Black Seal Seafood Grille in Essex

The menu has many choices in Entries and Apps- from land ; sea; vegetables, soup, salad. Quiet dining and lively barroom. Surrounded by a beautiful town.

I was disappointed in the stuffed clams, they are made with what tasted like sweet potato stuffing. The clams were chewy and the stuffing was not good. I had shrimp cocktail and that was disappointing.. I expected them to be jumbo shrimp and were not. They were not cleaned all the way up to tail. My daughter loved her cheeseburger and wants to know what kind of bun it was.

Service W a smile & delish food. Thank u

Best baked stuffed clams and onion soup ! Always a special treat.

Attentive wait staff, tasty food prepared well, and great selection of food and drink options.

Amazing food and very fresh. ask for the black seal hamburger! and the fish was delicious! Very charming restaurant. very new England.

Overall they have good food, but certain items are a no go. For appetizers, the French onion soup and stuffed clams are incredible. Additionally, the burgers are very good. However, there are many items on the menu that are just meh. For instance, the fish and chips are heavily breaded, very greasy, and lacking in flavor. The environment is cosy and warm, and the waiting staff is friendly.

Food was great... service was no so great.

Great spot in the middle of classic Essex seaside Main St. Good food, great service, nice atmosphere.

My husband and I love this place! The atmosphere is cosy and welcoming. The staff treat you very well and are exceptionally attentive. Food is amazing for a good price. We enjoy this venue every time we come. Just wish they would have a raw bar selection for their seafood.

Your place is the best from specials to chefs to waiter to anything came from upstate NY for 4 days eaten here 3 times each time chef would do anything to please our table will come back next year for sure food top top shelf

It is a wonderful atmosphere and very good service. A good menu with lots to offer. I will say we had the fish and chips and it wasn't as flavorful as I would have expected.

Came into Essex on a Saturday at 2:45pm and that’s where things went downhill. We were second in line and as we asked for a table for 2, we were left with an uncertain status if we had to wait or being seated. We stood for nearly 10 minutes without an answer as a line behind us grew and others in line asking what was going on. Meanwhile three empty tables were there for the taking. After being seated, we waited 10 minutes, ready to make our order. Tables adjacent to us who were also seated all at once with us, were looking for waitresses or what seemed to be the owner/manager to take down an order. Once our order was taken, it took another 25 minutes for one burger and one chili. A table behind us left out of frustration. The chili came in alright but the burger was overcooked (as it would be for 25 minutes) and was greased to the rim. Staff was pleasant but unequipped for a busy bar and lack of organization for a Saturday late afternoon.

Good food, perfect portions, great service

There's a very particular background taste that bars unknowingly spice all of their food with, it's called, "Bar Taste".And it doesn't matter how they dress that pig up and make it dance around it's still just a pig on a bar.

Got there before the dinner rush and saw the waitress maybe four times. Once for beginning order/drinks, a second time when she checked in with us for the one and only time and then when the bill came. The food was not good. Meat was overcooked. Apps were also overcooked in the deep fryer. They charged $14 for a hamburger that was just blah. Wouldn't recommend going there to anyone. I'm pretty easy going and forgiving when it comes to reviews but this place is just an overpriced diner.

Great food nice wait staff worth the trip

Excellent food! A little pricey though.

From the wife's and a friend's side the crab meat tacos they had was excellent and the others with us thought they had was good also. I'm allergic to shellfish so I was stuck with a tasty bowl of chili since even the French fries were cooked in the same oil as the shrimp and stuff.

Holiday and the place was packed. Owners hadn't prepared for the holiday. The staff was stressed and tried their best. Food was marginal, beer was good and the wine selection was good.

Excellent service! And the food was delicious too! Best long island ice tea I have had in a long time!

Called in for a take-out burger, which I have done before with no problems, but last night’s burger was so bad even my dog up chucked the portion she had eaten in the middle of the night. I had severe indigestion for 24 hours. Very disappointing as a local resident to see such poor quality in our small town.

Excellent lentil soup and blacken tilapia special, fish and chips were also good.

Food is excellent, staff are so nice

Nice place. Been goin there since I was a kid. Absolutely nothing has changed which is a good thing. Except that I can now sit at the bar which I was never able to as a kid with my uncle. Wife loved her dinner. Good fresh seafood

The seating was confusing. The hostess also seemed to be the bus person and the bar back. There were plenty of open tables yet for long stretches of time there was no hostess to seat people. Once seated, the wait staff was very pleasant and accommodating. The food was decent but not exactly fine cuisine. Its quaint for what it is.

