The Windlass Reviews

Husband and I went there for the first time last night. I have to say we were amazed! Everything was delicious. We are kind of creatures of habit and when it comes to appetizers if calamari and crab cakes are on the menu, we order it. Seriously the best we have ever had! The calamari melted in your mouth! The portion sizes were generous. Well left full and with pretty much half of everything we ordered wrapped up to. Oh and the nutcracker dessert martinis was the perfect finish to the meal. We will definitely be back!

The food is great and the service is always good as well, but go for the views. It's so beautiful.

Great lakeside dining, right out on the water if you eat outside

The food was great but I was just a little too late for brunch, bummer. The pizza and sandwich were great, the staff was amazing and so was my cocktail.

We ordered from The Windlass off their Easter dinner menu. Thank you providing this delicious dinner

Delicious Windlass burger, cheesecake and pumpkin gelato!
Beautiful view. Excellent service.

The food and atmosphere were great. It was a little on the warm side eating outside, but watching all the boats coming and going was fun!!

Windlass is a beautiful place to grab an afternoon brew. The outdoor seating was nothing short of a lakefront masterpiece. Be prepared to pay a larger bill though.

Food was amazing. Great view of the lake.
Be warned, walk ins can expect a long wait during busy periods. But it is worth it.

First time there, Saturday night. Place was packed and had to wait 1 hour to sit outside (no reservations for outside!). There are benches you can sit while waiting which is good. Can have a drink there too. Had a Tito's watermelon something for $12. Was more water (ice) than a drink. Really regretted that because it was like 3 watered down sips, the rest was ice. Table was near the water and waitress was nice. The appetizer was really yummy - garlic shrimp. Had Guacamole too but was lacking spieces therefore a little bland. We all had burger as entrees and they were good. All in all, nice place if you like the water (and who doesn't?) and we'll be back soon.

Very nice place to spend time and enjoy the view, but I never get my order. The vaitress didn't listen to us she just took order very quick , and after some time I asked about my order another vaitrer he sad he's gonna check on it, but it never happened. And then when I asked the vaitress who took the order about she said we didn't order it. So when you go there go over your order twice to make sure you get everything you want.

Food was terrific! Staff extremely polite. Lovely restaurant and view.

Delicious food, nice atmosphere, great view, excellent service.
Best pork chop Murphy I've ever had.

Food was underwhelming, the fresh fish...wasn't... and the grill must have been broken as the shrimp was boiled...sorry I traveled from Italy and went to Dennys on the water

Friday night was too busy. Long wait for cold food. Avoid the weekends if possible.

Super location right on the lake, delicious food, great evening atmosphere!
You should have eaten there, if you are in the area.

Food and service here are great. The patio has the best views on the lake. The gliders are for cocktail service only. The boat bar inside is a great place to meet before sitting down to dinner.

Simply amazing. Everything we had was delicious and dinning while taking in the lake view makes it even better.

Since a spectacular remodel, the Windlass has become a mini-vacation to spend any time of day on the shores of Lake Hopatcong. The bright, lively interior with a boat shaped bar and a modern nautical decor is a fantastic happy hour spot with drink specials and an awesome bar menu. When the weather is warm, there s no place better than out on the docks, gently swinging in a 6-seater glider , watch the boats pull in, and taking in a beautiful sunset. Great food, pasta, pizza and sushi. And when the band comes on, tables move aside to open up the dance floor (be sure to check ahead, music is only on certain nights). This is a gem, and highly recommended for drinks, food, ambiance and fun.

Here are some cool photos at the Windlass. Our Margherita pizza was fantastic and perfect to share at a reasonable price.

Good food. Dining is noisy in main dining area. Much quieter in enclosed dining area or outside.

Took my mom and her friends for her birthday. The food is amazing. We had their appetizers calamari and garlic shrimp nice and tender. My mom had the eggplant no complaints. My friends shared the pallea and they had leftovers to take home. I had their steak a bit overdone but tasty.The view is extraordinary since it wasn't peak season the trees have yet to bloom but overall worth the visit. Nice place to celebrate a special occasion in their private party room.

A very nice place the food is exquisite and you can see when you bake your pizza in front of you, the view towards Hopatcong Lake is amazing.

Delicious food with amazing views of Lake Hopatcong. Service was excellent and food was amazing!

Come at sunset for a breathtaking view. Heated outdoor patio. Great martinis and exceptional food. Great for a date or to go out to dinner with your girl. Being right on lake hapacong, if you have a boat, you can dock up and get a table. Love love this restaurant

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Awesome food, awesome service and Awesome view!! Love the Windlass!!

