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    The Rum Runner

    3.2 (378 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order The Rum Runner Takeout or Delivery

    Services - The Rum Runner

    Venue rental

    The Rum Runner Photos

    THE RUM RUNNER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Happy hour specials
    Good for groups

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    Miche

    Welcoming. Impeccable service. Evie took such care of us. Very helpful and so kind .I order the halibut. It was fresh, colorful and soooooooo delicious! Hot earl grey tea in this foggy rainy day. My bff and I shared a piece of coconut cake. Adorable, fresh and tasty. I loved coming here. I simply adore the view of the bay. I am smitten!! I wanna come back asap!!

    Seafood Risotto
    Robin C.

    The Rum Runner was fantastic! We did the cheese board for an appetizer and it was tasty with the cheese, fresh fruit and nuts. We got the crostini on the side because my husband is gluten free. They were very accommodating to any dietary restrictions. I had the Betty Salad with salmon which was amazing. The portion was extremely generous. My husband had the seafood risotto and enjoyed his meal. The service was friendly and very attentive to any of our needs. The view of the river is amazing and the nautical decor goes well with location. I would highly recommend the Rum Runner!

    The Rum Runner
    Jennifer D.

    I wasn't a fan of this place the first time I tried it. I thought the view was amazing, the restaurant beautiful, the food was meh and service was poor. Nothing has really changed since my last visit but the service seems to be even worse! Our first choice was closed, second choice had an hour wait, so here is where we landed. We were seated just before 8pm on a Monday night. Only the second floor seating was open and the restaurant was fairly empty. We were told since we didn't have a reservation we could only sit indoors or outdoors overlooking the parking lot. The other outdoor seating was "reserved" although we didn't see anyone else being seated there our entire meal. Our waitress basically forgot about us outside after taking our order and after over an hour I had to seek out someone to find out what was happening with our food. Another few minutes passed and our food finally came. For the prices the food is mediocre at best. I asked for our check with our meal since I figured I wouldn't see our waitress again anytime soon. I guess the manager took this as a sign we weren't happy. He apologized and was kind enough to take the app off our bill which I truly appreciated. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this restaurant despite the gorgeous views.

    Chicken and waffles
    Monica B.

    Where do I start? Last year I made a review and this review is a follow up. I was contacted by Hannah via email and she extended an invite to give them another chance. First, every restaurant needs a Hannah! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be making this review. We were greeted with numerous smiles at the front desk and escorted to our table looking over the beautiful River. We were greeted by Reed our server, who offered us to a cocktail , yes please! I had the island spritzer and hubby had sailor Bloody Mary. Warning, the spritzer is so good it's dangerous and the bloody was like an appetizer with shrimp and bacon! I had the goat cheese fritters and hubby had the candied bacon deviled eggs..both were outstanding! We moved onto the entree, I had Chicken and waffles and hubby had breakfast burger, the chicken waffles was delicious , chicken cooked to perfection and the flavor was amazing! The breakfast burger was messy good!! We recommend all of the above! We're so happy to give this restaurant another chance, we will be returning, OFTEN! Bravo to the chef, we tasted the love in your cooking!

    Interior showing 2nd & 3rd floor
    Brenda C.

    The building is lovely from the outside and even more stunning inside. There are elevators so if scaling the steps is an issue don't fret. The restaurant has three floors and is an open area with booths and many window seats that overlook the bay. On a clear day (such as today) is was breathtaking views everywhere. We ordered starters and entrees and all were delectable. The staff is wonderful (our server was training and was on point checking on us from the moment we sat down until we left) and goes above and beyond to make sure you're satisfied. The restaurant was full and can get a bit noisy depending on the volume of customers since it's such a large open area. The only down side is the parking spots that are oddly the most narrow spots I have ever had to park in. Myself and my passenger almost fractured our ribs (lmao) trying to get out and inside the car.

    Honey Rum Glazed Short Rib
    Alan T.

    Was recently in New Jersey for a wedding and made a reservation for 9 on a Saturday night. We were seated immediately and everything got better and better from there. Beautiful restaurant with gorgeous views. Since there were 9 of us, we tried a number of dishes. Everything was delicious. Not sure why there are a number of negative reviews, but we highly recommend The Run Runner.

