Doc’s Place

The first week of November I made a reservation for 2 for Thanksgiving for an inside table at 4:30pm for my mother who is 88 and myself. I made the reservation in person after having a nice lunch. The reservation was made in front of the hostess, my waiter and the bartender on duty. I was second on the list for the 4:30pm seating and saw the hostess write it down in front of the two other people. Eight days to the day later, the manager called and said he had to move us to the outside porch with plastic tables, a plastic covering, plastic chairs etc. It is unacceptable for ann 88 year old. I asked to be first to move back inside. I called tonight and was told no cancellations. He was insulting to me, and in no way had any compassion for an 88 year old woman having to spend what could be her last Thanksgiving on a plastic enclosed porch with plastic tables. He did offer to get her a wooden chair. Oh thanks. He simply did not get that the whole situation was totally unacceptable. And this has to be one of the worst reservation snafus I have ever encountered.
I would not be so angry if they had called back that day, but eight days put me in a bad position. Will never go back, and I would be wary about a special occasion reservation here.

Great food, great service. More upscale than other local places, usually some live music

LUNCH: See my earlier write-​up for more content on the food. (Still love the club sandwich the best.) We were here several more times over the summer, and have been treated like precious customers, even though I’m pretty sure the waiters and owner have not recognized us. If there is ANYTHING about your food that is a problem, tell the server, and you will be treated like royalty. For those of you looking for freebies, shame on you, and I know those trolls are out there — this place is genuinely trying to keep their customers happy. The outdoor seating is a real treat. Take advantage of the weather and a welcoming staff.

Outstanding Clam Chowder as well as delicious seafood entrees. Great service! Came in without a reservation and were seated within 5 minutes! Definitely will not disappoint!

Working in Somers Point next to the Docs Place has its advantages! We have sampled many items for lunch and have yet to find a loser in the bunch. From the start when you walk in check out the cork art all around the restaurant. One of the nicer outdoor seating areas as it looks out over Harbour Cove marina.
Where to start with the food. The Tuna Melt by far is one of the best sandwiches you’ll find. Plenty of fresh tuna salad on toasted rye, with cheese and a tomato. We have ordered the Kobe Taco Salad a ridiculous amount of times in the last two weeks. Made with spicy Kobe beef. Thousand Island dressing, beans, cheese and sour cream and salsa. Incredibly good.
Dinner finds a great selection of pasta and seafood and other signature dishes.
Great atmosphere and food, plenty of parking and dedicated owners. You won’t be disappointed.

Couldn’t ask for better service! Had dinner at the bar because the place was packed (sat night). Ed took awesome care of us with place settings, food order — very professional! Kudos

We went to the restaurant to celebrate a birthday. After calling in advance and then reminding them when we arrived they failed to bring out the cake and candles that we expected. Furthermore the food was terrible. The salmon was spoiled, the calamari was all bead and no calamari and the desert was unremarkable. All this for over$ 100 per couple.
The only positive is that the views were excellent.

This place was amazing! We had the crab cake appetizer which was excellent. My wife had the stuffed flounder and I had the ahi tuna. Both were great. There service was also excellent

This is my go to place. Always a fabulous view-​rain or shine — who wouldn’t love the marina and the skylines!
The good is always delicious. My favorite is the Caesar salad with lump crab meat. It’s amazing. The fried calamari is a wonderful starter also. Love this place

Excellent food hands down. The ambiance is really awesome too. It’s a great little shore town feel that isn’t in Ocean City. It was very busy so I’d recommend to make reservations like we did. If you can, sit outside in their enclosed patio area because you can see the boats and everything! I got the crab cakes which were delicious and I got sautéed spinach (which was actually cooked the correct way… Yes spinach should have a little crunch with it.) The service was great too. I definitely recommend it!

I have never ever ever been disappointed here. The service is out of this world and the drinks are even better. The cream of crab and mushroom soup is the best soup in Atlantic County.

Wow, such a GREAT FILLING MEAL! Ambiance is on point when sitting outside (i haven’t sat inside yet). Enough parking outside. Walking inside theres a bar and after the bar you are hosted to your seat. They DO accept reservations. Food was amazing and filling. Presentation was appealing, ambiance was pleasant, and staff was both friendly and helpful.

