Louie's Prime Steak & Seafood — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

We had high hopes for our night out at Louie's even after seeing some recent mixed reviews. I have been extra lenient with establishments who are trying to adapt to new and constantly changing rules and regulations surrounding covid guidelines and capacity issues but this experience was just a total disappointment.

We arrived at 6:30 and was told 45 minute wait which we were ok with. The hostess was friendly and said we would receive a text. It was a nice cool night and it was right in the middle of the dinner rush. We waited and walked around on the adjacent shoreline which is picturesque and a great place to hang out while you wait. At 7:20 we still had not received the text so we went to just check in, and unfortunately were told "people are not leaving their tables because they are waiting to take sunset photos." I was absolutely shocked by how nonchalant the staff were about this. Mainly about the patrons who seemingly had no care in the world about other diners who were patiently waiting for the scarce amount of tables in a post-covid world, but, also that the management didn't try to kindly usher finished patrons out, reminding them of the above. We stood by with other parties and watched as countless sunset photos were taken by patrons and staff alike, many with people not distancing or wearing masks. It was almost comical.

By 7:45 we still did not have a table and I pushed a little bit for a more exact answer on when we'd be seated. We were then told that there were just a few parties ahead of us but that there was no wait for a table inside. Again I was very surprised that they didn't offer this to us earlier on when the expected wait time had been surpassed. The hostess said she assumed we knew there were two separate entry points (one for indoor, one for outdoor). We later learned the indoor seating had no wait the entire evening.

Finally seated inside we noticed that Louie's is not adhering to the 50% capacity or 6ft distancing of tables, which I am not really concerned about but is worth noting because other patrons were visibly bothered by it and one table next to us was particularly loud and rowdy which was unnerving given the times. The menu offers a nice variety of options and several cocktails coming out looked appetizing. We ordered some appetizers and entrees and all seemed like it was going smoother than the start of the night. Unfortunately, the night would take a turn for the worst.

Our appetizers came in about 15 minutes which was nice. The order of baked clams we received was so sandy that it seemed like the clams were breaded in sand rather than the panko They were also a bit overcooked which didn't help the situation. These, unfortunately, were inedible. Both the clam chowder and lobster bisque were a bit small for the price point but everyone said the soups were delicious. From here it took another hour for us to receive our entrees. Nothing out of the ordinary or crazy was ordered yet we saw table after table of people who ordered well after us receive their food. One table in particular next to us, ordered apps and entrees around the same time as us and were finished with both by the time we were served entrees. The ridge we were seated on made it hard to flag down our waiter and in that hour he never came by to check-in.

When the food finally arrived there was no mention of the delay or even a "sorry to keep you waiting." My broiled seafood platter was cold and underwhelming for the price point. The jasmine rice was not freshly cooked and almost seemed like it was the Cisco pre-made boil in a bag rice. We had wanted to try the signature dessert that is served over dry ice but by the time we finished dinner it was almost 10pm and it was just too late.

Overall this seems like a restaurant where you might be happy paying these prices for the waterfront view but the service and food is mediocre at best. When seated inside, with no view, there is really nothing to...

Came in around 5:30, tried to make a reservation for a table but was told that they were walk-ins only, no reservations. A little obscene for a restaurant like Louie’s that always has a huge dinner crowd, especially on such a beautiful day like today. Perfectly fine with us, we made it to the restaurant and were seated after about 5 minutes of waiting. We were seated outside, which was no issue because the heat wasn’t as bad. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we finally got our waiter. We ordered our drinks, which were a mocktail and a fountain soda, and the waiter took our menus away, which was pretty weird. After a minute, he gave them back to us because they are the same menus that have the food on them. After 10 minutes, we received our drinks and ordered our main dishes and appetizer. Between this time, we were never offered bread. We got the Komodo roll, pretty good but nothing to rave about; if we would have come again, we would’ve tried a different one. Our server never checked on us after we received the sushi roll. Then, after almost 45 minutes, we received our entrees. I got the Atlantic salmon, which was my favorite dish prior to the renovations, and my boyfriend got the chicken milanese. The Atlantic salmon was disgusting. Hardly edible, I took two bites and offered two to my boyfriend. One of the bites i offered to him fell on the table due to it wobbling and a server nearby laughed at us. We both agreed that it just didn’t taste right and with the amount of time we had waited for our dishes and the experience overall, to call it quits. My boyfriend was sweating to a point to where he was completely uncomfortable and didn’t want to sit at the table anymore, with an addition of the table itself being wobbly and ruining any hopes of wanting to continue our meals. I flagged down the server and asked for our check and if we could speak to a manager. The manager came by and addressed all of our problems and offered us to move inside. At that point, we were ready to leave and have it be done. We told him, and he had our server bring us a check. Our two drinks that were $15 combined were taken off the bill, but not my meal that had four bites taken off of it. okay. we paid the check tipped the server $30 and called it a day. we spent $120 on a meal that we both didn’t enjoy and the real kicker is as i was walking out i got to speak to the gentleman that had sat us earlier. i let him know everything that happened to us and how i barely touched meal and it was left on the bill. it’s absolutely ridiculous for that at such a high price point our entire experience was awful. i informed him that my step father does a lot of business on the island and that us and his customers have been fans of Louie’s prior to the renovations but after today that none of us would be planning on...

We were really looking forward to visiting Louie’s with family and friends, especially after hearing about their big renovations. The excitement of seeing the newly remodeled space on a hot summer day (heat index over 100°F) quickly turned into disappointment due to a frustrating and frankly outdated experience.

My husband was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck tank top—appropriate, clean, and stylish. Upon arrival, he was informed he needed sleeves to dine, and was offered a collared shirt that matched the waitstaff uniforms. While we appreciated the staff trying to accommodate, we were also told the shirt had to be returned at the end of the meal, which immediately felt uncomfortable and awkward.

Trying not to let it ruin our experience, we agreed—until we got to the outdoor deck and noticed multiple women wearing tank tops, spaghetti straps, and even tube tops. None of them were asked to cover up. The double standard was glaring, and honestly, disappointing.

When we spoke with a manager, we were told the policy was aimed at deterring shirtless individuals coming in from nearby boats. That’s fair in principle—but not applicable here. We were fully dressed. The issue was not about someone being shirtless, it was about inconsistent and gender-specific enforcement. The manager even admitted that the rule is only directed at men, yet denied that it was sexist. To make matters worse, they couldn’t point to where this dress code was posted—neither on their website nor on OpenTable, where the restaurant is clearly listed as “Casual.”

We were told the general manager would be made aware, but it left us questioning how often this unclear and unevenly enforced policy affects others. As a gesture, we were offered a free dessert at the end of the meal—which we declined since we had a toddler ready to leave—and asked instead if they’d comp a drink. Nothing was offered.

This experience doesn’t reflect the values of Port Washington—a town known for its inclusivity, community, and equality. Louie’s may have renovated its space, but it’s clear their policies and practices still need work. For a restaurant with such promise, this was a letdown that soured the entire visit.

A word of caution to future guests: until Louie’s updates both their policies and mindset, expect potential discomfort—especially if you’re a man wearing a sleeveless shirt...