Good service, nice atmosphere inside and out. Portions a bit skimpy for the price.

Stopped in for dinner last week and had a bowl of their new england clam chowder. It was thick, creamy, rich in potatoes and herbs - and completely void of clams. I this to the waitress and she replied "wow - nobody else has complained about that". Frankly, their thick potatoe soup is masquerading as clam chowder. I've been coming here for years - time to move on and find a clam chowder that is also rich in clams. read more

Just came from dinner there. We had the Prime rib and the seafood platter and both were great ! Hats off to everyone involved, Great job ! read more

I was in Vernon with my husband on Saturday night, picking up a few things at HomeGoods. Next thing we knew, it was 8:30 and we were starving. We were trying to decide which of the many large chain restaurants in Manchester we would hit up as we were passing by Elmo's and I said, "Why don't we try that place and give the local guy some business?"... We were greeted immediately and given a run down of the specials. Given our choice of where we'd like to sit. The waitress came right over and was super friendly. The food was so good. I got the grilled salmon which came with a side salad and asparagus. My husband had the baked stuffed sole which had small shrimp and chunks of lobster stuffed inside, he got the clam chowder and the twice baked potato (which I snuck a bite of.. Yum!)... The portions, at first, looked small.. But when I was done, I was full. So I'd say the portions were right. The decor was super cute and I gave our waitress a 24% tip because she was so attentive and warm. Would definitely recommend this place :) read more

My boyfriend and I went to this establishment for dinner on Valentine's Day, as they were promoting the "lovers dinner for two" special. The meal consisted of a 10 oz bacon wrapped filet mignon, 2 stuffed lobster tails, 2 sides, and a soup/salad for each of us. We decided to sit at the bar as there was quite a few empty seats. It's a quaint little setting in that section. Long story short, we each enjoyed a drink, some bread, & our soups. When our meal came out, the filet was cooked well done (we asked for medium-rare) and our plate was missing one of the sides we'd requested. I brought this to the bartender's attention (Sandy) and she immediately went to the kitchen and came back with our additional side and a brand new steak, which was perfectly cooked this time. I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't any fuss about having to fix our meal. We thanked her for her service and she simply replied, "it's no problem, i just want you to be happy". Her response brought a smile to both of us. Though we were a little disappointed by our original steak, mistakes happen. They quickly rectified the situation and it was greatly appreciated. We will definitely be going back. Thank you Sandy for being such a great asset to Elmo's! read more

I've driven by this place countless times and finally decided to try it, and glad I did! Had the prime rib special and it was delicious. It was tender, generous and cooked to perfection. If you're a red meat lover like me you'll love this place Friday and Saturday nights. Also, the service was friendly and prompt. Will definitely try it again but for the seafood. Went back last week for some of their seafood, and was a little disappointed. The portions were good but the food was very bland. I guess it will be a great place for prime rib, but not for seafood. The service was still good though. read more

Just ordered food from Elmo's. This place has an awesome atmosphere. Staff is very friendly and well spoken. The seating area looks to be kept extremely clean and organized. Food came very fast and presented well. I will definitely be back for more! read more

Don't waste your time. Without having to rant I can admit we've tried to have dinner at Elmo's several times. With family or friends, the consistent level of lousy and extremely unsatisfactory dining experience is astonishing. So much so that I'm genuinely surprised that they are still open for business after all these years. Between the unremarkable seafood, mediocre service, outrageous pricing, and terribly outdated everything -- Elmo's? Hard pass. read more

Had dinner on a Mon. night Clean place, cute decor, very friendly staff At first when I read the menu, I was a little disappointed with the variety. I thought it was a typical seafood restaurant - fried fish, oysters, scallops, pasta and what not. And it is. As standard as it is, the food was pretty good. Fresh, and moist. Salmon was moist, fried oysters were crispy but soft on the inside. Clam chowder and lobster bisque was smooth & creamy, not salty like most restaurants. Prices are.. average, a little above average. $20 for a salmon fillet and fries didn't impress me. My oyster sandwich was $11 which was acceptable. Go check it out read more

Excellent seafood. I had a couple of Oysters, Prince Edward Island mussels, clam chowder, and a Caesar salad. The mussels were the prize winner. The were cooked in a white wine and garlic broth. I could have made a meal of them. The oysters were fresh and excellent. The salad was going. The chowder was good but not up to my taste or expectations. Be aware that this is a very pricey restaurant. The above with a beer cost $28 plus a well deserved tip. The service was excellent. read more

