Uncle Vinnie’s Clam Bar

Great local spot that can get crowded quickly during the weekend. Luigi is always there to greet everyone. You can’t miss him. Bar is small but cozy. Oysters, Fish and Lobsters fill the glass showcase. Calamari is always consistent. Oysters are reasonably priced. Salads are huge. Ive had some great meals there and one miss on my choice (Blackened Grouper). Best dish was the Breaded Halibut special. This is one of my «go to places» when people ask whats good around here.

Small restaurant that offers great fresh seafood and nice services. No reservation accepted and no private parking lot. We will come back to try other seafood and Italian dishes.

Great food, great value, good people, friendly and cozy! The chef is definitely a foodie and aims to please! A must if your in the area.

Very accommodating, we showed up as a party of five
Space is very limited as everyone knows. we only had to wait 5 min to be seated.
In that time reconfigured a small table to accommodate us.
Servers were very attentive to our needs. At times we had to be momentarily inconvenienced to accommodate other patrons but the staff was efficient and was very apologetic. I had a dozen Blue Point Oysters they were very good that night. For my entrée I has sauteed soft shell crabs with broccoli rabe. The flavor was amazing and the rest of my party also enjoyed their entrees. Great place!

This is probably my most favorite restaurant in the world and we are so fortunate to live so close to it. Every meal is phenomenal and everyone who works there is extremely friendly. The owner is very appreciative of all patrons and makes you feel like the most important customer of all.

Great seafood selection. Always fresh and delicious. A tad pricey for the atmosphere, but the food is worth it.
Great margaritas. Salmon with crabmeat is delicious. Try their hot pepper side dish.
Cons: long wait usually, and very uncomfortable place to wait. I feel like my rear arse is on the poor guys plate behind me. Very small, tiny place so it’s wicked cramped.
Jeans and a shirt, not dressy. Food is worth it!

What a great find! After hearing about Uncle Vinnie’s for a few years we finally made it here and the only disappointment is that we didn’t do this years ago. Vinnie met us at the door and while the wait for a table was 45 minutes there were seats at the bar which we happily took. Cinco de Mayo cocktail Jalapeño Margaritas were fantastic. Had the Stone Crabs and Clams Oreganata for Appetizers and the Skate Wing and Soft Shell Crabs over linguini (since their season is short) for our main course. Everything was great including the potatoes with hot peppers and the broccoli rabe. We’ll be eating here often. Service was terrific, too and it’s so nice to have a owner greet you and ask you while you are dining how everything is. That’s how you get five stars!

When we went there there was long wait. A patron told us soon as you get seated you will enjoy. She was right. We ordered clam casino, clam oregitano, salmon, crab cocktail, shrimp cocktail… all very good. Exceptionally fresh.

Wow one of best in somerset county! Soft shell francese over broccoli rabe is my go to in season. My some thinks linguini and white clam is the best ever (samples everywhere and is right),. Scallops salad is my wife’s go to and the scallops are like little seared sugar cubes!!! Just awesome!

Never been here before. Decided to take the family out to eat. The place is small. The service was not great. Not horrible but not wow I’ll come back. The food was average. Overpriced for the quality you get. The server seemed bothered when you asked him for additional items. The person taking the empty plates and cups was very nice. I grew up loving seafood. This not worth a trip back.

Be still my heart! A true Italian-​style seafood eatery, reminiscent of Lenny’s Clam Bar out on Long Island of which I have fond memories from my youth. This is the real deal.
Fresh fish, shellfish, prepared with aplomb. You can watch the chefs work their magic from certain tables with a line-​of-​sight into the crazy-​small galley. The scungilli fra diavolo is to die for! Service is outstanding, attentive yet casual. Their sauce reminds me of my grandmother’s. Pasta perfectly cooked. Reasonable prices. Caution: this is a somewhat raucous place. Don’t plan on having any sort of serious, intimate discussions. Here, the food is the main event. Not to be missed if you’re in the area. Even worth a special trip. Only wish they took reservations.

This is hidden gem in NJ for seafood lovers!
Been many times to Uncle Vinnie’s and never had a bad dish. They are know for their fresh raw bar and delicious seafood dishes. So if you are coming here expecting to eat chicken — go somewhere else. Specials change daily with nice selection of fish to choose from. Staff are friendly and very nice. The place is small but cozy so don’t expect anything fancy.
Money saving tip: There is Uncle Vinnie’s also next door that allows you to BYOB. So if you come with a large group/​family you can save on wine/​alcohol. Same exact thing.

Awesome food! Best Raw Bar in Central NJ. This has become my go to local hang out spot.

Great food. Always a great time. Can get very crowded. Having the market next store is great.

