Seafood Mania — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

My son and I were craving Seafood Boil. When I saw that Seafood Mania was new & women owned, my son, and I decided to try them out.

First, I called to make sure they were open and then asked if they served a seafood boil. The lady on the phone was very nice. She told me that this was a soft opening & they had a limited menu. She told me the price which I thought was higher than others but we decided to go and just share the $70 BIG BOI which had Snow Grab Legs, Lobster Tail, Shrimps, Mussels, Potato, Corn.

When we walked in, we were greeted by three women with a smile. However, there were more than just the three women there. Two or three more were seated at the bar, & they were very clearly part of the staff, but they didn't acknowledged us. I found this to be strange only because we were the only customers that walked in there and we have been to a few soft openings. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE, greeted us with enthusiasm but I guess not at Seafood Mania!

Anyway, the server, who was one of the three who greeted us, showed us to our table. She handed us the limited menu. If I remember correctly, there was a Caesar salad, Mania salad, clam chowder, a few fried appetizers, skirt steak and two of their seafood boils.

One of the seafood boil was $45 called CAJAN MANIA & it had Snow Crab Legs, Shrimps, Mussels, Potato, Corn. A lobster tail added was the extra $25 for the BIG BOI.

Since we were sharing the Big Boi, we decided to also order the Caesar salad and the chowder. The server told us that they were out of Caesar salad but they do have a Greek Salad which I guess they renamed as Mania Salad. In the menu it stated that it didn't have onions and olives so I guess it isn't a Greek salad? I asked if the chowder was white or red. She said white and that it was very good. I ordered it and it was neither white nor red. Well, maybe red but a real dark red. I actually think it was their mania sauce with tiny chopped pieces of canned clams and a bunch of what I believe was cilantro, also chopped but the stems were left in and it made for an unpleasant experience for my son and I. The server told us to give an honest feedback because they need to know if changes could be made. So I told her. She continued to smile, thanked me because the owners "really want to know," and then told me she would let them know.

The Big Boi was served with fireworks that we could taste in the broth that once again had the same overpowering mania sauce. It did not come like the way your average boils are served. It didn't look like the way their Cajan Mania is presented on their website, in a plastic bag like we expected.

The Big Boi came in a very big Martini glass. It only had 1 tiny corn and 1 small potato. I do believe that there's a good amount of shrimp and some mussels and although we didn't like the broth, it would have been a nice touch to serve this with Italian bread or any bread for that matter so we could dip it in the broth, an option for those that like the broth.

I asked for ramen to be added, a $5 up charge. But my son was avoiding carbs and didn't want it. The cook was kind enough to serve it on the side. However, what was served was spaghetti tossed in guess what? Mania sauce! By the way, they bottled versions of this sauce for sale. I wish that it was communicated to me that they didn't have ramen to give me the option to say yes or no to the spaghetti instead of just serving it to me and hoping I wouldn't complain. At least they removed the $5 charge. After all, I didn't eat it after I had a taste.

The place was too dark. We couldn't see what we were eating. However, the place was nicely decorated. We enjoyed the painted walls & the usual sea creatures everywhere. If you are going there, bring a sweater or a jacket as it was chilly in there. We also had to ask for paper napkins because they weren't provided.

Look, the place is new & there is gonna be some trial and error.I hope that this review is read as constructive criticism. The server was nice, the place...

This place has lots of potential but I hope the owner takes these reviews into consideration! Some cons: Our server was very nice, but didn’t know much about the menu. She charged us for the drink in my sons kids meal. My husband ordered the skirt steak that was supposed to come out with chimichurri sauce, when it was brought over, there was no sauce. Our server seemed confused when asked about it, so she went to check and came back to say, the chef that makes the sauce wasn’t in that day. Chimichurri sauce is very easy to make, any seasoned chef should know how to make it. He was then given A1 as a replacement. The steak did not come with any sides beside a green salad, you have to order separate and there was not a lot to choose from in terms of normal sides to accompany a steak. The portion was also very small for the price. He ended up sending it back and getting a lobster roll, which was tasty but more bread than lobster. The drinks were not good at all. I had a strawberry mojito and it tasted like poison. When I mentioned it to the server, she said that they had been getting that comment a lot that day. Also, we came at 6pm on a Saturday and music was blasting like it was a club. We barely could hear each other talk and also a lot of the music was a bit much for kids. Our son is only 3 so luckily he had no idea, but we don’t need to hear shensea singing about sharing the cocky over dinner. I love a good party but not with the kids

Some pros: I loved the aesthetics, the place looks great although table layout was a little odd. The crab egg rolls were delicious! I ordered the Alfredo pasta with crab, but the crab pieces were microscopic, mixed into the sauce. I think lump crabmeat would be more substantial. The portion was reasonable but would do well with some bread or something for the excess sauce. The chicken strips in the kids meal were also well seasoned.

All in all, a nice little spot with good ambience, and the food has potential to be great. Please include sides to entrees where applicable and not be so stingy with the servings. I know food costs are high but people will pay if the meal makes sense. Please have servers learn the menu so they can advise patrons knowledgeably and accordingly. The loud music would be perfect for happy hour, boozy brunch, or...

I dined in during the afternoon so it wasn't packed....so when the waitress came over she took my drink order first....So my go to drink is always any "Margarita" ❤️ and I loved it!!....So far its the best one I've had, and I've had many.

So after taking my drink order....the waitress came back and took my food order. I ordered the seafood nachos off the brunch menu...I do wish the food from their brunch menu had more of a variety to select from even though I could of ordered something else that was not on the brunch menu.

When the nachos was served it could've been much hotter where the cheese is melted more. Also, I did have more shrimp than crab meat...but it was very tasty 😋

The portion size was a bit small to be on the brunch menu....It felt more of an appetizer. The "seafood nachos" needed to be balanced more....the ratio of shrimp & crab meat was 2 to 1....I had more shrimp than crab meat. As far as the waitress service the young lady was very nice & courteous and she refill the jug of water when needed.

I did go to use the bathroom and I noticed there was no hand soap to wash my hands. The soap dispensary was empty.

The music was great and I like the decor but it can be updated. The interior needs a bit of brightness with a vibrant pop it is a bit dark you want it to be more inviting...but I get the concept.

So to conclude, All-in-all...I'd come back and support Seafood Mania because they make really good drinks, play good music and the food is ok....with a little touches here or there. The place is cool & is a chill vibe spot to eat & drink. Give them a chance & check them out.

This is my review of an honest opinion & experience and it is not influenced by anyone else's thoughts or written review that has been to this establishment.

I'm posting my review to uplift black businesses to be better. Businesses can not please everyone, but what we can do is encourage each other through positive or negative criticism. Black businesses need to be supported, we get nowhere by putting them down. DON'T DISS, UPLIFT!!...