Boatyard401 — Restaurant in Point Pleasant Beach

I’m not one to be reviewing places we go to. We find a place we love, and then we keep going.

Here’s a little backstory. July of 2024, we are invited to a pub crawl for a friend’s birthday. A fun day where we can have a little mom and dad time. After a… less than ideal experience spending $8 for a bottle of yuengling at a crowded outdoor bar. The next stop was Boatyard 401. I immediately was intrigued.

Considering the area, there’s always the chance you’re about to walk into a place where pretend fancy NJ jabronis are going to be ordering overpriced seafood broils and $18 cosmos. NOPE! Not Boatyard. We approached and I turned to my better half and said “oh damn. This is a SPOT”.

It was a Saturday afternoon after a TORRENTIAL STORM. We were ready for a drink. And the doubled up bar was too. We rolled in with about 30 people ranging in age (let’s say 35 average). And the team behind the bar jumped into action like the Avengers, but instead of Vibranium shields and Gamma Radiation Powers, they were equipped with drink shakers, pint glasses, and AMAZING customer service skills.

My instincts kicked in and we went with the margaritas to start. 100/10. Amazing cocktails. However, in the spirit of longevity, we switched to draft beers. Oh, did I mention $2.50 Yuengling drafts, all the damn time. Insane. We were dialed in. And then we saw the menu.

We didn’t have to scour the choices for quick snacks like the Boardwalk Fries and Sweet Potato Fries (amazing). And a VEGAN bar pie. My plant based heart (and belly) was full. But the menu is so much bigger than that.

Fast forward to August 2024. We had a special occasion and decided to enjoy some drinks in the sunshine outside during the day.

The upstairs wasn’t yet opened but that didn’t stop the amazing hostess from getting everything set up for us. Orange crush and margarita to start. Followed by the best battered fried cauliflower I’ve ever had. And my partner went with the ahi tuna nachos. Also incredible.

I’ve lived on the Barrier Island my entire life. Bars like this used to be everywhere, but over time we’ve lost these bastions of amazing cocktails, inclusive and delicious menus that don’t require a mortgage for some snacks, jaw dropping happy hour menus, and an unmatched vibe.

This review is partially our response to the INSANITY that any person could leave a negative review for this place. And also for the respect deserved as the establishment responds to those negative reviews honestly and directly, but takes no BS from the dorks that (in my opinion) are likely never going to be happy, no matter where they go.

But this review is specifically our experience at what is now easily one of our favorite places to go. Every time we go there we are met with smiles and top notch service. And seeing the options for kids, we are excited to make this a spot to bring our little one too.

Oh, and the hostess who is there all the time. I’m so sorry we forgot your name for this review, but you...

I brought my family here last week while they were in town, since I've gotten really good takeout before. We were grateful that were was no wait and we were seated upstairs. Things started off fine when our server came by we asked to put in appetizers right away, since we were starving! The drinks and apps weren't written down, so we figured they might not be correct since we were a table of 6. Sure enough, the drinks came out wrong (not a huge deal, we corrected them), but then the appetizers took over an hour to arrive.

When they finally did, as we suspected, they were the wrong apps. We ordered short rib nachos and mussels and got fried pickles instead. When the mussels eventually came out (20 minutes after the already late apps), they smelled bad and were full of sand.

The entrees took another 40 minutes after that. Our server, who seemed embarrassed, just disappeared. At one point we were told the kitchen was “slammed,” but there were one of only three tables inside. Even if outside was full, the long delays and disappearing act were unacceptable. Our drinks sat empty and no one checked in. We were sat at 7:40 and didn't leave until nearly 10pm for what was supposed to be a "quick bite". We ordered the second we sat down, so it certainly wasn't due to us taking our time.

3 of the 6 of us work in the industry, so we understand what it means to be in the weeds have a crazy, night, etc. We really tried to be understanding, but this was beyond anything we could make sense of.

They did take the apps off the bill, but we still paid $150 for a meal that was slow, disappointing, and really awful service. We left hungry and frustrated. Won’t...

Celebrated my Grandma’s 100th Birthday in Point Pleasant! We did some shopping and rolled into Boathouse 401 around 4pm. The atmosphere is relaxed, and most of the meal was very chill, we had great conversations. Somewhere between 5 and 5:30pm it became a little loud as more people filled the surrounding tables. After some time, my aunt couldn’t hear what my grandma was saying, but because she was trying repeatedly to talk louder and my aunt still couldn’t understand her it became a source of great laughter. We laughed so hard, my grandma almost fell off her chair. I’ve never seen her laugh so hard. We were all just present, enjoying the moment together, laughing together, and nothing else mattered…the memory makes me smile, and I’m really grateful for that.

Our server was a pro. She was cool, cheerful, knew the menu well and helped select appetizers. Unfortunately they were sold out of clam strips which was a bummer, but we recovered fast. Between my grandma, my aunt and myself we finished the nacho appetizer, ate half the crab and spinach dip appetizer, and we all had crab cake sandwiches which were really good. Fries were thick and crispy but soft inside. Nice. Wonderful experience down the shore with...