    Gorgeous view!
    Janna Z.

    A delicious meal starting with some great appetizers! Coconut shrimp and parmesan fries, followed by a delicious bread selection with various spreads. Then we each had a different entrée and all were delicious! We didn't have room left for dessert. Gorgeous sunset and delicious cocktails! Live music Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes on Thursdays. Also, ask for Shaun, the best server!

    wedge salad with chicken
    Chelsea N.

    It was great to be back at The Rum Runner this past weekend! With two levels of outdoor seating looking over the bay, the scenery could not be better as you watch the boats on a nice afternoon. We were seated right away. I had a pear margarita (sweet) and a glass of rose. The chef assortment of bread was a stand out. What sounds so simple was elevated in flavor with 4 different types of rolls and 3 incredibly flavored dips/butter. For my meal I had a wedge salad with chicken.

    Scallops
    Molly F.

    Decided last minute to go out to eat and was very excited to see an open reservation at Rum Runner. Was seated at an outdoor table with a beautiful view of the sunset. Split a couple plates with a friend - tuna tartare special, the Betty salad, scallops entree and linguine with attitude. Absolutely delicious. We both also got the pear tini drink, which was refreshing and delicious as well. Loved this spot!

    The dry overcooked meat I received
    Arlene R.

    I haven't written a review in years but man, was I compelled to write this one. I don't know how this place is still operating as some of the previous reviews I read (which I should have done PRIOR to choosing to dine here) should have kept me away. That is my mistake. My husband and I have a 3 year old special needs child so we don't get to eat out often and certainly not just the two of us. But when my mother offered to watch my child we jumped at the opportunity for a parents night out. We chose rum runner and chose an early reservation so that we could get home at a decent hour since I know my kid can be a handful. 5:30 reservations for which we arrived on time. Wr were seated right away and had a lovely booth for the two of us overlooking the dining room with the Navesink River for a view. Ryan was our waiter and he was great. Took our drink orders and then took our appetizer order which came after a short wait. After this is when it just went left. I ordered the NY Strip and my husband the bacon wrapped filet that was a special. I always ALWAYS order medium because a lot of times it's overcooked. My husband ordered his medium well. And we waited. Waited waited and waited more. After 45 minutes we finally get our meals and SURPRISE my steak is WELL DONE. My husband's steak is also well done. At this point I don't want to send it back because who knows how long it would have taken for a new one and already being out of the house for an hour and a half I didn't want to spend more time away from home and risking the possibility of my daughter having a meltdown on my mother. So I ate an overdone steak that thankfully had a sauce on it or I'm sure would have been dry. There was a family seated next to us who arrived at the same time and their meal took just as long to get to them. I could tell they ordered the tomahawk for two and I'm not sure what the issue was (I'm pretty sure I can guess), but they sent theirs back. We finished eating, skipped dessert and paid the $200 bill for a meal that I would say wasn't worth half of that. We were leaving and the family still hadn't gotten their replacement meal. Really avoid at all cost.

    Octopus ceviche with wonton crisps
    Karin W.

    The views are spectacular and the staff is quite pleasant. The food was never the point, but I'll stick to the raw bar henceforth, as the prepared food just keeps getting worse. I meet a friend for drinks here about once a month, and tonight I decided to try a new appetizer, the octopus ceviche. Having traveled to Panama 2 months ago, I'd had a lot of excellent ceviche pretty recently. This was the opposite of excellent. For $22, I got this small dish of octopus apparently doused in supermarket jar salsa, accompanied by oily yet flavorless wonton chips. So sad.

    Coconut Shrimp appetizer & calamari!
    Ashley P.

    My husband and I were in the area for a wedding and had some time to kill between the ceremony and the reception. We came to the Rum Runner for a drink and ended up doing happy hour at the bar. We got there around 4 pm and it was pretty dead so the service was fast. We got the coconut shrimp & the calamari. I also got an espresso martini and he got the McLoones IPA. Overall we really enjoyed the food and the drinks and the views as well. Would probably come for happy hour only!

    Veggie Burger
    Leena S.

