Coastal Blue Oceanside Bar & Grill

Not that big of a menu food is okay not perfect asked for medium got 2% away from well done service is great but for the food the price is pricey

Had lunch here prior to a weekend wedding — menu was slim as per their usual between breakfast and dinner meal, but everything looked really good and tasted great as well. Being into choices, I asked if you could get anything from the dinner menu and was told of a few other possibilities. The chef actually came out to the table and tossed a few ideas at me, we agreed on an open face steak sandwich. Instead, he whipped up a plate of hangar steak sliders with fresh greens and a homemade sauce that was great on the sliders as well as the fries. This guy takes his food seriously, we were very happy with all of our meals and even more so with the personal attention. Would love to come back and try more dishes.

Staying at the Icona, where the restaurant is located. The service is friendly but slow and disorganized and seemingly inexperienced. Relatively empty, yet 20 minutes for iced teas and 30 minutes for cocktails and to take our order. Food plain but pricey. I ordered the steak medium and got it rare. The server offered to send it back with her sympathies. When she brought it back a few minutes later, it was re-​plated and microwaved, but still rare and now chewy. Sauce jarred or canned. Good cocktails and decent fries. The restaurant, like the hotel, is trying very hard to be upscale.

Scallop bisque was delicious and the deconstructed sushi was amazing!
The restaurant is beautifully decorated and service was fantastic!

Updating my review for Coastal Blue. I have now been in several times and each time it out-​does the last. I will begin by saying that the atmosphere and the aura of the restaurant continues to make me feel comfortable and relaxed. I have sat at both tables and also the bar and have found both extremely friendly and open to conversation with other patrons and the staff. Peter is the main food and beverage manager and truly takes a genuine interest in his clients/​customers. He has always been there to greet and meet and it makes you feel very welcomed right from the start. I sat at the bar this evening and was dining alone and the bartender immediately gave me attention and a menu, explained any specials and asked if I had any questions. He engaged in conversation immediately. I was reviewing the menu and John, the executive chef, came right out and greeted me. I told him I was in the mood for something light and he introduced me to a menu item that he said will be on his menu all summer. It was very delicious and very well-​balanced in flavors and exactly what I was looking for. It was a combination of quinoa, blackened shrimp and roasted vegetables with a balsamic glaze drizzle. I accompanied that with a Victory craft beer and some great conversation with other patrons at the bar. The atmosphere is perfect for that scenario. I ended the meal with a wonderfully prepared espresso showcasing its tasty layer of crema. The price was amazingly reasonable and my experience was overall superb! I cannot wait to come back again and I surely will!

This is a must stop in Wildwood Crest. My wife and i were reluctant to try this place because we live here and haven’t heard much about it but we loved it. The food is creative and full of flavor. We tried their mushroom risotto and the baramondo. I never heard of baramondo but it was a black sea bass that was excellent. The staff was great and the restaurant is beautiful inside. Their draft selection was great. I will definitely return and would highly recommend it.

Decided to venture out of Cape May to try Coastal Blue @ Hotel Icona for Restaurant Week. I had never been before and wanted to try something new.
It was a quiet November Thursday evening; atmosphere was contempo chic; service was prompt & attentive; and offered a tasty menu for Restaurant Week.
Peter, a former chef and current GM, greeted all the tables and checked in with us after each course. He brought out apps of goat cheese and cranberries and pumpkin ravioli (in addition to the grilled cheese & tomato soup that was ordered). Entrees were perfectly cooked mushroom risotto; and a very tasty salmon with maple bourbon glaze & apples. Portions were large.
For dessert, the warm cookie dough with chocolate covered bacon is an absolute MUST! Peter also brought out extra desserts– all made in house– including bread pudding, chocolate cake and a chocolate mousse.
It was a delightful experience from start to finish. I will absolutely be back to dine again; the restaurant week selections are also entrees on the regular menu.
I want to try the weekend brunch as well! Thank you to Peter and his all star staff for spoiling us! Simply amazing!

