Libby's Beach Shack Asbury Park

We had the misfortune of being served by Stephen, who is among the worst waiters I've ever encountered. He only managed to bring us water and our food, and then he disappeared. He didn’t check on us at all—no inquiries about how the food was, whether we needed anything else, or even a water refill. The restaurant was nearly empty, which should have been a warning sign, but the lobster chowder sounded enticing. Unfortunately, the food fell far short of expectations. The lobster chowder was one of the most disappointing dishes I’ve ever ordered. It tasted like a poorly made Manhattan clam chowder, using low-quality vegetable stock with just a single lobster claw thrown in. You’d expect a lobster chowder to be creamy and chunky, featuring diced lobster. Instead, it was nothing more than diluted vegetable broth with a lobster claw, essentially costing you $6 for just that claw. For the same price, you’d be better off heading to Capitol Grille for their delicious lobster mac and cheese, which includes generous chunks of real lobster and is baked to perfection. As for the steamers, they were unappetizing and poorly presented. While I do appreciate the quantity for $10, the quality was lacking. I’ve never seen clams that looked this unappealing. The siphons, which should be neat and clean, looked like they were covered in something decayed. It was so off-putting that I had to remove what I can only describe as a foul appearance. I’ve enjoyed steamers at other places that were far better prepared and visually appealing. Eating these was a struggle, and I felt as though I was taking my medicine instead of enjoying a meal.

I made a mistake by dining at Libby's, and I suggest you avoid it too. After we seated ourselves, we immediately sensed we might have chosen the wrong spot when our waiter showed little interest in assisting us. We ordered the lobster chowder and a bucket of steamers. The lobster chowder turned out to be little more than watered-down vegetable soup with a few pieces of lobster. While I’ll give them credit for the amount of lobster, it was definitely not a chowder. As for the steamers, they didn’t come in a bucket, and honestly, you wouldn’t want more after seeing the dirty pile they served as “fresh.” In short, unless you’re just looking for a drink, it’s best to keep walking.

I had a disappointing experience at this restaurant. I'm torn between giving it 1 or 2 stars. I typically reserve 1 star for inedible food, and the steamers I ordered were certainly not up to par. However, the fries were enjoyable, so I'm going to round up my rating. The outdoor tables on the boardwalk are nice, making it a great spot for people-watching. Unfortunately, the steamers were truly terrible; I even sent them back, which is something I rarely do. I'm not sure what kind of clams they use, but they definitely need to consider switching suppliers. The fries were average, but they came with a homemade ketchup that had a nice sweet and tangy flavor, which was definitely the highlight of the meal.

I just don't get it. The places on either side are owned by the same person, but this is just a mess. I've been a couple of times now and: staff never seem to notice you until you snap off a flare. they never have the menu, always seem to be running out of everything. What's worse the staff never know they've run out of everything and you have to Order three times. even when you flag the staff down, they seem so underwater they can't get the Order right. But it's not the staff's fault, it's the management. They seem To staff their other restaurants well, but this is a joke. I want this to work because it's the only place serving lobster on the boardwalk, but it's a Shambles.

Had I read the reviews here first I wouldn't have wasted my time or money here. The service was good but that's it. The $7 salad was nothing more than a giant chunk of lettuce with slices of tomato and chips of bacon on a plate. The lobster soup was just vegetable soup with a couple of chunks of lobster thrown in. And if you're thinking about dropping $16 on the lobster roll lobster sandwich), don't bother. What you'll be getting is a dinner roll stuffed with lettuce, diced celery and onions, and about 2 tablespoons of lobster coleslaw and a handful of potato chips).