Sea Levels Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Islip

I think it is important to support local restaurants during such challenging times, but I made a mistake by supporting this one. This review will address (in order) the bad, the good, and the ugly.

First, the bad. I spoke with the owner about making a reservation for a large party for an important family event. The owner went through the menu and explained that the price included an appetizer and entree. The owner then suggested that I can bring in a sheet cake for dessert or he would put out a small selection of assorted pastries. I opted for the plate of assorted pastries for the table. There was an assumption that he would be providing it since he was the one that suggested it. Maybe I am wrong, but I called back a week later to finalize the menu and was assured that everything was set. Well, after dinner, the waitress knew nothing about it, and she informed me that only the ladies at the table would get a cannoli (I learned after that it was ladies' night). She then said that she had to check with the owner. The whole conversation was embarrassing and unnecessary. The owner could have rectified everything by speaking with me, but he chose not to.

Next, let's talk about the good.

The food was good. Our party selected the prix fixe menu which includes an appetizer and an entree for $22.95, which I think is an excellent value for the money. The portion size was just right, and everything was fresh. Our party did not have any complaints about the quality of the food. To follow up on the dessert fiasco, the owner did provide everyone with two small assorted pastries. However, I was never informed of his decision. I spoke with the server after dinner and was not informed if we were getting dessert or not. She never returned. My family and friends were getting ready to leave when suddenly the server came out with a plate of two pastries for each guest. The lack of communication borders on weird. Even though dessert came, we already had in our minds that we were leaving.

And now, the ugly. The service was among the WORST I have ever experienced at a restaurant. It was equally frustrating for my family and friends. Most of us were left without drinks, food, dressing for salads, napkins, place settings, and so on. I've worked in restaurants as a waiter for many years, so I understand and GREATLY appreciate the demanding and difficult job that they do. However, our server had two assistants and there were only a few other tables in the entire restaurant. It seemed like she was purposely avoiding eye contact with us because she would have to address something that she forgot, did not do, or messed up. There was NO accountability on her part. Some of us sat down and waited 45 minutes for a glass of wine, which arrived only after asking two or three times. Other times, we simply gave up because we knew the wait was not going to be worth it. A guest should never have to get up from the table, which a few of us did several times, to find the server in a small room that has only 6 or 7 tables. I can totally sympathize with a server that is overwhelmed, new, or frustrated, but this was not the case. Our server appeared apathetic to our requests, even though as a group, we were not demanding nor difficult as customers.

In my opinion, service is more important than the quality of the food. The service, for the money spent, was unacceptable. The owner did not wish to speak with me about dessert, even though he was there and had an amazing opportunity to make everything right with just a few kind words. Based on the service I experienced, I would not recommend this restaurant for a large party because the staff is unable to handle basic requests, like bringing a glass of wine to a guest in under 45 minutes, having silverware for guests to eat with, or make their guests feel welcomed inside of...

To me, 5 stars is reserved for world class and 4 stars is for places that routinely blow you away. The first thing I noticed was that the place looked great, the bar was beautiful and comfortable and the tables and place settings were elegant but not pretentious. This all faded from view as my contact lenses dried up and fell out of my eyes due to the heat in the place, easily 75 degrees. I was in shorts and a golf shirt and I literally went outside to cool off (40 degrees outside.) The menu was good with nice variety. My wife and I wanted to keep it light so I ordered a side salad and baked clams; she ordered a Caesar salad with chicken. The salad was nice, but it's "just a side salad" and her's was a fair size with ample chicken. The (4 chopped in shell) clams were burnt and hard to scrape from the shell. What really got me was that for that, 2 Heinekens and two house wines, with tip was $75. It was basically a snack! We will be back but order differently. On a side note, the lose door knob exiting took a razor sharp slice out of my finger on...

We were seated quickly, though the entrance through the bar, is different but looking at the layout of the restaurant, there really isn't a better place for an entrance. I ordered the blue pointer oysters (raw on the halfshell-$12 for 6(average for around here)) and the mussels and paella from the prixe fixe menu ($19.99). My food was wonderful and the shellfish was cooked well. My parents enjoyed their food as well; my dad with his chicken dish and my mom with the paella and new england clam chowder. Also, the waitress overheard it was my birthday and brought me a cappuccino ice cream over a brownie/cake ball with a little candle and sang happy birthday, but not in the way that is embarrassing. The only thing I would change was how cold the AC was. It was mid summer when we went so the AC must have been on blast. Also, they kept the sodas coming, bringing new ones without even having to ask, which is great. Afterwards, my dad called the meal "fabulous." Anyway,...