    Rum Runner is all about.. location.. location.. location. The sunset views from this establishment located on the water are phenomenal. The restaurant is very spacious and bright. Our server was fantastic; friendly, full of energy and offering up suggestions. The interiors an open space plan bar and dining area. Happy hour seems to be a popular option here. Although, we had dinner reservations. There is outdoor dining, but we came here after the season ended, so a bit chilly to eat outdoors. The food overall wasn't too bad. We were expecting average to less than average food, which was fine with us, because we were more interested in the location. However, we were pleasantly surprised with a tasty meal. My husband ordered the NY Strip and I went with the Veggie Burger, which came with fries. For dessert, the Caramel Cake was nice sweet ending to our meal.

    Lobster tails

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    4 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    17 days ago

    Really great food, the service was amazing and the views are beautiful. I highly recommend.

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Great bartender who made some awesome drinks. Food was good. Ambiance is definitely a 10. Overall its beautiful place to dine.

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    The Rum Runner Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - The Rum Runner

    What time does it switch from the lunch menu to the dinner menu during the week?

    Sorry I don't know the answer. Best bet is to call the restaurant.

    Thinking of going for dinner & sitting outside. It's been quite cool, are there heat lamps for outdoor dining?

    Not when I was there but that was a couple of weeks ago. I would suggest calling. It's quite windy and cold on the water

    Can you accommodate a party of 17 for dinner? Is there music on Saturday night?

    Hello Marilyn! We can absolutely accommodate 17 people for dinner! Give us a call at the… Read more

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    After trying several times, I was able to get a lunch reservation off of the Notify list. This was…read moremy first time. I was impressed with the decor of the dining area. It had the feel of a Tuscan restaurant. The host, Oscar, is charming and attentive. After we were seated, our server, Enver, advised us to order all the food at once and he would figure out what to bring out as appetizers, and then after some time to digest, the main courses. This is what we ordered. Appetizers: Deep fried stuffed olives - very tasty Roasted peppers with ricotta - get this - amazing Meatballs with ricotta - delicious Main course: Tagliolini Al Forno - Very good but if we had to pick one thing to exclude out of all the things we ate, this would be it. Spicy Rigatoni - Not on the menu but knew about it through other reviews. It lives up to the hype. In addition to crushed red pepper there are minced hot peppers in the sauce. You can't come here and not get this. We shared everything and I recommend family style so you can taste as many things as possible. Another off menu item that people rave about is the eggplant parm but Enver said they only serve it for dinner. I will be back. PS - After our meal, we started chatting with Oscar and he pointed out that behind Anjelica's is a Squash and Swim Club. It has two indoor squash courts and indoor swimming pool that looks like something from the 19th century. Really cool and worth a look if you are there in the afternoon.

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    Saltwater Bar and Kitchen by Big Mike - Poppa Burger

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    4.4(61 reviews)
    2.1 mi

    Finally made it to Saltwater Social and we will definitely be going back!…read more We loved everything. We had the Peach Tea Bourbon, pork belly Bao Buns, twice fried wings, meatball pizza & the Pork schnitzel with the fresh cabbage slaw . It was all so good! While we definitely enjoyed the food we really appreciated the friendliness of the staff just as much. We eat out a lot & many places have good food but what stands out & makes us want to return is when the staff goes out of their way to connect with the guests and they definitely do that here !

    Our first visit to Saltwater social and it was very good. The place is bright and cheerful with…read moresome comfy cushioned seating along the wall across from the bar with small but intimate round high too tables. It was early Sunday night and the bar was full but the dining area wasn't so we stayed in the bar. Service was excellent, the bartender came around and made sure we were comfortable, handed us menus and brought water. She told us the specials and shortly after our server came by. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of seafood on the menu. My picky girlfriend would have enjoyed some flounder or scallops but they only had a seared salmon and blacked shrimp. The Mrs. Got a burger and it was adequate, nothing to write home about. I got the chicken parm and it was ample and terrific. The tomato sauce was stellar! Sadly I wanted the scallops with risotto. This place has potential, the service is great, the atmosphere is fantastic, plus I know the chef has the chops from visiting his last place, the red store in Navasink. We'll be back but I'll be sure to check for seafood offerings before I go.

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    The Rum Runner - seafood - Updated May 2026

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