The long and short of it is, great food and great service. We come here often. I have never been dissatisfied. Elmos has been here for a long time. The chefs have been working in the kitchen for decades. They are always pumping out quality food. Owner operated. Screw the big chain restaurants. Keep youruh money in town. Become a regular at Elmos. Try it out. You will come back. And, Joe at the bar is always on point. read more

Elmo's Dockside - You won't need these - Seafood Near Me - Vernon, Connecticut

I went on a Friday evening about 6pm to the pub side. Very nice bar with lots of space and a few large HDTVs. The bartender gave me a hard time about my out of state ID at first as I am in my 20s and have a young look, but apparently they are just very wary of underage serving fines. The clientele appeared to be largely older working adults. However, I appreciated this atmosphere as a mature young professional looking for a great meal and drink in a relaxing environment. I asked for a Mai Tai at first and was informed they cannot make it. I then followed up with an inquiry on both a Midori Sour and an Old-Fashioned settling on the former. Great drink at a very reasonable price! The meal comes with bread and a form of large chips which I enjoyed quite a bit. I ordered a cup of the lobster bisque to start and it was awesome! My crab cakes dinner with butternut squash was also quite savory. I was not personally a fan of the onion or similar that they bake in atop the crab cakes, but it was still quite delicious. All the food was of high quality. My service experience at the bar for dinner is hard to describe... I can't quite tell if the bartender just genuinely respects their guests with an always-listening yet hands-off approach, or if he was actually too busy to notice as much explicitly about guests' needs. At any rate, I felt a little awkward asking for a glass of water and the check at a couple points where I had been waiting what I felt a reasonable amount of time to be noticed and asked. This is different in my experience than at other pubs I have visited. I will definitely be back to try some clam chowder and another seafood dish. Definitely a place I would highly recommend for a seafood lover looking for something local. read more

Dennis was Awesome! Thank's! Met the owner, he was Awesome as well! Grilled Sea Scallops were Amazing, the Coleslaw, and the Butternut Squash was YUMMY! Reccomended by Dennis! A must stop! read more

If you no longer offer something take it off the menu. We order food from this establishment once in a while, food is good. Prices exceed the quality, and once again for god sakes if you no longer offer something change your online menus. I was excited to see seafood salad on the menu served cold with scungilli, shrimp, calamari... Something one of my hometown favorites served. "Nope we haven't had it for a while". Then why is it on your menu? Really should be a 2.5 star, if the menu was up to date it would be a 3.5.. Update: guess what, ordered again from online. They removed the seafood Salad but I apparently picked something else they don't make. I tried to order a rich boy, that is a fried main lobster sandwich that sounded great. To my surprise guess what, we no longer make that. Really come on, it's kinda comical at this point. Probably the last time I visit this place. Would have totally bailed on the order but 6 coworkers were ordering.. read more

I am from out of state & stopped in for lunch after a job interview. I had the Hawaiian Haddock & wasn't disappointed at all, it was very good. The service was good & the people friendly. read more

Elmo's Dockside - Hawaiian Haddock - Seafood Near Me - Vernon, Connecticut

Seriously, I am here several times a week. Great deal for the money - soup or salad is included (giant salad!!), bread if you want it. The menu is extensive, definitely something for everyone! I hit the lobster tank once in a while for special occasions, but there is plenty of other fish options, and LOTS of choices for the non-fish eaters (like my hubby!). Portions are plentiful and flavorful, none of this silly a la carte stuff where you need to order a starch and a veg to fill your plate. Apps are yummy, adult beverage choices and prices are reasonable... No wonder we keep coming back! It's a scratch kitchen, so if you need to tweak an entree to your liking - no problem! Try it, you will love it!! read more

Elmo's Dockside - Joe the bartender makes GREAT margaritas! - Seafood Near Me - Vernon, Connecticut

Roast beef and baked stuffed shrimp was not shared for supper. Both my wife and I enjoyed the restaurant and wait staff for the evening. Saturday evening early supper. This was the second visit to this restaurant. Both of us will definitely be back. Rather than fill in another review we returned to Elmo's Three weeks later. I had the roast beef, end cut and the wife had stuffed scrod. I was dissatisfied. The meat was tough. Not happy! I will not go back for a while. read more

