Pier 95 Restaurant & Marina — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

I never review places on the internet however I wanted to save other patrons the misery of eating at this establishment.

I took my family of 5 to celebrate our grandmother's 85th birthday to the restaurant. For full disclosure, we did wind up about 20 minutes late for our actual reservation due to logistics of people traveling in from out of town.

The reason I say "actual" is that when I called for the reservation I specifically said 7pm. The person with whom I was speaking asked if I could do 6:30. I said no and he said that was fine. When we called to say we would be a few minutes late, they said we were an hour late. Of course they booked us for a 6:30 reservation.

At the restaurant, they seemed grossly understaffed. There was nobody seating people or even greeting them. I sought out the head waiter and he told me he gave away our reservation but would do his best to accommodate us. I was fine with that, except that we waited 45 minutes for a table. When my girlfriend asked for an appetizer to order to be sent over to the area where we were waiting, she was yelled at by the maitre d and told that they were working on out table and she needed to be patient. Once we were seated, no one came over to the table for another half hour. We didn't even get menus until we asked for them, 30 minutes later.

Once the appetizers came out, after over an hour of waiting and asking multiple times for them, they were cold. As were most of the entrees. This was the first dining experience in which I ever sent numerous dishes back because they were cold.

As for the food itself. The mussels appetizer was excellent. The sauce was light and complex and the mussels themselves were cooked perfect. The calamari was cold and rubbery. The raw oysters were good - not great. They weren't briney at all but were a little fleshy. The clams casino tasted like they had been sitting out all night. The softshell crabs were overcooked, cold and had none of the sauce they were supposedly sauteed in actually on them making them dry. The paella was bland. The risotto which I did not taste also was cold and was forgettable.

When I pulled the waiter aside as to not make a scene in front of the other patrons between courses, he assured me he would make it up to us. He did offer to buy us coffee and dessert but the 3.5 hour ordeal that was dinner left my 85 year old grandmother exhausted and we declined.

I grew up on Long Island and always enjoyed the restaurants in Freeport. Being away for over 10 years I thought it would be a special treat to take everyone out there again. I am sorry that I did. I cannot recommend this restaurant for food, ambiance, or customer service and I would strongly discourage anyone from...

I'm trying to stay positive, here, so let me get my Tiara on.

(siiiiiighhh)

The restaurant is beautiful, I'll give it that. And Tony, our bar tender/waiter was beyond personable, funny, light-hearted yet still very professional. However, the food... Eh...

I'll start by saying, if you want exquisite desserts, the Pastry Chef is by far, bar none, the BEST Pastry Chef I've ever sampled such delicacies from. She is so talented; I begged her to teach me her skills. She refused.

Having said that, there were a few other good points, but...meh.

We were a group of nine. We all ordered apps and intending on sharing them amongst the table. I chose a special for the night; the Clams Casino.

If you've never had Clams Casino, typical they're Little Neck Clams, kept attached to the shell (so...whole) draped with a couple thin pieces of prosciutto or pancetta, a couple thin pieces of red pepper, doused in a minced garlic, pepper, oregano and wine sauce, then thrown in the salamander for a few minutes and ta-daaaa! Clams Casino.

Pier 95's Clams Casino had the Clam meat removed from the shell and minced, mixed with bread crumbs, a mirepoix and baked. Definitely not Clams Casino; More like Baked Stuffed Clams, but regardless... The flavor was nice, I will admit. The two pieces of shell and one "rock" I had in my face (that almost broke my tooth) were not enjoyable. I spit out the shells & rock and pictured them, so if you order their Clam-anything, be careful.

For my entreé, I ordered Seared Sea Scallops in a light Tomato Béarnaise sauce. Plating was beautiful. The Scallops were Spot-On. They were served with cauliflower, broccoli and mashed potatoes. The cauliflower and broccoli were almost raw; Edible only if raw Cauliflower and raw Broccoli is your thing. It's not mine. The mashed potatoes were very lumpy and bland. They were mashed with a potato mashed; they weren't "whipped potatoes". Also, I don't think much butter or cream was used in their making. I had two bites and left the rest. The only things I found edible on my entreé plate were the Sea Scallops. That's it.

Dessert; A-WHOLE-nother story. I ordered Crême Bruleé. It was as perfect as I make my own. Everyone was blown away by the dessert-round.

Overall; We had a nice time. Everyone else was thrilled (but frankly, they don't cook like I do, nor have the culinary background I do).

I wouldn't recommend this place to a friend, but I would not suggest someone go...

⸻

My Disastrous Experience at Pier 95 – A Warning to Anyone Considering Working for Ramiro Santos

I write this as both a personal outcry and a warning to all hospitality professionals who, like me, seek opportunities abroad in hopes of building a better future.

I am a professional cook, and I accepted an offer to work at Pier 95, lured by promises of growth, stability, and professional respect. I left Portugal and packed my bags full of hope, believing I was taking an important step in my career.

Little did I know I was walking into one of the worst experiences of my professional life.

From day one, it became clear that the promises made to me were nothing but empty words. I was exploited in every possible way by Ramiro Santos, the person in charge of the restaurant. Abusive working hours, lack of a proper contract, constant pressure, and a toxic work environment became my daily reality. I worked endless hours, often without proper breaks, without recognition—and certainly without fair pay for the effort demanded.

What shocked me the most was not just how I was treated, but how Ramiro Santos systematically exploits the Hispanic community working in his restaurants. Many of them are vulnerable, far from home, and hoping for a fair chance—only to be taken advantage of with low wages, no job security, and no respect for their rights. He counts on their silence, knowing many fear speaking up due to language barriers or immigration concerns.

I was used like I was disposable, treated not as a skilled professional but as someone easily replaceable, with no respect for my dignity or for even the most basic working conditions. No support was provided to help someone who had just moved from another country based on a professional promise.

I feel deceived, disrespected, and deeply disappointed. This experience has left a mark on me, but it also taught me to be more cautious and to share my story so others won’t fall into the same trap.

To all my fellow hospitality workers: do your research, demand clear contracts, and never settle for less than you deserve. And if you hear the name Ramiro Santos or Pier 95, think twice before...