Stopped by this restaurant for dinner tonight after our visit at the hospital since it was conveniently located right across the street. Cute beachy/​nautical décor, clean restroom w/​hand towels, friendly staff and fast service. There was live music, a guy playing a guitar and singing in the dining room. We were seated in their covered outside seating dining room which had a nice view of the marina.
The restaurant provides complimentary garlic bread which was divine. We definitely ate too much bread bc by the time our entrees came out we were STUFFED. Oops.
For apps, we ordered:
Seafood platter — 3 jumbo shrimps, 3 raw clams, & jumbo lump crab meat. The shrimp was slightly over cooked and waterlogged. The crab tastes like it was from a package. Hubby mentioned that the clam had a funky taste so the server brought us 2 extra shrimps to replace the bad clams. This platter was definitely disappointing. Nothing tasted fresh. The cocktail sauce & Tabasco was its saving grace.
New England clam chowder — bland and had a «floury» taste. No Bueno! Tabasco couldn’t help rectify this flavor dead soup.
Caesar salad — was served w/​hard boiled eggs. The dressing didn’t taste like it was made in house, more like from a bottle. It was tangy and had no Parmesan flavor. The salad didn’t come w/​Parmesan either which was interesting.
For dinner:
Kobe beef sliders — comes w/​caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms & cheese. I had the American cheese switched out for cheddar instead. The sliders were very tasty, but was lacking mushrooms. Each slider came with one mushroom.
Prosciutto wrapped wolf fish (special of the day) — hubby had sautéed mushrooms and spinach as his 2 sides which he said both were delicious. Hubby mentioned that the fish itself was a little on the fatty side. I thought the fish tasted okay, nothing special.
Overall, the service was good and the food was alright. Nothing spectacular or intriguing. The ambience was nice and the views were an added bonus. We probably wouldn’t come back since there are so many other restaurants for us to try along the Jersey shore. This place is definitely pricey. I did notice they had an early bird menu which had items for half price if ordered before 5pm.
The 2 stars are for good service, décor, and sliders.
Update: we just made it back to Cape May (9pm) and BOTH of our tummies are hurting. Hubby had an unfortunate visit w/​the toilet… TWICE. =X Sorry TMI. We had dinner at 6:15pm. Beware of the seafood in the seafood platter. Ouch!

Mad elf on tap … Amazing pork chop and a cream puff from bake works all boxes checked

This place is totally average. Seafood platter was disappointing… shrimp crab were completely dehydrated and clams were bad. Roasted peppers tasted like they are out of a can. The duck was pretty good. Didn’t stay for dessert. The service was average too.

Sat at the bar and ordered one of their signature martinis (a $ 10.25 Watermelon martini) that should have been made with Grey Goose vodka –as stated under the description. I was mid-​conversation with my partner when I noticed the bartender had substituted the Grey Goose with Bankers Club! The first words that came out of my mouth, «Well, that’s definitely not Grey Goose.» The bartender made the drink over again, but gave off the wrong impression. I suggest you watch them make your drink.

This was our second time to Doc’s in a few years. We like to find a special restaurant to go out to while vacationing in Ocean City, NJ, and Doc’s fit the bill.
Reservations 2 – 3 days in advance ideal during the summer weekends unless you want to eat at 5:30 or 9pm.
Ambiance — In the summer time it is hard to find a classier place for dinner in the OCNJ area than sitting on the outside patio of Doc’s by the bay marina. White tablecloths and the salty… Ahhhh. Tables are not jammed too close together and you can easily get a table for up to six (possible more). Just need to pick a night that isn’t too hot.
Service — «Can I help you» greeting upon arrival might have been nicer to hear «Welcome to Doc’s, how are you tonight?» Or something a little more personal, but overlooking the greeting the service was good.
Drinks– Full bar but they will allow you to bring your own wine for a corkage fee. Martinis were decent but I found it interesting how they were served on saucers and the waiter poured the portion of drink that had spilled back into the glass. Hmmm– maybe use personal shakers or get larger martini glasses? I do appreciate the full pour but if you use 2 olives instead of 3 or get larger glasses then this can be avoided.
Food– garlic bread was warm and served promptly upon being seated. My wife had the Alaskan King Salmon and said it was excellent — this is the Jersey shore in the summer so $ 30 is not uncommon for fish in the higher end restaurants. I ordered the tortellini and it was fine for $ 19. Loved the chocolate lava style cake with ice cream– almost like a flourless chocolate cake.
Parking — readily available out front