Very good breakfast, Good service right on the beach. I would recommend this restaurant and hotel

We’ve stayed at Hotel Icona for the past three summers now. Our first stay was during their grand opening and everything was great. The food was delicious, service was great, and I was amazed at the beautiful décor of both the hotel and the restaurant.
Our second summer was equally as lovely, but our dining experiences were not. I have a feeling they were understaffed and unprepared for the boost in customers their second year. We were often waiting for a very long time before being served, or we received the wrong check, etc. They also had the same wait staff for both the pool, restaurant, and outside eating area, which was pretty disastrous.
Well — our third summer back and it seems they have fixed all the kinks! They now have separate wait staff for the pool area, and they are GREAT! All of the food is delicious, although a tad on the pricey side, but you’re paying for a good meal AND the convenience of not having to leave your hotel. I’m so glad that they worked everything out and that the restaurant is running smoothly — the food is great for any meal (I love the breakfast, especially), whether you’re a hotel guest or not.

Rounding up from a 3.5. Had a solid meal here, as did my girlfriend. First time I got to try some Korobuta pork, and it was excellent. Also had a coastal blue lemonade drink, which was good but hard to justify for 12 $. Beautiful place inside a beautiful hotel. You can tell they try and they are striving for better. Staff was friendly and helpful.

Ordered the new York strip, garlic smashed potato, and
was good. Steak came out well done as I ordered it. There was a pretty tasty sauce over it. However I was not blown away. It was priced moderately. My boyfriend got the pork chop and he loved it. We stayed at the Icona Resorts and it was pouring so we did chose this place out of convenience. I would go again only under the same circumstances.

Maybe a change in the chef since last summer. Way over priced for the quality of food that came out. Service was also very slow. I remembered the food being much better last year… I think they should change it up a little. I understand what they are trying for… just not sure they will get that crowd there.
They could make a ton of cash off all the families next door in seapointe village if they catered to that crowd. (family friendly)
They could profit both at the hotel restaurant as well as the beach bar if they do it right.
Music /​Magicians /​toast marshmallows on the beach /​kids dance parties… all the parents would be sitting around ordering drinks while the kids run around… again different crowd but who knows could be very profitable.
Anyway back to the food at the restaurant the calamari appitizer was good. The rack of lamb was a bit dry and lacked flavor and the veal oso buco was good but more of a autumn dish not beach /​summer hotel dish.
Unfortunately we will not be going back unless things change a bit here.

We walked in with a party of six– waited about 20 minutes. It seemed like a lot of the staff was new and didn’t really know what was going on. They kept brining food To us that we never ordered and our drinks took a while. We sat outside on a beautiful August evening. They had some kind of (one man band) playing some tunes and doing hoola hoop competitions– really good for the kids!
Once we ordered dinner it arrived Luke warm and not too tasty. We had the lobster tails, land chops (very bland) salmon, French cut chicken breast ‚
Filet mignon (overcooked), We didn’t order desert because it probably would of taken a long time and the kids were craving Duffers.

This place is VERY good!
We arrived early (5pm), since we were staying at the Hotel Icona and the beach had us tired. Service was excellent, hostess, waitress and water worked together well.
They are doing everything right. Warm rolls, both herbed and plain, with a nice butter creation (which was on the hard side).
Drinks were excellent. My Hendrick’s martini was just how I make them at home, due to our waitress having good note taking skills… Extra dry, extra cold, stirred, up, with olives. Wife needed help choosing and our waitress listened and guided her well.
They had a few specials, which were reviewed including the price. I don’t have enough to not like that.
We had the calamari as an app. It was a mix of rings and tenticles, lightly breaded and served with a fresh marinara. Delicious! We also had a few caprese salads, which were perfect due to tomatoes being in season down here and the wonderful fresh mozzarella (see pic). I think my wife also had a salad.
Entrees kept the chef’s skills in view.
My salmon with succotash was one of my favorite meals… Cooked as ordered, atop a mound of white, sweet corn succotash. The crumbled, slightly charred bacon put it over the top.
Wife’s surf and turf and the son’s NY strip were both delicious. They certainly know how to get an excellent char, which covered for them being a touch overcooked, high side of medium when ordered medium rare. For $ 45 though, I thought my wife’s steak should have been thicker than ¾″. She had no such thought.
Daughter ordered grilled cheese and fries off the kids menu, which I’m happy they had.
We shared a piece of chocolate cake. The strawberry and chocolate sauce garnish made it perfect.
Total with tip was $ 225 and worth it!

