Sea Bright, NJ
Dockside at the Marina with Relaxing Views
On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, the Husband and I chose Eventide Grille in the beautiful town of Sea Bright for a nice late lunch. Upon pulling in to the parking lot, some large and small boats loomed overhead on racks, while others floated in the Navesink Marina at their docks behind a long bright yellow building blaring with delightful music.
When we entered the restaurant a huge U-shaped bar stood majestically in the middle and tables lined one of the exterior porches. The place looked recently renovated and carried a relaxing beach theme throughout. Through a doorway sat tables under a roof along the water and to the right was an oustide picnic table area, with live music, where you could order food from the bar and choose a seat (providing there is one available). We sat on the left, outside in a smaller area with tables and umbrellas. At first I was hesitant about sitting on this side only because the parking lot was directly behind us, however, our view from the front included the calm water and beautiful boats – so we stayed.
Our young server greeted us with water and took our drink order. Although she was very nice, she didn’t seem to really understand some of the questions we asked or have any solid answers for us. She did however tell us that the menu had changed from what appears on the website (totally not cool). Regardless, I had a refreshing specialty drink made with Twisted Tea, Peach Mango something and flavored vodka (I think). Our nacho appetizer came out first – not what we expected at all – with dark chicken (not a fan), jalapeños (we took them off ASAP), plenty of cheese, mostly crispy nachos (some on the bottom were oily), and was drizzled with something that looked like melted sour cream (if that makes any sense). For our lunch, I opted for the Chicken Milanese with jersey fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, asiago cheese and balsamic vinegarette. The Husband ordered simple grilled chicken parmesan with sweet potato fries which arrived perfectly (he’s been gluten free, by choice, for almost 2 years now).
When my food was delivered, the 2 large chicken breasts on my plate were fried (almost burnt actually). Now I am partially to blame as I was unaware that “milanese” was fried (it didn’t mention it on the menu either) but even this didn’t look edible. When I asked our server for grilled chicken breasts instead she looked confused. I guess I figured that down at the beach everything was grilled and well, healthier or that we would have options in certain dishes. Finally when my plate was returned with my requested grilled chicken, to my surprise, it tasted pretty good.
Even with an average dining experience, the views of the marina totally relaxed and put our minds at ease. Boats cruised by giving us the feeling of being on vacation even when we’re not that far from home. Eventide Grille is probably a good place to hang out and kick back with some drinks, your buddies, live music and maybe a sandwich, but I wouldn’t call this a ‘first date’ kind of place.
http://eventidegrille.com/
reviewed July 2018
The Cindi That Never Sleeps 