01/21/09

Entirely Disappointing

by vacev

I was totally disappointed with my recent visit to this restaurant and will not return again. It was several years since I last ate there and I was very excited to return. Unfortunately, this restaurant is a shadow of what it previously had been. The meal was totally unremarkable and portions were so tiny that I left hungry. (First time ever, for a thin woman who eats out often!!!) Service was OK but not up to the level of our other top restaurants in NYC. The only part that was positive was the dessert which was creative, complex and tasty. Choose to spend your money and time elsewhere. Oceana is living on reputation for past performance.

• Pros: Dessert--pastry chef is the only shining star
• Cons: mediocre food, ridiculously tiny portions, average service

11/22/08

Not Worth It...Seriously!!!

by BarringtonCrawford

The restaurant decor is pleasantly eye pleasing ,and the service was great and what you would expect from a restaurant "of this reputation." Having said that, we were greatly disappointed by the small portions of the meal, especially given the price ($78 prix-fixe). We actually had to grab a bite from a fast food restaurant afterwards. We were also charged $7 for a glass of cranberry juice which contained nothing more than a squirt of syrup and tap water. Given the state of the economy, the owners should either lower the prices or make the meals worth the price. It is not a matter of being cheap or unable to afford the meal. But if I am going to pay a certain price, I expect to leave the restaurant satisfied. The bottom line is the restaurant is worth trying just to say you have tried it, but certainly will never return again.

• Pros: Great service
• Cons: The food was not worth its price. Very, very tiny portions and there is nothing special about their fish dishes.

11/08/08

Perfect For Dinner

by ScottWeeks75

The portions sizes are perfect. In this world of super-sized meals, I was so happy to actually finish a meal and not feel like I was about to explode. I felt completely satisfied at the end of the meal.

For appetizers we had the crab cake appetizer and the tomato salad. For entrees we ate the swordfish, lobster. I'd never had swordfish before, and I'm regretting every moment I've lived not knowing about this fish. Wonderful, sweet texture and taste.

For dessert we split the layered peaches & cream A great finish to the meal.

I would definitely come back

06/04/08

Dine at your own...pleasure!

by sarah_bg

Smiley, Smiley, smiley! I come here every Friday since I was eating the specials here and quietly broke out into a smile. My boyfriend was like, "whats got into you?" And i was all, "this is awesome food, let's get married". So I decided that we would come back, each Friday from now until, the cats come home. Funny thing is we have no cats! So we will eat at this seafood haven forever!!!!

06/04/08

Awesome Food Served with Style!

by ngret

Start with the appetizers and you will be certain that this is the place for you. Once you get to dessert you will have had the time of your life. Dining as it was made to be in nyc!

01/06/08

Worst service in NY

by chapalstar

The food was good but the experience was one of my worst in NYC. It was 9:00pm at Christmas Eve but after we all ordered Lobster they informed us that they didn't have any left. Then I stayed 20 min with the wine list in hand (waiting to order). Once done, I received Scallops instead of Stone Crab as appetizer. Finally they served us sweet wine when we ordered Calvados and insisted in their mistake. One advice: Find another place.

• Pros: Seafood quality
• Cons: Service

10/11/07

markyb vs pgmclaughlin

by hohoho999

In all fairness, it should be noted that pgmclaughlin is one of the owners of Oceana. However, Markyb definitely should have taken note of the size of the cheeseplate--I defy anybody to find a larger cheeseplate at a more fair price anywhere in the city-- and the wine list offerings; Oceana also has a sizable 1/2 bottle list.

08/21/07

Get Real!

by pgmclaughlin

I must take time out and make mention of the silly review posted by markey2b. Markey2b seems to be stuck on the pricing structure of an incredible seafood restaurant with lots of snap and dazzle. Oceana has always been a prix-fixe and not a la carte since it's inception 15 years ago. Markey2b can't find a wine for less than $75, I would recommend that he bring his seeing eye dog next time who could point out 62 wines currently on the list for less than $75. Markey2b also has issue with an additional $9 supplement on the cheese course but fails to mention to the readers there are 9 cheeses on the cheese plate. Seems pretty fair to me. Markey2b please leave the writing to someone more capable of fairness. Many Thanks and go Oceana!!!

• Pros: Powre lunch...Great three course lunch for $33
• Cons: None

08/06/07

Great service, Average food

by markey2b

I made a dinner reservation at Oceana on a Friday evening after checking the reviews on various websites. Based on the reviews, it seemed like an excellent choice. I was so surprised by what I found that I joined Citysearch for the sole purpose of posting my own review of Oceana. The atomosphere at Oceana is very nice and pretty sedate. When we recevied our dinner menus, we noticed the menu was all prix-fix and did not offer any alternatives. We were both very surprised by this as none of the reviews or websties I read mentioned this very important fact. The prix-fix menu was $78.00 for three courses, which isn't that bad except that the portions were pretty small and the food was average, at best. When we received the dessert menu, I was thrilled to see a cheese course on the menu, and I knew right away that is what I wanted to order. Unfortunatley, the cheese course was an additional $9.00 on top of the $78.00 prix-fix charge. Oceana did have a very extensive wine list, but I didn't see a bottle on the list under $75.00. The best thing about our dinner was the service. The service was excellent from the moment we walked in the door until the moment we left. Unfortunatley, it was not good enough to entice me to ever return to this restaurant. I don't mind paying top dollar for a great meal and fabulous dinning experience but I didn't find either at Oceana.

• Pros: Excellent Service
• Cons: Prix-fix menu

03/31/07

Worth the $

by sprightly

Brought the family matriarch here for a rather significant birthday of hers and had a wonderful meal. We ordered the three-course prix fixe and kicked it Florida-style -- the stone crab claws, served on little rounds of roasted pumpkin salad and baby spinach with a touch of curry, were super-fresh and flawless, followed by sweet, fleshy taro-wrapped pompano balanced by the hearty crunch of baby bok choy, and the warm vanilla grapefruit cake with earl grey ice cream (an unsolicited comp with a 'happy birthday' written in chocolate) was a fine denouement. An assortment of warm bread and rolls, replenished often, was another nice addition. Service was genuine and knowledgeable. We all left happy, especially mom.

• Pros: Food, wine, service, atmosphere, all great
• Cons: Nothing