Salt Shack — Restaurant in Town of Babylon

We ate dinner here as a family the other night and had a nice time overall. The atmosphere is a lot of fun, for families, although I can see how this place could draw a bar crowd on weekends, fyi. The service is counter pick-up style, typical of clam bars. I had expected table service for some reason, and was surprised, but didn’t mind too much. The layout of the restaurant is large, with many seating areas to choose from. We chose to eat right on the beach, which was fun, until a server came over and said we had to move, or he had to close our umbrella, due to the wind. (Note: It wasn’t abnormally windy.) We chose to have him close the umbrella. The servers were all teenagers and were nice but not the sharpest. They all seemed a bit dazed and lost when it came to customer interaction. Our food was delicious, but very overpriced. I had the Maine lobster roll, fries, clams on a half shell and coconut shrimp. Everything was fresh and the flavors were good. Clams on a half shell were fresh and properly prepared. Lobster roll had great flavor, and not too much mayo, like some do. The fries are some of the best I’ve had in a while. I do feel that the portions are too small, for how much the restaurant charges, though. My lobster roll (although very delicious) didn’t have very much meat in it at all, and we only got 5 shrimp in our order of coconut shrimp, which were really pricey. The lowest point in my experience dining here was when I had to spit out a bite of my lobster roll because it had a large piece of claw shell in it, and I was afraid of breaking a tooth. So, to protect my teeth, I wasted one of my very FEW, precious bites of lobster. So disappointing. Also, know before you go that they don’t offer tap water. You have to buy it bottled. And they won’t let you bring a reusable bottle in. We enjoyed the atmosphere, watching the nearby volleyball tournament and my kids had fun on the adjacent playground. We were disappointed in the selection of desserts ($5 carnival man-style frozen pops, from an unfriendly kid, sitting next to a freezer, outside of the bathrooms. Really? And speaking of the bathrooms: they weren’t the cleanest. But, they do have a bathroom attendant who will happily hand you a paper towel AND sell you candy at the same time, from her crowded bathroom shelf. What? Eww, no thanks! The entire place feels like a bit of a greedy cash grab, honestly. They do have a nice setup though, and the atmosphere is beautiful! I see the potential of how this restaurant could be amazing, if they work on the things people have written in these reviews. If I could offer a suggestion to this business, in addition to working on the things I already highlighted, it would be to offer a virgin pina colada to your drink mix offerings. We were anticipating having pina coladas with our meal, and were really disappointed when we were told that they only offer them with alcohol, already pre-mixed in. If you offer non-alcoholic blue raspberry and cherry slushies, why not add a pina colada flavor, as an option? Just a suggestion. I think many kids, families and non-drinkers would really appreciate it! I’m going to leave a generous 3 star review for now, with a hope of improvement...

went here to celebrate a 22nd birthday with a bunch of friends. One of us in my little brother is 20 years old came with us and was denied entry due to the fact he was under 21 which is understandable. Bouncer at gate said that must have a parent with him in order to get in. I explained that I was 22 years old and I was his legal guardian and there is no one else. I was told that I legal guardian is not a parent and it cannot be an uncle or aunt or anyone that is not direct parent. I asked him what if we didn’t have parents and he said then we would not be able to get in. later I spoke with the manager and another bouncer who said that I legal guardian is considered a parent and had no clue what the bouncer was speaking about. After explaining the situation to the manager he let us in and told us he would be watching the skin tone night to make sure the only person in the group under 21 would not be drinking. after I went to try to buy a drink for the person we were celebrating the birthday for I was denied service and I tried to show the bartender my ID and he told me he will not look at my ID and doesn’t care if I’m over 21 and then told me to stop yelling at him and to get away. worst experience ever margaritas are $15 each. we left shortly after due to the horrible experience. 10 people in our group went outside of the entry to use the bathrooms and was told we were not allowed back in. apparently this was some kind of joke???? never been to a bar where someone over 21 cannot buy a drink. never knew that a legal guardian is not considered a parent apparently??? every bartender and bouncer was extremely rude and not professional at all. we went at 6:30 when there was not a big crowd so I’m not sure why they were so uptight and rude. there were many people with their kids they’re well under 21 and none of them were interrogated like we were. i’m not sure why the bouncer letting people in did not know the rules and what is considered a parent and a legal guardian and that they were the exact same thing but the manager knew. On top of this I was Id almost 10 times throughout the night which is understandable being ID each time you have to enter but what bothers me is that window first bouncer scanned over my ID and let me in the second one would call me back every single time to re-look at my ID I’m not sure if this is regular protocols to check IDs twice for two different bouncers but it seemed like I was the only one being checked twice every...

First off, last night we came to see one of our favorite bands and very popular. We drove up to the entrance and a police officer along with an employee said, "parking lot full". Ok, I'm watching cars pull out, they were leaving, but lot full. "Drive 300 yards, there's another parking lot, then you can walk it from there". I don't want "special" treatment but I showed them our handicapped parking sticker and asked if perhaps there may be an open spot for that. Nope. We drove three hundred yards and walked it back to the venue, honestly no easy task, but whatever. We finally reached the main "full" lot and counted no less than25 open parking spaces just in the lane we were walking in, so let's just double that. So I ask, do I have to tip the guy, or know the guy to park in the main lot? Could it be that they have zero communication between the cars leaving the lot and the person at the front claiming the lot is full? This is a great place but I'm not happy with this ignorance or trickery. Add to that, the main floor where the music is playing is overcrowded, yes, we unfortunately left after 2 hours because some drunk trampled on my wife's ankle. As usual, the floor above which is a great option, always has "private party" on it. So, all in all, after loving the Salt Shack and coming here so often, we're done with it and prefer The Boatyard 9 minutes away on Ocean Parkway. After all, being herded like sheep and tossed in a pen, that's not for everybody. Scott Campbell and James Bonnano are owners of both the Salt Shack and The Boatyard, maybe...