This restaurant used to be great, not any more.! I ordered the fry clams at $30.0.0 I started with a Cesar salad, which in other restaurants usually consists of Romain hearts, not the dark green leafy part of the Romain. I was disappointed. The clams came out they were mediocre, not great but not awful. The fries were barely cooked. When the waitress came by to pick up the plate she noticed I had not touched the fries, she asked about that, I told her they were not very crispy. It was certainly not her fault, but she replied "when they get busy I guess they don't have time to crisp the fries." Really? Really? For $30.00 you can't crisp French fries? . Will not go back there again. read more

Very comfortable casual restaurant with good food and prices Good service Older establishment but maintained Locally owned and operated read more

I was so, so disappointed with this restaurant. We placed an order for pick-up, so there was nothing we could do once we got home. The batter on the fried fish and clam strips was so bland and to make matters worse they did not send any sauces, even though we requested extra! How do you send fried fish and clam strips without tartar sauce! How do you send French fries without ketchup and even worse, they didn't include any cocktail sauce with the shrimp cocktail! read more

Overpriced and undersized. I Had the special, Veal Parmigiana, and it sure wasn't. It was mostly breading, I think there might have been veal in there, somewhere not sure. read more

A really unexpected treat! My husband and I were shopping in Manchester and wanted to try someplace new. The host (turned out to be the owner) greeted us at the door and gave us a run down of the specials. Our waitress was really nice, and the food was really good. For a Friday night it wasn't super busy (the waitress said their Friday rush is actually a little earlier in the evening) and I hear they have a hopping Thursday night bar scene. Some place we're going to try again for sure. read more

I visit the pub side more often than the restaurant side. Nothing too fancy or upscale, but it's clean and bright and the food is always fresh. (all mandatory for a seafood restaurant). They make a great fried platter with shrimp, scallops, clams, and fish. read more

Excellent food, spotty service and an interesting lived in look interior makes Elmo's a bit hard to judge. Parking: Ample A Atmosphere: I love a slightly dated but unique interior. I am anti-chain with their cookie cutter designs. The interior is clean with decent lighting and comfortable seating. B+ Service: Here is where these folks needs some improvement. Service is a bit slow. The waitress may find that a smile goes a long way to making the customer feel welcome. Service is a little too perfunctory. C Food: The food is excellent. Clams on the half shell were super fresh. Their clam chowder is some of the best I have ever eaten. Their clam strips with potato chips (the chips seem home made) was delicious. A Prices seem fair for the quality. Spiff up the service and this place will be terrific. read more

Our first visit to in dining since covid was on a Friday night, it was very busy. The service was excellent however, we were disappointed in the quality of the bread basket. Prior to the pandemic, there was crusty, fresh baked bread. We received something somewhat wonder bread- like bread. The food that we ordered was very good however, the portion size was half of what we were used to read more

Tried Elmos for the first time today. I called in for a to go order for a clam strip dinner. Everything was delicious! Clams tasted fresh, were fried just right, fries great, and so was the Caesar salad which really tasted like a quality homemade dressing. I ordered at 4 and it was ready for my requested 6pm pickup. I also appreciated how the cold food verse hot food were packaged separately. Finally the service was great too. Great experience from ordering, picking up, to eating some delicious seafood. I'll be back & keep up the great work Elmo's! read more

I ate here on Friday January 17 and got violent food poisoning. Very upset and disappointed. Zero stars.

I have been here multiple times and have always enjoyed by myself. My wife loves the stuffed shrimp and I have always enjoyed what I have had. The bar does a pretty solid job with cocktails. The service is always pleasant and attentive. Definitely a place worth trying, or going back to. read more

My fiance and I frequent this place on Friday nights. Decided to go on a Thursday instead and it was horrible! The waiter that we got, Steve, was more interested in talking to another table than us so we sat and waited for him to come over. We already knew what we wanted before we got offered drinks. Got salads and asked for no croutons, got croutons, asked for extra sauce and got no sauce. When he finally came over to see how things were I told him my broccoli was raw and then he took half an hour talking to this other table before I got my broccoli, and the salmon wasn't cooked or seasoned like it normally is, and I still paid full price! read more

This is my favorite place for Carmel Apple Martini on Saturday nights. I have traveled alot of place and this is a great martini. Food is also great from a hamburger to steak and seafood. Try the stuffed artichokes read more

