Sixth Avenue Bistro

201 Sumner Ave
Seaside Heights, NJ 08721
(732) 250-6430

John:   Ellen:

Price: $ $ $ $

On the corner of Sumner Ave and Central Ave in Seaside Heights, sits a little place inexplicably named, don’t ask me why, Sixth Avenue Bistro. The name is the first of many head scratches to come.

The moment my wife and I walked in the door, I knew this was a mistake, and if we hadn’t already purchased a $25 gift certificate for here from restaurant.com, we would have walked out. It was a hot summer night, and there was no hint of air conditioning inside. It was as hot and humid inside as it was outside. At least outside there was a breeze and didn’t smell of rancid cooking oil.

According to their write-up on restaurant.com they profess to be a “neighborhood favorite” but someone forgot to tell the neighborhood. During our prime weekend dinner time visit, we were the only two customers in the place. Oh wait, should I include the family of five that came in, sat down, looked at the menu, and got up and walked out? But how about the food? After all, feed me a great meal and I could forgive just about any indiscretions.

For the first time in our dining history, we did not order any appetizer or dessert. As much as we wanted to give a thorough review, we really wanted to spend as little time in there as possible. An appetizer, or dessert and coffee would have just prolonged the agony of sitting in that heat, smelling that oil.

On our way in I had noticed a banner outside advertising their lobster roll but for some reason it wasn’t on the menu. At my wife’s coaxing, I asked about it and our waiter told me the lobster roll is available even though it’s not on the menu. Mind you, the menu is just a sheet of copy paper printed on an ink jet printer. Since there are only a total of six entrées on the menu, how hard would it have been to add the lobster roll that they think enough of to feature on an outdoor banner? I asked if the lobster roll was considered an entrée (as opposed to an appetizer, or sandwich) because our certificate requires the purchase of two entrées to qualify. He said yes it is. That is, until I gave him our certificate: then suddenly it was not an entrée any more and he said I would have to order something different to qualify. I scratched my head and settled for the barbecue platter off the daily specials and hoped specials qualify as entrées . The platter consisted of barbecue ribs, barbecue chicken, coleslaw, cornbread and corn on the cob. Sounded delicious. As a fan of Hell’s Kitchen, my wife was curious about their risotto so she ordered the shrimp risotto.

While we were waiting for our meal, we wondered aloud why we had bread plates in front of us if they weren’t going to offer us any bread. Head scratch number three. Entrées don’t include soup or salad either, so we just sat and waited patiently.

As good as the barbecue platter looked on the plate, not a single item was without flaws. The ribs were so tough, the waiter automatically offered me a steak knife to get through them. Not exactly “fall off the bone” tender. As tough as they were, they were equally plentiful and tasty, but not enough so to outweigh the poor preparation. When you hear the words barbecue chicken, what do you think of? Half a chicken? A breast and a wing? A thigh and a drumstick? Strangely, I got two thighs. Although I am a white meat man and I got all dark, the chicken was cooked well and had a tasty barbecue sauce. The dressing in the coleslaw had spoiled and was inedible. The corn was the most egregious. It had obviously been cooked earlier in the day (or week) and kept in the refrigerator until needed. The chef took it out of the refrigerator and failed to reheat it! Right from the refrigerator to my plate. How could the chef not notice? I guess that’s why I didn’t get any butter for it, it wouldn’t have melted. Cornbread was dry and also served without butter. My wife’s comment on her shrimp risotto was simply; “As bad as the risotto is, the shrimp is even worse.” An over abundance of salt was the major flaw of the risotto.

When the bill came, I noticed that I had been charged for a refill on my unsweetened iced tea. Who still charges for refills on soft drinks? Especially a drink made from water and a 3 cent tea bag. Yet, inexplicably, my wife was not charged for a refill on her diet Coke. Another head scratch.

Fortunately, I had noticed on the bill that an 18% tip had already been added to the total (as was expected, as this was a requirement of the certificate). The reason I’m glad I knew about it is because when I was brought the receipt to sign for my credit card, the bill had mysteriously disappeared and there was a space on the receipt to add a tip. Had I not noticed that the tip was already included in the total I was signing for, I would have automatically added an additional 20%

The cost? Two entrees, which did not include soup or salad or even bread, two soft drinks, no appetizer, no alcohol, no dessert or coffee and the bill came to just under $55 (including tip). Fortunately the gift certificate only cost me $3 at restaurant.com and covered the first $25. We paid the additional $29.98. Not to mention $1 for the parking meter out front.

Normally I wouldn’t list all of the entrées on here, but since it’s only six items, here they are: Steak Frites with Herb Butter, Chicken Tempura, Pan Seared Pork Chops, Grilled Shrimp Risotto, Bistro Burger, and Fish of the Day. Besides the entrees, they also offer appetizers, soups, salads, subs, pizza, desserts and daily specials.