I really love the decor of this place, it's very nice. Atmosphere is great. Love the paintings on the wall. As for the food, it was ok. Not bad. Little pricier than most places on the board walk. Only part about the food I'll criticize is the garlic bread. It tasted stail, couldn't taste the garlic and wasn't warm at all. Our waitress was nice and helpful. One other thing that did annoy us is that we asked for a glass of water (water from the tap is free). They said they only sold or gave water from a bottle (meaning you had to pay for it). That's pretty annoying as most places usually have water for free. Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this place mainly because it's pricey and the food isn't worth the price (it wasn't bad, just not the quality you'd expect for the price). Plus it's only an italian menu, so there's no variety.
J V
Even with the boardwalk location this venue seemed like a respectable Italian cuisine eatery including the décor. However the entrees and sides were very substandard quality to be polite and surprisingly high priced. This includes the beverages. Now we understood why there were no other customers. Permanently scratched off the list for Ocean City dining in our opinion.
Please Look Elsewhere for Dinner.
To the owner: You don't know us! We eat at restaurants all the time including resorts, and are keenly aware of the pricing. It's the lack of value vs. price we are flagging. What was served was not worth what was paid, even in today's 'resorts' restaurant market and shore locale. Good luck.
Karen Pontarelli
We ordered catering trays Food was abundant and exceedingly good We order the vodka pasta Chicken parm. Meatballs. Salad. Trays I Would highly recommend for your next party or event. Maria was awesome.
Erika K
⭐ 2 out of 5 stars
Ocean Café really said, “Let’s see how much we can charge for 6 ounces of iced coffee and get away with it.”
Menu says “Coffee $4.70,” and then—buried lower down—“Hot coffee $1.50 extra. Iced coffee $2.00 extra.” No price listed for flavor shots, because… mystery is part of the charm, apparently?
I ordered a flavored iced coffee and nearly FELL OVER when the total came to $9.06. That’s right. Nine dollars for a drink smaller than my hand. Flavor shot? That’s $2 extra. Why? Who knows. Maybe it’s infused with liquid gold. The math? Still unclear, possibly developed by NASA.
For reference, I’ve included a photo of their menu and my drink next to my hand for scale (spoiler: my hand won). I’m also including a photo of the 24 oz Wawa iced caramel coffee I bought afterward for $3.99, just to remind myself that sanity still exists.
TL;DR: Unless you enjoy overpriced tiny beverages and menu math that requires a calculator and a prayer, grab your iced coffee LITERALLY anywhere else on the boardwalk.
paul schultz
This restaurant is a gem on the Ocean City New Jersey boardwalk. It is called a cafe but it is a full service restaurant. In fact I would even call it in Italian restaurant. It is a pricey place but it is great. I had the spinach ravioli and it was by far the best Italian food I've ever had. The staff are excellent. Always asked if there was anything else they could do for us. The restaurant manager whose name on do not know is a woman and was so attentive to us. Sadly since the Julian's amusement park has closed, people on the boardwalk don't venture that far north anymore. So, there was not anyone else in the restaurant while we were there. That is quite sad because this is a great restaurant. A great place for a date night.
Lauren M
I really wish I had looked at the reviews before eating here. I wasn’t in the mood for typical greasy boardwalk fare, so I saw this cafe that looked a step above, and had prices a step above, so I figured it would be a great meal. Unfortunately no. My waitress was very nice. No complaint there. I ordered one of the specials. I was completely disappointed. The burger was greasy, from the patty all the way to the greasy bun. The bacon was undercooked, and the Gorgonzola looked like it was cooked on a griddle in fat and then spread on the bun. Way too much produce on the burger, and only a smattering of fries. If this meal had been $10-12 i would have probably been ok with it, because it really was just like any greasy boardwalk burger you can get for $10-12. I paid $20 for this burger, and with my beverage and tip I paid $30. Thirty dollars for a greasy burger with undercooked bacon, a handful of French fries, and an iced tea. Served with plastic flatware. If the owner feels like clapping back and calling me ungrateful, go for it. Fix your food or charge less.
Crosbi Tiberio
Had a tall black waitress, he was very nice. Food good
Ali Bagytzhanov
Hi, are you hiring?
RJ Portella
The service was fantastic, the food excellent, and the atmosphere is a lovely getaway from the boardwalk bustle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jenny Ackley
Good food, lobster ravioli was delicious. Friendly staff.
I judge my breaking how good potato’s are. Hot and crispy not burnt. Coffee was so good. Had the lox onion omelette. Generous portions of lox. Sorry started before I had a chance to take photos. Support family owned businesses ?Maria was so friendly and accommodating. Thank you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erik B
This place is a scam. Avoid at all costs. Tense atmosphere, no free water, bad food, unpleasant waitstaff. Waiter dropped a fork on me.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Stephanie Schgier
Unsure why this place has such mixed reviews.
I've been here with my husband a few times, and everything is always delicious, hot, and the staff is kind and attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Arthur Carr Jr.