Went with my wife tonight to Elmo's dockside because we heard they had great prime rib at a great price. Understatement. Staff are personable and genuine. Very enthusiastic. Prime rib is thick juicy delicious made to order and about a whole pound! That with salad and side for $26 each! Apps and beverages top notch. Highly recommend to all friends and family and will definitely be going back there. Can't believe we lived here for 20 years and have been missing out all these years! read more

Meh. Ordered 3 dishes: chicken parm, seafood platter and chicken vendure (sp?). Everything was so-so. A bit under seasoned and over oiled. They were meals I would expect from a chain restaurant, except at Elmo's you're paying near fine dining prices. Overall not terrible, but also not some place I would go back to and spend that kind of cash. read more

I hadn't been here in years. They do a good job with their fish, with various preparation options.what I remembered was that there are virtually no vegetables besides starchy "veggies" and green beans. I'm looking to have options like broccoli, spinach, asparagus, zucchini.... That hadn't changed, so I passed on green beans and splurged on s twice baked potato. It was ok. My fish was well cooked - two shrimp, two sea scallops, and cod, but it was supposed to be gluten free. The waitress delivered it with my friend's identical order, except hers was not gluten free. I questioned the waitress because they looked completely identical. She assured me that they had gf breadcrumbs, but was agreeable to taking it back to check. NOT gluten free. They were out of hi breadcrumbs do instead of prepping without crumbs they used regular crumbs???? It took forever to get a new dinner - everyone else was finished and there was no offer to adjust the bill. Now, all four of us enjoyed our fish, so I might return when I've already had lots of veggies at another meal.... but it won't be soon. read more

The only thing that I like is the Mac and cheese but based on there service it went from a 5 star to a 3 star the waiters take forever.

Have not been here in years. We were promptly seated and sat outside on the deck for lunch. Great raw bar items: huge cocktail shrimp and fresh little nick clams. Good chicken wings and the lobster bisque had nice chunks of meat in it. Had one of the best cold lobster rolls I have ever had. The lobster tasted fresh and there was a lot of it on a nice roll. Great attentive service too. And they were very good with social distancing and Covid19 precautions. I will be back and highly recommend this place. read more

I was staying in the area on business and decided to give this place a try. I had the stuffed sole and it was awesome. The staff was very friendly and informative. Service was as good as the food. I'll be back. read more

Elmo's gets top honors from me because quite simply it is the total package. I was a recent transplant from Memphis when I started dining at Elmo's 2 yrs ago. The first thing you notice is the comfortable atmosphere and extremely friendly staff but the food is "off the chain" (TN vernacular :-)). I'll never forget the very first thing I had there was the lobster roll. It came with drawn butter and, so inexperienced was I, I remember asking if you dipped it or poured it on. Well I took that first bite and thought I heard beautiful chamber music! Of course I am exaggerating but not much. This little place places a premium on absolute freshness and quality. If you like good food you'll love Elmo's. read more

I was hoping for fresh seafood cooked to order. Everything I had was frozen and reheated. Nothing fresh. The chowder was basically a custard with no clams, potatoes or flavor. I like the seafood counter at Big Y better. It's faster, fresher and half the price. I really wanted to like it. I know not to go back. read more

I was in Tolland over the Memorial Day weekend and wanted to try your restaurant. However, apparently you were closed on Monday. I tried calling several times and also email. Never heard back. There was nothing on yelp, your website, or your voice message to inform me that you were not open. If you were, then you're response to my attempts to make a reservation were nonexistent. Either way, I doubt I would try you again and neither will my sister and her family. Very disappointing in this day and age. read more

The menu seems to have a good selection, until you start trying to order and even though it's on the menu, they don't serve it that day. Who has lobster roll on the menu but only serves it monday to Thursday? we were there on Saturday mid afternoon. There were two Other parties on the restaurant side and maybe half a dozen ppl in the bar. We ordered, after having to figure out what was actually available. (We were not told the specials, saw them on a chalk board near the door as we were leaving). Of our party of six, there was one soup, ordered as a meal. It came out before anything else, so she waited for the rest to come out. And we waited.....for 40 more minutes. in the meantime the waitress couldn't be bothered checking on us. Food finally started coming out, one plate at a time with 10 minutes between, and we were given attitude when we asked that they reheat the soup....really? The saving grace was that the food was well prepared. If a bit cold for some. I still would not go back though. They Just couldn't be bothered we were there. read more