Gregory's Restaurant & Bar, Somers Point

One of things on top of our "to do" list was Gregory's Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point. We can only guess that some people are thinking, "I thought this was an Ocean City blog, why are they reviewing places that are in Somers Point?" From the start of this blog, we had the idea that it would be all places in Ocean City and a few places directly over the 34th Street and 9th Street bridge or not too far from them. No matter what, you're going to have to pass some of these places to get onto the Garden State Parkway, so we figured that if you're going to drive right by them, we might as well review them. Also, for those of you who don't know, Ocean City is a dry town and there are a number of bars nearby in Somers Point that a lot of OC people go to, so we figured Somers Point places deserve to be reviewed.

But we digress, Gregory's was at the top of our list because we love going to the bar there. It's one of our go-to destinations when we go out with friends. It's great times with great people, plus they make the world's best Malibu Bay Breeze (Lauren's favorite cocktail). For all the times we went there, we had never eaten in the restaurant.

We both thought it was very nice inside and had a great ambiance. It had a very old school seashore feel to it. Also, they had real menu's, glasses that weren't plastic Coke glasses, real waiters, and a real bread basket, not some plastic basket. If you have read our previous posts, we will know that these things are a big deal. It is a rarity at Ocean City restaurants to have real glasses, real menus, etc. and it actually made our dining experience much better.

They have a menu consisting of bar food to nice seafood dinners. We both started off with a soup called the Fisherman's Stew which was a form of Manhattan Clam Chowder only with different types of fish in it. We both enjoyed it. It had a number vegetables and the different fish gave it a variety of different flavors. If you're looking for a solid meal or a bar to get a couple of drinks, Gregory's is a great place for you to go.

John ate: Crab Imperial, B "I enjoyed Gregory's and thought it was a pretty good meal. The crab imperial was very good. It had a nice creamy and warm taste and had large chunks of crab meat, which I like. I got it with mashed potatoes, which were too buttery, and french fries. Gregory's has GREAT french fries. It's one of my favorite things to munch on at the bar. One of the complaints I had was that the prices were a tad bit steep. The fried shrimp was about $17 which was reasonable but my meal was $24.99, and I know you can get the same meal down the street from a higher rated restaurant for a little bit cheaper. To be fair, a lot of their entrees such as Filet Mignon and Dungeness crab were also $24.99, which is cheaper than the restaurant down the road."



Lauren ate: Golden Fried Shrimp, B "Gregory's was such a nice atmosphere and has a nice menu to choose from. The soup of the day was different but surprisingly, not too bad! It was a mix of a bunch of seafood with some spices. I was worried, but it was quite tasty. I got the Golden Fried Shrimp and was not disappointed. It was very good and came out smoking hot! The sides could have used some work. The mashed potatoes were kind of bad, but the applesauce was good. Overall, I was pleased with Gregory's food just as I am with their Malibu Bay Breezes at the bar!"

Sindia Restaurant

It's restaurant week in Ocean City!!! Obviously since we are bloggers, we had to take part in one of the deals, so we decided to go to the Sindia Restaurant.
Sindia restaurant is a restaurant on Atlantic Ave around 7th street. It is named after the old shipwreck off of Ocean City.

We were looking for "fine dining", and unfortunately, we did not get it. It's not that the place was bad, we both left very satisfied with our meal. The inside of the restaurant was very nice as well. It was still your typical Ocean City restaurant: mediocre service, mediocre meal, plastic bread basket, etc. The service wasn't that great. To be fair, our waiter was a young kid and it took him a little long to wait on us and take our order, but it wasn't nearly good enough service to be considered "fine dining".

John ate: Italian Wedding Soup B+, 6 oz. Strip Steak with corn and mashed potatoes B-, Chocolate Cream Pie B: "Starting off, the Italian Wedding Soup was actually pretty excellent. It was distinctly flavored with a nice spice and the meatballs in it were very flavorful. The strip steak was also pretty good, it was nicely seasoned. However, I found as if it was just an ordinary steak that you could cook on the grill at home and I'd rather do that then spend the money in a restaurant. The corn and mashed potatoes were nothing great either, I could have made them at home. The chocolate Cream Pie was good as well, but again, I could have found something just as good at home.


















