DJ's Clam Shack Wantagh — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

Finding decent conch or conch fritters in the NYC-area has been an exercise in futility, so when I saw a post on their social media account advertising conch fritters I figured I needed to see how they stack up.

We arrived around 7 on a Saturday night and, to my surprise, we were the only customers. The parking lot was full and we had to circle the block before finding a spot, but there are a few pubs in the area.

My companion was eager to try their hot buttered lobster roll and placed their order before I could finish looking at the menu board. I asked whether their calamari is served with rings and tentacles and was told that they only serve rings. Although it’s not scientific, that’s my method of determining whether they’re serving fresh or frozen calamari. Like I said, it’s not a scientific method and I’m sure it’s extremely flawed. Besides, I kinda’ like the tentacles. I asked for an order of conch fritters and was told that they were unavailable and they hadn’t had them for the past 2-3 days. That was disappointing. The employee at the counter was patient while I decided what I wanted to eat and answered our questions about the beverages in the cooler.

I rarely order lobster rolls because I feel that I can usually find something as flavorful on any menu for ten dollars less, but on this night I decided to treat myself.

We ordered two of the hot buttered lobster rolls and a soda. The “market price” rolls were priced at $28 each on this night, but I will say that they were stuffed with lobster. The piece resting atop my roll was the largest piece of claw meat that I’d ever seen outside of an actual lobster claw. My meal came with a sample-sized serving of cole slaw in a shot glass-sized plastic cup. My companion received a heaping serving of french fries with their meal. I don’t see any reason for them to skimp on the slaw, but oh well. It was tasty.

The lobster roll was… okay. The bread was soft and buttery and sadly had more flavor than the actual lobster. We both felt that the lobster meat could’ve used something more… like seasoned butter, Old Bay… just something else. The sandwich was filling, but didn’t leave us feeling satisfied.

After walking to the front to dump our trays and stack our used bowls, we walked past the three employees sitting around and looking at their personal devices. Not one person looked up or mumbled a “goodnight” or “thanks for stopping by.” This caught my attention but I decided not to say anything to my companion, but they also noticed and mumbled to me, “Not even a ‘good night’?”

I’d return just to try the...

So i get it, I understand that the price of a lobster roll is regularly subject to change due to market prices, so i was wrongfully assuming that it would be made up for with a decent serving of fries. So $26.07 is a reasonable price for this? Either that or i was being taxed or punished or whatever for coming in at 7:30 for a cold lobster roll? Either scenario seems pretty lose lose for me eh? Funny story ; i work at a shop down the road from here and ANY time i have to tell a customer “its gonna be a while im sorry”, its normally followed by “hey if youre hungry theres a good seafood spot right across from diner”. The ironic part is that this is my first and last time ordering food from djs. Whatever the case is, i cant afford a lobster roll and a handful of fries for almost 30 bucks. Im more mad at myself than anything. I knew the second i caught an attitude that i wasnt gonna be happy with my dinner. Been eating at the diner across the street since i was a little kid. Thats where i should be sending people. Go to lighthouse diner...

Really good. Clam chowder was flavorful and filled with clams and veggies which made it really chunky. I had the hot lobster roll, $24 bucks with slaw. No bargain, but it was fully loaded and damn tasty in a nicely toasted roll that had tons of butter. I got the fish fingers for my kids which I expected to be regular ol fish sticks. Not the case. These were hand battered and fried pieces of fresh fish. My wife had the fried clam strips, which were OK, but she preferred the fish fingers... And the portions were big enough. Clam strips were nice and crispy and the tarter sauce was fresh, but this was our least favorite. Next time I'll go for the bellies.

I read some other reviews that mentioned things were salty, and they were. The chowder and lobster roll especially. I just don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. It wasn't too salty that you would stop eating and everything tasted great.

Staff was very friendly.

If I'm ever back in the area,...