PJ Buckets — Restaurant in Ventnor City

My wife and I have been here a few times. It is usually pretty good, and the service is always fantastic.

However this last time, my Italian Boil was underwhelming. First, the shrimp and lobster were very undercooked… my boil came out almost 10 full minutes before my wife’s. They re-heated the undercooked food without any issue and even threw in extra mussels, but it shouldn’t have come out that undercooked.

Also, the Italian boil is advertised as a “flavorful italian gravy”, and containing sausage. There was one small knob of sausage (the size of a small meatball) and the “gravy” was unflavored tomato sauce. It tasted like they just dumped sauce out of a can on the seafood with no other preparation. Very sour, no depth, no seasoning, other than the red peoper I requested.

It is not an Italian tomato gravy (cooked over multiple hours with meat and herbs and vegetables enhancing the flavor). Additionally, they break-up the pasta before cooking it, so there are no strands of pasta, just chips and pieces of pasta. If you are looking for an italian seafood gravy, this is not it.

Finally, they forgot my wife’s lobster tail. They made it, but they served it to her after she had nearly finished her boil and we asked for it.

The staff was super nice and apologetic and accommodating. We will be back in the future because the food is good and the service is nice.

But stay-away from the Italian Boil if you already have an idea of what it is...

3rd time eating at PJ Buckets in Ventnor, 1st time this summer of 2025. Food was just bad, especially for the price. We ordered 2 double platters with crab legs, hard boiled eggs, clams, shrimp, corn. ($59.99) I also ordered a small fries, and a $25 lobster roll. (They sell a full lobster at the restaurant for $22.) Fries came after about 20 minutes, lukewarm and about 14 fries. Like 1/2 of a child size order? Both of our platters were missing the shrimp! None! Had to ask for shrimp, which then took over 1/2 hour to get, and arrived as we were finishing. The clams were at the bottom and so overcooked they weren't edible, the crab legs were overcooked, but edible. The corn was killed and flavorless, simple. My $25 lobster roll???? 4-5oz of meat, tops. Grilled roll was good, but I think they cut the roll to make it shorter. It wasn't worth $10 let alone $25. It was served hot, with no noticeable seasonings or butter sauce. Meat itself was pretty good, but I got 2 stringy bites. The entire roll was probably 4 bites. There were 5 of us, and for over $200, it was not worth the money by any means. The experience took about 2 hours, and we were way too frustrated to go fight about the bill. (Our bench seat was rusted and wobbly, we had to move. (We sat outside.) The service was super slow, but there are only a few tables. Last year, it was a completely...

Was staying in Atlantic City, and drove the eight minutes to check it out. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but experience tells me that never means a thing as far as the food is concerned. I’ve eaten restaurants wearing a jacket is required and later felt I would have been better off eating the jacket The wait staff was friendly and thorough, the owner who has 2 places came out to greet everyone and tell a couple stories. It’s atmosphere can be described as “laid-back and a lot of fun”. We decided to eat outside but they do have seating inside, although they could probably us more. Now to the important part! The food was out of this world! It was both delicious and we were served filling portions. (2 things you don’t usually see together) The seafood was very fresh with perfect texture and flavor. Everything was spiced just right that I had. I would highly recommend the lobster bisque, the shrimp roll, the pasta with butter and garlic sauce with more than enough shrimp. My friend had the air fried flounder, and he loved it. The salads were obviously all homemade. A wonderful experience and I would highly recommend trying it out alone or with a group. They also have takeout. I will...