Lauren Ate: Manhattan Clam Chowder B, Fried Flounder with corn and mashed potatoes B, Brownie C: "The clam chowder was actually pretty good, I had never had clam chowder before and I liked it. The fried flounder wasn't bad as well. However, the brownie wasn't very good. They didn't have a dessert menu and the waiter just read off the desserts. He never mentioned that the brownie had nuts in it. Had I known that, I never would have gotten the brownie. As John said, it wasn't bad, I left satisfied, but it was mediocre and I could have just gotten something equally good at home"


















We started this blog to find a restaurant on the island (or like right across the bridges) that we could consider "fine dining", some place we could get dressed up and go to or celebrate a birthday or anniversary at and get a great meal. Sindia Restaurant was not that. I guess we're blind to the fact that people go there that just spend the day in OC or are possibly renting or staying at a hotel. We are starting to realize that Sindia Restaurant/OC restaurants are just places for families and young kids that want a quick meal that's adequate. Sindia Restaurant would be perfect for that. You'd leave very satisfied. However, we want more. We want a great restaurant with great service, great atmosphere, and great food. We still haven't found it yet, and we are still looking.

Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake Co.

One of the best places we tried is a little place right before the parkway entrance in Somers Point called the Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake company. This place looks like a dive from the outside. Even though it's right off the parkway, it's in a little shopping center that's in a residential area. The name isn't too appealling either. Grilled cheese and crab cakes? That's it? It sounds like some kid asked his mom if he could open up a grilled cheese and lemonade stand and his mom said sure and put up the money.

Anyway, we passed it one day on our way to parkway and decided to give it a shot. It is actually very nice inside with a boating and beach theme. They had soup which was excellent and low priced, grilled cheeses which were more like tuna and crab melts, and crab cakes. It was excellent and probably one of our new favorite places to eat. It is perfect for lunch and would be epic if they opened one up on the boardwalk.

John ate:
Cream of Crab Soup: A, "awesome for such a low price"
Crab Melt: B, "very good, but the soup is better"

Lauren ate:
Cream of Crab Soup: A, "the soup was awesome, very filling!"
Fried Shrimp Grilled Cheese: B, "much better than expected"

Clancy's By the Sea

Located on the southern end of the boardwalk, Clancy's By the Sea is a new restaurant that looks like a really nice place when you pass by it. Since there aren't too many really nice sit-down restaurants in OC, we were hoping that Clancy's would be great restaurant actually on the island that we have been looking for.

The food was very good, but we were a little disappointed. We went on May 21, 2010 and ate outside on the boardwalk. The atmosphere was perfect because it was beautiful night outside. However, we were hoping for a nicer experience. They didn't have real menu's and they had paper place mats instead. They also didn't hand out bread until your entrees came. We both liked our food a lot and would definitely go again, but we were just hoping for a nicer sit-down restaurant.

John ate:
Ravioli with crab meat, A- "it was excellent, it had a tomato cream sauce and was topped with a lot of crab meat, I would love to get it again sometime"

Lauren ate:
Southern Flounder, B+ "It was good but not great, I wish they would have given you a choice of vegetable, but I was stuck with broccoli"


In conclusion, if you're looking for a really fancy, sit-down restaurant on the island in OC, this isn't quite it. If you're just looking for something nice on the boardwalk with good food, this place will be perfect for you.

Crab Trap

Located right off the circle in Somers Point, NJ, the Crab Trap is one of the nicest and classiest restaurants in the Ocean City area; that is why it is the first entry on our blog. Typically, there is a very long wait to get in and they do not take reservations. The food is excellent and until we find otherwise, we find that it is the best sit-down restaurant in the Ocean City area.

We went in early March 2010 to celebrate Lauren's birthday.

John ate:
Crab Bisque: A, "excellent soup, but I would have rather had the stuffed onion ring as an appetizer!"
Crab Cakes: A, "some of the best crab cakes I have ever had"

Lauren ate:
Crab bisque: A+, "the crab bisque is the sole reason that I go to the Crab Trap!!!"
Fried Flounder: A-, "It was very good, nothing out of this world though"


Other Comments: Lauren is obsessed with the bread they serve and they always bring you out more if you ask.