Baker's Water Street Bar and Grille

4 Robbins Parkway

Toms River, NJ 08753

732-240-4800

http://www.bakerswaterstreet.com/


John:   Ellen:


Price: $ $ (because two out of three items were half price)

What is it with air conditioning lately? We always bring a jacket into any restaurant we go to because invariably it is going to be too cold inside. However, the last two places we visited, Sixth Avenue Bistro in Seaside Heights (see review below) and Baker’s Water Street Bar and Grille were sweat boxes. Not cool enough is one thing, but down right hot and humid is unacceptable if you’re charging me money to sit in there. Later that evening, after we had eaten, as we were walking out, we passed through some areas that were cool. So I guess it was just the luck of the draw that we got put in an area that the A/C couldn’t reach. Or maybe we were too close to the door leading to the outer deck. Either way, it needs to be fixed. I couldn’t help but feel for the wait staff that was dressed all in black.

The first thing we noticed was the beautiful view of Toms River (not the town, the river) through the huge picture windows alongside our table. (Okay, so actually the first thing I noticed was the way too short, too tight skirt on the hostess.) But getting back to the river view, the problem was, to see the river we had to look through a swarm of flies that were walking on the inside of the window that our table butted up against. So to avoid looking at all the flies by our table, we didn’t allow ourselves to partake of the river view.

The newly designed eatery, formerly the Lobster Shanty (still a Chefs International property, as was Lobster Shanty) now features a centrally located bar and an outdoor eating deck with bar. What was once the banquet room, has been desegregated and added to the restaurant dining area. In the corner is a small stage for live entertainment. An excellent duet named C.O.A.L.G. played the night we visited and they created the perfect atmosphere. They were reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel on acoustical guitars.  They kept the volume at a perfect level so you could enjoy them in the background, but didn’t have to shout to talk over them.

Because it was happy hour, (4 pm - 7 pm Mon - Fri and 1 pm - 5 pm Sat & Sun) appetizers were half price so we decided to make pigs of ourselves with the appetizers and forego any entrée. We ordered fried calamari, nacho platter, and a combination platter (which we were forewarned was not included in the half price special) consisting of coconut shrimp, mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders and two sliders.

The fried calamari was not exactly soggy, but the coating was not as crisp as it should have been and was completely devoid of any flavor. The accompanying marinara “sauce” for dipping was more of a marinara paste. It was overly thick and tasted burnt.

The nacho platter was just plain bad. The chips, though plentiful, were stale, soggy and flavorless. The brown paste that I assume was supposed to be passing as chili was awful. The cheese had already solidified by the time it reached the table. Avoid this at all cost.

The combination platter, although far from perfect, was the better of the three choices. The coconut shrimp was delicious, cooked to the correct doneness with just the right amount of sweetness, however it was unfortunately spoiled by the jalapeño ”jelly” which was more like jalapeño water. It was so thin it just ran right off the shrimp leaving no taste in its wake. As good as the shrimp was, it would have been even better with a nice thick jalapeño jelly to dip it into. The mozzarella sticks were your standard mozzarella sticks, again, spoiled by the too thick, burnt marinara sauce. My wife liked the sliders more than I did. I thought mine was over cooked, but she liked hers, probably because she was so hungry from not wanting any of the other failures we received. Of everything we had that night, I have nothing bad to say about the chicken tenders. They were the best part of the combo. Good enough to get me back in the door again? Sorry, no.