The atmosphere is casual but the staff and appearance of the restaurant are very upscale. Our experience was wonderful. The watermelon salad (compliments of the chef) was refreshing and very tasty. Thank you chef :) Cons: we had to ask for refills twice and the staff that brings the entrees to the table were very confused. They kept delivering the food to the wrong tables, on at least 3 separate occasions (including ours, we flagged them down and said hey that’s our food). We used the reservation feature in the Unilocal!app and they never did find our reservation, but they seated us without any hesitation which was wonderful!
We will definitely be back!

I found this restaurant thanks to Unilocal.The food was fantastic. The staff even better. I can go on forever but go see for yourself.

Very enjoyable evening with delicious food and great service. For starters we had the caprese salad and fried calamari. For our main two of us had salmon, crab cakes and steak we were all very pleased. The chief even walks around checking to make sure everyone enjoyed their meal. Martini’s are also great. Atmosphere is delightful. After walked down by the beach bar and enjoyed the amazing view. Really love this find, from another’s recommendation on Unilocal,Chris K!

So this was the only place open around where we were staying and we were having a late anniversary dinner.
The food was actually pretty good. I had the BLT salad and the dressing was pretty amazing. The pork chop could have had a bit more sauce. My wife had the calamari which she thought was excellent and the chicken very good.
BUT the thing is — the service was «incredible», I use this word with specific purpose. We had altogether about 8 staff interface with us throughout the entire experience:
— a host
— a waitress who we never saw again
— «our» waiter
— 3 busboys
— presumably the maitre de
— another staff who we don’t know what their role was — oddly dressed
AND yet:
— we had to find our own table
— no one took our order for 10 mins
— we had to beg for someone to get us more drinks
— I had to ask for silverware after someone brought my entrée
— our bread plates were never removed
— our empty glasses were not removed when new drinks arrived
— obviously had to beg for the check and for it to be taken away with the card in it
SO — wtf??? They have a ton of fancy dressed staff, who come off as highly trained — but no one is doing their job! I regularly get better service in a diner from one 17 year old high schooler.
Everyone was nice, the food was very good and it was nice out and we were at the beach — therefore 3 stars — but why so many people to do so little?? i

Everything is amazing!
Food: king crab legs are a great largeserving. Cracked for easy eating. Tastes amazing! Scallops were perfect! The $ 5 fish tacos are out of this world! Plates look beautiful. Great price and service!
Service: the staff is awesome! Been here
For happy hr and dinner three times! Staff always checked on us, so friendly. Come here for food!!! The inside amd poutside seating is beautifully done!!!

It’s been one year since my initial review of Coastal Blue, and I am happy to say that most of the kinks I originally mentioned have since been worked out.
This is our second trip down to Wildwood this summer, the first being Memorial Day weekend. Both times we rented a condo at adjacent Seapointe Village, and continue to treat Coastal Blue as our personal bar and restaurant.
And why wouldn’t we? What, with great service, an excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu, and a kitchen that seems to have mastered its wisely-​limited number of menu selections — Coastal Blue continues to be a great addition to this little strip of Diamond Beach.
I couldn’t be happier to see these guys succeeding and look forward to many more summers dining and drinking here.
[Enjoy my previous review if you’d like the War & Peace version.]