Went for my birthday.
Beautiful sunset. we sat on the deck.
Waiter was great!!!
Drinks were refreshing
I had a make your own menu. I think they’d call it.
I got broiled floulder with delicious fresh lump crab meat. dirty smashed potatoes…& snowpeas that were just fabulous!
My bf got the lobster tail. .sadly it was over done.
he only took 2 bits n I one bite of it… it was a nice size tail.
When he was in the men’s room I told the waiter it was over done n he took it off the bill. my bf would never say something was bad. so I knew I had to.
We will go back. really nice place. :)

My wife, two friends and I spent the weekend in Somers Point and drove past the Doc’s Place on our first day there and thought it looked nice, and it does. We were immediately seated outside with phenomenal view of the private docks for the large pleasure boats. It was beautiful. I get the impression that this is where a lot of locals and semi-​locals come to eat and look at their boats. That is where the good part ends.
The well intentioned waitress, a very nice girl who was apparently hired 5 minutes before we got there, had no idea about the beer or wine list, even though both were pretty small. We ordered some basic stuff; I had cappelini with shrimp and chorizo, my wife had cappellini and clams, and our friends had fish and kobe sliders. My pasta had apparently been cooked before my table mates’ because when it arrived, the pasta had dried into a glommy mass. My wife’s clams came with 2 — 3 actual fresh clams and the rest was canned, chopped clams. Our friends’ dinners were no better.
Here is where it gets fun. When it was time for our check, we asked the waitress to split the check down the middle to accomodate both parties. She said that this was an unusual request and said that she would have to check with the manager. We all looked at each other and then back at her and one of us, not sure who, said, «really? Never had a problem with that anywhere else?», which is true. She checked with the manager, (?), and came back to us telling us that if she had to do that, we should have told her that we were going to prior to ordering, to which we responded, «how would we have known that?». I feel bad for her, she obviously didn’t know the policy, but why should we have been penalized for that?
We ended up putting it all on one bill and settling for cash after the fact.
In short, the place is beautiful, with a great view of the docks, but their food and service are straight out of a diner, and not a good one.

The Patriarch, The Queen Mother and I stopped by Doc’s for an early dinner near their Shore house (which they love to spend time with in the ‘shoulder season — BEST time at the beach, folks, IMHO). The location is lovely — right on a marina, with great views of the harbor and bay. The restaurant itself is light and airy, with a high-​vaulted ceiling, crisp white table linens and lots of windows, as well as an outdoor covered deck that ends at said marina.
We arrived just at the start of the dinner service and were seated promptly by a window facing the marina. The Queen Mother did not want to be outside as the air was slightly chilly. We were offered ‘early bird’ menus, which of course made the Seniors immensely happy, as they love things like this. The Patriarch selected the Chicken & Prosciutto in a cream reduction with vegetables while the Queen Mother and I had the Chicken Parmesan over linguine.
It’s saying something when the Seniors, who thrive on complaining that anything with a hint of spice is ‘too spicy’, say that this was the blandest food they have ever had. It’s saying something even more when you agree. The chicken parmesan had almost no taste of the parmesan, to the point I felt I needed to look for the actual cheese. The filet itself was well done, but the panko crumbs seemed to suck the flavor out of the chicken. The sauce was… odd tasting. Like it hadn’t had time to cook or blend flavors. Heavy taste of uncooked tomato paste, though it wasn’t a pasty sauce. The chicken & Prosciutto was likewise bland, no taste to the chicken or the cream reduction and that’s saying something. Prosciutto is a salty meat, and we couldn’t taste ti at all.
Lastly PET PEEVE A: ERT: Undrained pasta. Our plates arrived in a pool of water and oil from the sauce. Really? we’re the first people there, and the place was not busy. Drain your pasta! Argh.
Highlights: The soup that the Seniors got was very good, it was chicken with peppers and something in a soup base (not like chicken and noodle soup). Very tasty. Served in coffee mugs. Is that a thing now? Bowls would be nicer.
Also the Brownie Sundaes that came with the meal were lovely, warm chewy brownie, just enough ice cream, consumed with happy noises.
Service was very good, reasonably attentive without hovering, and they allowed us to linger and talk while enjoying the view. I think should we come back, it would be for dessert and drinks and we’d go strictly to enjoy the view, rather than the food. Sad, it’s a nice location.