Ocean’s Seafood

This is another one of the places that our local friends have raved about for years.  Finally, we stopped in and gave them a try for dinner.  We were certainly glad we stopped in, but it was far from an amazing experience.

First – this is a seafood market / restaurant.  If you don’t like seafood, find somewhere else to eat.  If you like your meal fresh from the sea, you are going to dig the grub here.

Ocean’s Seafood is as casual a place as you can find in NSB, it is the dive bar equivalent of a dinner venue, which is perfectly cool if you are just looking for a comfortable place to grab a tasty seafood platter at a fair price.  You order at the counter, where you can also grab a bottle or can of your favorite non-alcoholic beverage.

We chose two seafood platters ($15.95), one fried and one lightly blackened, and two waters ($1.79).  Each platter featured grouper, scallops and shrimp. Our two sides were onion rings and dirty rice.  We did not have to wait long for our food, as there were only two other tables occupied.  Everything here is served in Styrofoam to-go containers with plastic utensils, which gives a clue that they are primarily a takeout restaurant, and I did notice that they were doing a steady takeout business throughout.

The lightly blackened seasoning was fantastic on the grilled seafood. I would highly recommend trying that combination on your next visit, as it offered a nice blend of spices and the smallest hint of fire.  The fried offerings were tasty, too; lightly breaded and not at all greasy. Although the grouper was perfectly fresh and quite tasty, it was the scallops that stole the spotlight. They were huge, fresh, sweet and delicious – the best scallops I have had in NSB… ever!  We will be back for fish and scallops without a doubt.

The shrimp was decent, if unspectacular, and both sides were okay, although the rice was too bland for my liking.

The service was pretty much non-existent.  I tipped well at the counter, and it was probably too much, as no one checked in on us at all during the meal, and they actually started mopping and stacking chairs around us as we ate, still ten minutes before closing time. If you like service where you are actually paid attention to, dining inside here is not going to work for you.

Bottom line: I would highly recommend the takeout option, and do not miss the scallops. Fantastic.

Is Ocean’s Seafood the best takeout joint in NSB?  Let us know your thoughts…

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