This little seafood restaurant is very classic when it comes with food.
The restaurant staff are very welcoming, friendly, and attentive. They are always checking up on you to make sure you are doing good. Big ups to them.
We started off with some ½ dozen Blue Point Oysters. They weren’t the greatest of oysters. It didn’t have that briny taste in it.
The seafood salad, we got next made up for the oysters. The small seafood salad is huge. Great amounts of seafood. Fresh seafood. The salad was very tasty and refreshing. This alone could be your entrée dish.
Our entrees we ordered a Mussel Marinara over Linguine and Linguine with White Clam Sauce. Both pasta dishes had such a great flavors. Pasta were cooked perfectly and soaked up the sauces really nicely. Plenty of Mussels and Clams in both plates. Cooked just right and they tasted great.
For dessert, we got 2 cakes. One was a peanut butter chocolate cake and the other was some Raspberry Chocolate cake. We saw that both cakes came from a box, so I don’t think they make the cakes. Both cakes were decent.
Good pasta. Good Seafood Salad. Great Restaurant staff.

Seafood lovers heaven. Get there really early or 9 ish to get a table. Folks know the quality is exceptional and the joint is jumping. The seafood salad is wonderful! Linguine with clams made to order. The tables are close together and it may be hard to hear your pals but who wants to talk when you can have scallops over broccoli rabe. Friendly atmosphere — owner really cares about the customers.

The ambiance of this little establishment is very local and divey, if this is not your scene, please don’t come. However, I love a divey setting. It lets me focus more on the food. There is a bar right in the center of the restaurant and behind it is the kitchen. I am a strong believer that the best seats are the areas where you can look what the staff are doing to prepare your meals.
We were welcome in by a man who I presumed to be the owner of the bar. He was very welcoming and gave us options of where to seat. My significant other and I decided to seat at the corner of the bar where I can see the kitchen do its magic creating the masterpieces. Like I said before, it is a very small place and it got very crowded very quickly. By looking at the seated table, I was pretty happy to have my orders be taken by the barkeep. The waiters/​waitresses who were helping the seated tables were getting backup from the volume of people waiting for seats.
Beside having a beer, we ordered a dozen littleneck clams and fried calamari for our appetizers. The littlenecks were kind of small for my taste, guess I am more used to middlenecks… see what I did there (I made a pun), but they were still good. The fried calamari was light and crisp with a side of red sauce. As for our entrees, we ordered the salmon special with crabmeat lumps and a side of linguine in white wine sauce and I ordered the linguine with anchovies, garlic and olive oil. From the salmon special I found the crabmeat had more flavor than the salmon, which was a very unusual, since the salmon was suppose to be the centerpiece of the dish. My linguine dish I found it to be more appetizing then the salmon special. It had a lot of savory flavor from the anchoives, but if you do not like oily dishes (olive oil), this dish may not be your choice.

What a pleasant surprise! We did an impromptu dinner here based on other Unilocal reviews. Did not disappoint.
Yes, the wait is a while, but it was so worth it. From the hostess with the most-​ess (Ms. Lois) to the servers and waiter (Edwin and Lazarus), it was all fabulous.
We wound up with what I considered to be the best table in the house, although other patrons would argue sitting at the bar is the best, we had a corner table over by the men’s room. It’s a tight space with a lot of activity, but sitting in the back eased some of that congestion.
Place is very clean and very busy.
Food? Awesome. We ordered several of their appetizers as my monsters at home would eat whatever we didn’t…clams on the half shell, rock claw crab, calamari, mozzarella and tomato salad, and seafood salad. All were fresh and tasty, especially the salads.
For entrees, beau had the striper and I had pasta with garlic, oil and anchovies – I asked for shrimp to be added – Lazarus didn’t even bat an eye.
Everything was fresh and well seasoned.
Rumor is they are looking to expand. Space would be nice, but I wouldn’t want to lose the hometown feeling and personal attention that each of the employees put out there. This place is a MUST try for all in the area, and beyond.
Lois also told me they have a second place a couple doors down where you can get take out – Uncle Vinnie’s Market. So if you don’t wanna wait, you should at least try the take out joint.

Most awesome seafood. Always order from the special menu. And if you don’t like the way it is sold… ask to have it prepared the way you want
Best night is Monday… you can get in and a table… otherwise you will have to wait every night as they do not take reservations.

I cannot say enough good things about Uncle Vinnie’s Clam Bar.
HEY YA! UNCLE VINNIE!
This is a neighborhood bar in Raritan with high end seafood. It is truly the perfect combination of fancy and casual. If you’re looking for ambiance, it has low lights and is on the darker side: think dates, business mtgs. It can be boisterous or quiet depending on the date you go, or the crowd that is already there.
Here is what I really enjoyed:
Scallops (they are not GMO so they are not as big as your hand) — definitely prepared well. They were cooked all the way through without being chewey (sign of over cooking) and they were lightly coated with a nice sauce.
Oysters HOORAY FRESH OYSTERS! This is saving me on gas/​train tickets to my ususal spot up north.
Salads are all very fresh
The servers are really friendly and are more than willing to spend time helping you choose a dish that suits your tastes, or mood.
AND they have a liquor license. I know BYO rules the land here, but it is great to have someone make your drink or pour your wine! I also imbibe less when I am paying a bar.
I will certainly be back. This is another one of those spots off the beaten path in Imaginary Central NJ. Check it out, for sure!