The Rum Runner, Sea Bright, NJ - Run the Other Way!

One of my favorite places to dine in the summer used to be The Rum Runner in Sea Bright. In case you haven’t noticed I said: “used to be”. An escalated price tag came along with the elevated rebirth of the old McLoone's. I don’t mind paying a hefty price for a good meal and as much as I appreciate the restaurants' desire for a fine dining experience, it just doesn’t cut it. 

Let’s talk about the staff. Well, the staff looked like spring break revisited. One young boy brought bread to the table and gave us one bread plate for four people. Needless to say, we had to ask for more plates. While the bread came with a very tasty oil and tomato dipping plate, they did not offer us butter for our bread, again we had to ask for it.

My friend inquired about how a particular entree was prepared because she was thinking about ordering it but our "waiter boy" had no idea and was of no help. He didn’t even offer to go back to the kitchen and find out for her. My thoughts on this? Fine dining is about the whole experience. The wait staff should be ready to answer any questions and be attentive to the tables needs.

Another guest ordered a specialty drink and our waiter informed him that it was unavailable and couldn’t even recommend something else. It seemed like our waiter was a high school student who had no clue about being a professional. Not good.

I ordered the Seafood Risotto and the ratio of risotto to seafood was off. When I think of risotto, I think of a warm steamy bowl of creamy risotto with add-ins and what I got was a small, and I mean small clump of risotto in the center of the dish that stood up on its own surrounded by 3 shrimp, 3 clams and 3 mussels. It did, however, have a scrumptious juice that surrounded the risotto, but nothing to soak in all that deliciousness.

Another at our table ordered the pork chop and it came out raw and had to be sent back. The salmon was overcooked and the Mahi was so-so. Overall, the food execution was inconsistent.

Let me summarize by saying, I felt that this restaurant takes advantage of its fabulous location and views of the water and it is not ok to serve mediocre food and employ a young inefficient staff that does not know how to serve. Train your staff! I will finish by saying overpriced and underwhelming. No plans to go back.