We had a good time. It was very crowded for a Thursday night and our waiter was overwhelmed - with good reason. He had a lot of tables and we had 9 people at our table alone. The view is lovely (although we were seated inside at sunset so the blinds had to be drawn for most of our visit) - I'd like to go back and sit outside at some point. I got a Southwest Cobb Salad and it didn't have much... salad. But it was yummy and big and I plan to eat the rest tomorrow. The food is pricey but you can get a burger or pizza (which is big enough to share) for not too much. I had shrimp on my salad so it was 20$, which I think is reasonable in New Jersey. One person at our table got the salmon and it looked amazing.

Excellent service and food! Very clean, charming atmosphere. Thank you!

Food was very good and the atmosphere was great. The waitress and servers did an excellent job at getting the food and beverages to the table as required.

Bundle up if you are going to get a table in the tent.

Had a surprise birthday party for my wife on 6/2/18 at the Windlass Restaurant. The Windlass is one of our favorite restaurants in NJ. We had a party of 11 and I just wanted to thank the staff for their great service last night. The food as usual was excellent. Thank you for making this celebration such a wonderful time. You all are the best!

Good food, descent service, great atmosphere right on the lake.

Beautiful view and a classy feel. Right on the water. Good service and good food

We had my son's rehearsal dinner at the Windlass and it was wonderful. The food was delicious and the service was exceptional. Highly recommend it. Had breakfast their a few weeks ago too and the portions were huge and the food was delicious

Great views of the lake and food was good but very spicy.

Reminds me of a down the shore type restaurants with Johnny rockets like chairs and very nice boat bar -- that I haven't seen yet. What stood out to me was the pictures atop the ceiling of the bar and the entire walls surrounding had photos galore. The food was delicious as we ordered Chicken Marsala with linguini, Fried Calamari & Grilled Sea Bass over Saffron Rice. For dessert, we ordered guava sorbet and flourless chocolate cake. Lastly, our waitress, Sarah, was polite and friendly.

I'm not sure why this place doesn't take reservations (only parties over 8) because outdoor seating wait was 80 minutes and indoor we got extremely lucky to get seating.

A beautiful setting, perfect location, great food, and friendly people!

Beautifully remodeled, fun but classy atmosphere, great food! I loved my chicken francesse and crab cakes! Directly on Lake Hopatcong, owner has updated docks right on the property. My favorite feature is how the bar is shaped like the bow of a boat! I'd definitely return. Reservations not required typically.

Wonderful views. Plenty of safe dining options. Must make a reservation. THE OCTOPUS oh my!!
The ahi tuna, perfect. The service staff are very good. Helpful and efficient. The scanable menu is easy to review and order from. Daily specials are also listed on the "news and events" drop down tab.

Dined with a crowd of 18. Service was excellent. My meal was excellent, but eh, mixed reviews from other members of our party. I'm not as picky. Ambiance was excellent and clean. Born and raised on the lake and I think this was my first time at the legendary Windlass. The new owner has done well with the restaurant.

Great venue right on the water. All newly renovated. Well done. Good choices on menu

First time visiting since the new ownership took over, and what a disappointment!! My wife and I ordered the Panko breaded flounder, and I think Gortons from the freezer at Acme is better than this, seriously ownership and Chef need to rethink this dish, quickly. The others in our party that ordered the salmon and chicken were happy with the main dish, but with no choice of vegetable we all had the string beans that tasted and looked like they were cooked last week. Waitress was good, the Hostess did not seem happy, Had been coming here since the 70's as a child, but unfortunately will not be returning.

Pretty impressed! The place was manicured nicely outside. I can see why this place gets busy. Our server was very attentive. We got the seafood medley it was delicious!!! For $38 you could split this & be very satisfied.
My only complaint was the metal chairs siting were
a bit uncomfortable, but the whole experience was really good. I will definitely be back!

The views are great...service was on point....food delicious!

Always such amazing service and food! No matter how busy they get (which is often!) the staff truly cares about the service they give. Always smiling. When you have a restaurant that caters to inland and lake traffic, it can get hectic, busy, long waits, but this is the one place that it worth every minute of waiting. The good is outstanding The skirt steak with shrimp is always my go-to dinner! And let's talk Sangria.... BEST sangria around!
With all of that being said, whether its date night, family night out, casual lunch on the lake the Windlass is always my first (and only) choice. The sunset on the lake isn't so bad either

I was there last night July 28 th sit front bar. Music is crazy lord so the waitress could not hear my order and gave the wrong thing. And I lost my hands treatment cream on the table just left for minutes to outside. The manager and waitress were very rude. