The Clubhouse

This place has a fun vibe… Beer served in a mason jar anyone? Fresh shellfish like Oysters and clams were great! Other food, not so much. They do not have whole lobster which is strange for a waterfront joint. They do have a Lobster roll sandwich and lobster Mac & cheese. Had the Mac which is brought out in a soup takeout container with a plate… wtf? Lots of lobster, but tasted like strong lemon. Mahi fish tacos contained just a little piece and were a little on the, umm, well…“fishy” side. Like I said, vibe is cool, but I’m not so sure about the menu. Be warned… do yourself a favor and park on another street and walk down to The Clubhouse. It’s at the end of a tight street with almost no u-​turn ability. Hoping for a little culinary improvement here… but great for drinks. Kids welcome, credit cards including American Express are accepted.

The clubhouse gets 5 stars in my book, the scenery is excellent its on the water in a quiet dead end block in bellmore. Parking isn’t so great but walking wont kill you. The service for me was excellent and the food was sooo yummy we had the mac and cheese spring rolls and the fried calamari both were tasty and fresh. Have recommended it to others already trying to spread the word!

Our plan was to meet our friend, do a 40 mile bike ride on the local bike paths and wind it up with a great seafood shack dinner at Crabby Amy’s. All went as planned until we pulled into the parking lot of Crabby Amy’s at 6pm last Saturday night. We had not even gotten out of the CAR when we heard the waitress hustling toward us saying, «we’re closed! We’re closed! We’re closed!» Although we could see patrons inside. We got the message. We will never make Amy’s part of our plan again. Went and had a GREAT dinner at the new canal side Clubhouse in Bellmore. Go there!

Great place with good drinks good food and lots of dock space for your boat. Owner is a really nice guy. Great place to enjoy a summer day. The build out of the place is awesome and the clams are fresh. You would think you were in a Jimmy Buffet song.

30 August 15 — 1730 reservation for a party of 6 — Michael & I arrived at 1650.
We came early hoping to get a seat at the bar so we can check the place out and get a feel for the restaurant. But that didn’t happen because the bar was packed and not one of the 4 girls working behind the bar noticed the 6 foot 5 guy trying to squeeze in to get a beer. So we found a couple of empty chairs outside and enjoyed the evening sun. No one working at the Clubhouse acknowledged our presence although there were a lot of employees hanging out in cliques.
At 1730 we moved back into the restaurant to join our party. We were seated promptly in the front of the dining room. Our waitress was Amanda and she was wonderful. Thank goodness we got her, because, quite honestly, I was getting fed up with the gaggle of gals.
Enough venting (for now) We ordered cocktails and appetizers for the table. I loved my Bloody Mary and baked clams. The fried calamari with hot red peppers was also very good. For dinner I ordered a pound of steamers which were delicious! Service was fabulous. Amanda checked in on us frequently, refreshed our drinks and tableware, making sure we were 100% satisfied.
I get the beach vibe that the owners were shooting for but somewhere along the way it got lost in translation i.e. childish buckets, paper plates and plastic utensils that blew off the table or broke, and uncomfortable wooded beach chairs.
Perhaps I’ll pop in on a quiet weekday afternoon but if you don’t loose the Prima Donna hostess or inexperienced staff, I’d rather park my pail & shovel on a better piece of beachfront property.

I’ll start with pros: the drinks were delicious — I had a mango martini and it was incredible. The atmosphere is very cute, beachy and laid back.
Cons: although the food was good (we got baked clams, conch fritters, my boyfriend had a burger) I was surprised when my meal which was lobster mac and cheese came to the table. I get the whole «laid back» feel but, I didn’t expect to eat my meal out of a to go cup/​bowl. I also felt that was better way to disguise that there were only 3 pieces of lobster mixed in. Now, I’m not that picky I didn’t expect 20 chunks of lobster but more than 3 not so large pieces I would have expected.
Place was good. I feel it could use some work like I said I get the laid back feel but to go bowls for food is a no no for me. I also thought it was a little pricey for what we were served. I would try again maybe just for drinks and appetizers.

If I could give this place a ZERO I would, but there is no option. It is beyond reason that several «reviewers» have rated this restaurant as «excellent» (I suspect they are employed by the Clubhouse). I thought that the décor was cheap and touristy and there are no tables outside for dining! Why would anyone go to a waterfront establishment and not be able to sit outside and enjoy their seafood? Just trying to find parking was an experience in itself. Clubhouse Rd is very narrow, so narrow that you can only park on the North side. Two cars cannot pass each other and you can’t make any turns since the residents have cones positioned in front of their driveways. The only way out is to back down the street onto Bellmore Avenue. VERY DANGEROUS! We were told by the bartender that the police have been there every single weekend since they opened because the residents are fed up with the traffic jams and blatant disrespect by customers. We finally found parking around the corner by another restaurant.
The food: Clams on the half shell were ok, fish tacos-​just ok. Good drinks. Everything else was fried and greasy.
The service: Inexperienced, unprofessional youngsters who seem more interested in their iPhones than making money. Bartenders were knowledgable but obviously overwhelmed.
Bottom line: Too much aggravation for sub-​par food.

I heard about this restaurant on the Channel 12 News. It seemed very interesting and a fun place. My husband and I decided to go and have dinner. We left Westbury and went out to Bellmore on the water. It was a hot night and being near the water made it such a pleasant experience. We had a wonderful fun-​filled time. The atmosphere is great. The food was good and quite reasonable. We are looking forward to going again.
The Bartons

Awesome place!!! Food was delicious, service was great. The atmosphere was amazing, such a nice place! It’s a great local spot.

Had a great time there. New England Clam Chowder is just the best! Can’t find any better and I love my Clam Chowder!!! My friend and I also split a pizza, mac and cheese rolls as well as mussels while we sat at the bar. Those were all delicious as well as we drank some smooth Margaritas and enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the bay. I see by other reviews some people aren’t impressed with this place. Not sure if it was just their night or what, but we had a great time. We met some fantastic people and had so much fun with the bartenders. Everyone was so upbeat and enthusiastic. Lenny (the owner I think) came over to speak with us and ended up buying is a round. Nice guy! I would love to see some live music here and some more outdoor seating. Other than that, no complaints. We’ll be back soon!

The food is so disgusting! Worst baked clams I’ve ever had! & their wine selection is terrible.

The atmosphere is amazing but the food and service is not. Maybe I’d go back for drinks one day but I’d never spend my money here again on a meal. The fish in the fish and chips platter was completely flavorless and the linguine with clam sauce was literally overlooked linguine saturated in butter. Two of the four clams on my plate weren’t even opened. The service is very slow and hard to communicate with over the blasting music. Hopefully in time they’ll work out the staff issues the quality of the food but until then it’s just a nice bar with a view.

Just had such a bad experience at this place. Maybe it was just the batch we got but we ordered mussels and they were horrible! They weren’t even whole inside and they tasted fishy. We told the waitress that we weren’t happy with them and she continued to charge us. I don’t like complaining so we payed anyway but she didn’t even apologize really. Service was horrible and took forever. Disgusted with the service and food.

The first clue that disaster awaited (and I shamefully ignored) was this place was brought to us by the people who gifted us with Amerrickana. I even found myself sighing when I saw another garage door, a clever little gimmick the owner is proud of and addicted to. But at least this one opens up to some waterfront instead of busy Merrick freaking Road.
This well appointed space with dockage is indeed very good looking. But the inept service and subpar kitchen delivers a hurricane level punch that destroys any chance of a pleasant dining experience.
We met friends at the fine bar out back before getting a table. I ordered two Beefeater martinis, up with a twist. The young lady serving as one of tonight’s barkeeps leans in and says, «a what?» I repeat my order. She grabs the arm of the big boy back there and repeats the order. It appears she thought she may have to put a hamburger in a blender. Big boy comes over and explains, «she’s training.» Smiles all around… and then she walks away. She learned nothing about making a martini and no doubt will remain a semi-​competent cashier for the balance of the summer. But that’s okay. After shaking up the «two» martinis, only 1.5 glasses are filled. Big boy says, «I musta miscounted my pours.» I think,“what evs, rookie.“
But at least at the bar we had a handle on some semblance of service. Once we sat down we were doomed. Our server put the «wait» in waitress. For our drinks. For our food order. For our food itself. And for our check. We waited and waited and waited and… wait for it… waited.
My seafood gumbo tasted of the ocean. And by that I mean you could have cooked pasta in it because it was that salty. Over-​reduced? A chef with no tastebuds? Canal water being used? It’s anyone’s guess. And please: if you’re going to get cute on the menu and challenge all the «NOLA and Creole wannabes» with this supposed «real deal,» deliver an edible product. (Note to the the chef and other readers: eat gumbo at Big Daddy’s).
Other apps included the dense and dry mac and cheese spring rolls (really a ridiculous idea in hindsight), mushy crab cakes, and not quite cooked enough chicken wings (one was bloody at the bone). All of which screamed homage to the less-​than-​good «American Tapas» at the sister restaurant. (Note to the chef and other readers: eat American Tapas at Salumi.)
My lobster club on a «New England» style roll was deli-​level serviceable in taste but a complete ripoff at $ 24 in terms of texture and quantity. Did the chef put the lobster through the meat grinder? And since when is an ordinary hot dog roll a «New England» style roll? It has to be topped sliced, without exception.
My wife’s burger was average for any bar. My friend’s grilled mahi taco was reportedly «tasty» (at this point, I personally had it with this place and declined a bite), and my other friend’s shrimp po boy was indeed po.
In the end, I had to chase down the busboy and advise that if he didn’t make our disappearing waitress reappear in 90 seconds, we were walking out on the bill.
Like Amerrickana: 1) they need to hire a competent, professional waitstaff that won’t spend the majority of their time b-​essin with each other; 2) the menu should not just be cut back, it should be buzz cut; 3) the kitchen must up the game, get better recipes, and make things taste better; 4) the owner needs to decide is this primarily a bar or a place for food.
Right now, it’s neither. It should be called the Clubhouse Sham Bar.
(And I just learned you cannot give ZERO stars on Unilocal.What a shame.)
(8−6−15 Update: I was just informed that only one of the two owners of Amerrickana are to blame for the Clubhouse. I’m not sure I really care since I didn’t like Amerrickana when I tried them during the winter and just took pity and didn’t Unilocal them since they were starting out. But — there you have it. Since someone felt it was an important detail, I figured I’d make it part of the official record. And for the record, don’t eat at either place. If you’re in this ‘hood, go to Anchor Down in Merrick. You won’t be disappointed.)

Love the food. Love the view. Very cheery even on a cloudy day like today. Had one server sit us (not so great, on her phone while manager was trying to get attention), another server take our order (very nice, even checked to make sure the order was right, and checked on us a few times) and another sever check in on us (even knew we were going to ask for tarter sauce before we could ask), granted this was when it was a slow time, it was still good vibes. They have way more then just seafood, though the Fisherman’s Platter was great! Good place to go out and have a good evening with a bar but not too much of a bar feel.

Great new place to go by boat instead of Freeport easy docking and lovely setting good selection of beers on tap and a nice menu just what the neighborhood needed

Potential. But not worth the money. Paper plates and plastic utensils are very tacky. The bucket that the mussels come in was a child’s sand pail and is not necessary. If that is your «theme» then do not charge 15.00 for a burger. We wanted to see a drink menu and three employees were confused at the question, the bartender said that «they are all out.» Another person said that they are not printed yet. At least have a draft copy and DEFINITELY don’t lie to your customers. The music was way too loud. Potential to be a great place but if you are not ready to open, don’t open. The employees are obviously new but have not been trained. The décor is nice, you can tell they put their money into that, but not into their restaurant. The food was not worth the price. Disappointed.

Working out the kinks after opening a few days ago. I don’t think they were prepared to get mobbed tonight in Bellmore. But this place has real potential. Food is better than we expected…
The waitstaff here are five star. Shout out to Anna and Joe. They were fantastic. Aldo needs to stop running around micromanaging and all sweaty, and let the wait staff do their job. They can handle themselves just fine!
Drinks, when you can get them are good. (No drink menu yet) Bar scene was on point aside from needing more outdoor seating, literally by seating I mean chairs. Great music, too. Tiki bar ambiance is perfect!
Food Cons:
Condiments like Ketsup, salt & pepper need to be on the table. Plastic utensils, paper plates… napkins would be great too.
And it took a LONG TIME to get 2 salads (chicken Caesar wrap and sesame tuna salad). … Benefit of the doubt because they are still working out the kinks.
Food Pros:
Big menu with lots of choices. (Not sure if this is a good thing or bad).
We ordered loaded nachos… They had potential. My Sesame Tuna arugula salad would have been exceptional because it was very fresh and perfectly seared but it came with no sesame seeds or real flavor/​dressing. The Chicken Caesar Wrap was fresh but needed more dressing (dressings are good here though!)
We will definitely be back. It’s great new spot in Bellmore for all of us locals! Hopefully they work out all of their «kinks».

Clubhouse was amazing!!! A spot my husband and I will be visiting often. We live 2 blocks away and will make the walk there for the atmosphere alone! You literally think you are on an island somewhere!
Food was perfect, the waitress’s were all amazing and extremely helpful and the owner was great too.
A must go to this summer for anyone!

The fish was fresh and the atmosphere was amazing! The oysters were very fresh and the chipotle sauce was great! I had the fish tacos and they were awesome! The fish was grilled perfectly and the sauce was so refreshing! Great summer place!