AWESOME food! Nice place for a meal.

Had the stuffies, always fantastic. Lovely staff especially the bartender

Courteous staff. I ordered fish and chips. Very few chips. Fish wasn't all that, no seasoning at all. Crust looked very dark.

Today we ended up at a restaurant I used to love and go with my ex over 10 years ago. I kept telling my friend about it and then it finally popped in my head the name of it today. So we went for lunch and had an amazing meal and I was able to rewrite my story and create new memories. The food is ridic by the way! Y'all need to go! Hit Essex go walk around town and stop here...literally could not get enough of the tuna! It was off the chart. We will be back!

Excellent food and delightful service. We were traveling between MA & NY and decided to pull into Essex for lunch. Really worth it as it was absolutely delicious!

We had a very nice dinner.

Came in town for the train ride and stopped here for lunch with our family of six. The service was great...there was a young lady in training who will be a great asset...big smile, spunk, and big personality. The food matched to service...everyone was very happy with their food. This is place is a local solid restaurant.

Great place to stop and have a cold one at the bar with the friendly staff. There is dinning in the bar area and the back room has plenty of seating. The place has a nautical theme with pictures of the local history. Great friendly staff the food came out hot and quickly. I've eaten there for years and the is consistent. The best deal on the menu is the Philly cheese steak.. melts in your mouth

They have great seafood options; I had an amazing stuffed clam. The nachos are rather good as well.

Stopped in for an afternoon cocktail. Nice Bar good Drinks, I will have to try the food next time but comfortable atmosphere and busy bar made for a great afternoon pit stop.

I love Essex and all the shops and restaurants in the area, Black Seal is one of them. Great atmosphere and prices are reasonable.

Such a friendly and cozy environment with wonderful service and delicious food! Went on a cold Tuesday afternoon and was met with smiles and warmth. The drinks and food were delicious! Ordered exclusively off the specials menu, so definitely check that out (and I will be back for the regular menu). The portions were huge and the drinks were proper. The space itself is absolutely beautiful, I love the maps of the sound on the bar counter! Glad I finally stopped in, will definitely be back for more!

When seeing downtown Essex A must do , have lunch or dinner at this historic spot

Great food , very pleasant staff and affordable prices. Definitely recommend.

Always a great time.awsome service and food.

Food, drinks, bartender, and fellow patrons were all amazing....truly!

This very casual place has good food. We had the swordfish and a blackened salmon on garden salad

Stopped by this restaurant after we checked out Gillett castle. Really good restaurant with good food. I recommend to try their philly steak sandwich. It is my 2nd favorite steak sandwich of all the time. The restaurant staff are really friendly. If you want to have some fun drink, I suggest to try pomegranate Cosmo. Anyhow, I am glad to check new places. I will definitely go there again!

The customer service is always fast, lovely atmosphere, welcoming staff. Will visit again when I am in the area.

I've been dining here for years, and I've never been let down. I have also ordered the Black Seal burger every time. I got to see a new friend who is about the age I was when I first came here, then named Tumbledown's...

THE SMALL TOWN OF ESSEX, CT. REMINDED ME OF A NORMAN ROCKWELL PAINTING. VISITED A SMALL PLACE CALLED THE BLACK SEAL AND THE SERVICE AND FOOD ON A SCALE OF1 - 10 IT HIT A NINE AND A HALF AND THAT'S BECAUSE I WAS IN A RUSH.I PLAN ON ANOTHER VISIT AND TOLD ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS ABOUT THIS PLACE.SO TO ALL YOU GOOD PEOPLE OUT THERE DON'T WAIT GO EAT AT THE BLACK SEAL. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

Food was excellent. I got the crab cake tacos. Pricing was reasonable. Atmosphere was great. Service was a tiny bit slow and not quite as attentive as it could have been with drink refills, or I would have given five stars.

Disappointing first experience at this Essex mainstay. The baked clams were 98% breadcrumbs and 2% minced clams reheated and uneatable. The French onion soup was fine but nothing special. The cheeseburger was ok but was served with generic bagged French fries. Seldom do I leave a restaurant without finishing my meal or without taking home the leftovers and tonight I did both. After reading some of the other reviews, I will give the restaurant a second chance at some point but don't feel a need to do so anytime soon. This review is for the food only and is not a reflection of the waitress who served us and was very good.