was good we probably could’ve overlooked the high prices and mediocre food, but it wasn’t and it was disappointing. For all the great spots this island offers, and all the friendly people there, it is truly sad to see a place like the Oar, with so much potential, be a spot we will never go to again because of there lack of...