Stopped in for a quick bite. The server, Tom was excellent as was the young lady behind the espresso bar. Asked for a fruit bowl to go for my wife who was crazing good fruits. The fruit was fresh and the bowl was a good size for the order. Also had an espresso long. Having just come home form a vacation in Italy, this was a nice cafe to get some good quality food and a good espresso. Thank you
I really love the decor of this place, it's very nice. Atmosphere is great. Love the paintings on the wall. As for the food, it was ok. Not bad. Little pricier than most places on the board walk. Only part about the food I'll criticize is the garlic bread. It tasted stail, couldn't taste the garlic and wasn't warm at all. Our waitress was nice and helpful. One other thing that did annoy us is that we asked for a glass of water (water from the tap is free). They said they only sold or gave water from a bottle (meaning you had to pay for it). That's pretty annoying as most places usually have water for free. Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this place mainly because it's pricey and the food isn't worth the price (it wasn't bad, just not the quality you'd expect for the price). Plus it's only an italian menu, so there's no variety.
Even with the boardwalk location this venue seemed like a respectable Italian cuisine eatery including the décor. However the entrees and sides were very substandard quality to be polite and surprisingly high priced. This includes the beverages. Now we understood why there were no other customers. Permanently scratched off the list for Ocean City dining in our opinion.
Please Look Elsewhere for Dinner.
To the owner: You don't know us! We eat at restaurants all the time including resorts, and are keenly aware of the pricing. It's the lack of value vs. price we are flagging. What was served was not worth what was paid, even in today's 'resorts' restaurant market and shore locale. Good luck.
We ordered catering trays Food was abundant and exceedingly good We order the vodka pasta Chicken parm. Meatballs. Salad. Trays I Would highly recommend for your next party or event. Maria was awesome.
⭐ 2 out of 5 stars
Ocean Café really said, “Let’s see how much we can charge for 6 ounces of iced coffee and get away with it.”
Menu says “Coffee $4.70,” and then—buried lower down—“Hot coffee $1.50 extra. Iced coffee $2.00 extra.” No price listed for flavor shots, because… mystery is part of the charm, apparently?
I ordered a flavored iced coffee and nearly FELL OVER when the total came to $9.06. That’s right. Nine dollars for a drink smaller than my hand. Flavor shot? That’s $2 extra. Why? Who knows. Maybe it’s infused with liquid gold. The math? Still unclear, possibly developed by NASA.
For reference, I’ve included a photo of their menu and my drink next to my hand for scale (spoiler: my hand won). I’m also including a photo of the 24 oz Wawa iced caramel coffee I bought afterward for $3.99, just to remind myself that sanity still exists.
TL;DR: Unless you enjoy overpriced tiny beverages and menu math that requires a calculator and a prayer, grab your iced coffee LITERALLY anywhere else on the boardwalk.
This restaurant is a gem on the Ocean City New Jersey boardwalk. It is called a cafe but it is a full service restaurant. In fact I would even call it in Italian restaurant. It is a pricey place but it is great. I had the spinach ravioli and it was by far the best Italian food I've ever had. The staff are excellent. Always asked if there was anything else they could do for us. The restaurant manager whose name on do not know is a woman and was so attentive to us. Sadly since the Julian's amusement park has closed, people on the boardwalk don't venture that far north anymore. So, there was not anyone else in the restaurant while we were there. That is quite sad because this is a great restaurant. A great place for a date night.
I really wish I had looked at the reviews before eating here. I wasn’t in the mood for typical greasy boardwalk fare, so I saw this cafe that looked a step above, and had prices a step above, so I figured it would be a great meal. Unfortunately no. My waitress was very nice. No complaint there. I ordered one of the specials. I was completely disappointed. The burger was greasy, from the patty all the way to the greasy bun. The bacon was undercooked, and the Gorgonzola looked like it was cooked on a griddle in fat and then spread on the bun. Way too much produce on the burger, and only a smattering of fries. If this meal had been $10-12 i would have probably been ok with it, because it really was just like any greasy boardwalk burger you can get for $10-12. I paid $20 for this burger, and with my beverage and tip I paid $30. Thirty dollars for a greasy burger with undercooked bacon, a handful of French fries, and an iced tea. Served with plastic flatware. If the owner feels like clapping back and calling me ungrateful, go for it. Fix your food or charge less.
Had a tall black waitress, he was very nice. Food good
Hi, are you hiring?
The service was fantastic, the food excellent, and the atmosphere is a lovely getaway from the boardwalk bustle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good food, lobster ravioli was delicious. Friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Decent food, attentive staff, clean & cute cafe. Strong coffee.?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
I judge my breaking how good potato’s are. Hot and crispy not burnt. Coffee was so good. Had the lox onion omelette. Generous portions of lox. Sorry started before I had a chance to take photos. Support family owned businesses ?Maria was so friendly and accommodating. Thank you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is a scam. Avoid at all costs. Tense atmosphere, no free water, bad food, unpleasant waitstaff. Waiter dropped a fork on me.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Unsure why this place has such mixed reviews.
I've been here with my husband a few times, and everything is always delicious, hot, and the staff is kind and attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stopped in for a quick bite. The server, Tom was excellent as was the young lady behind the espresso bar. Asked for a fruit bowl to go for my wife who was crazing good fruits. The fruit was fresh and the bowl was a good size for the order. Also had an espresso long. Having just come home form a vacation in Italy, this was a nice cafe to get some good quality food and a good espresso. Thank you
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loading...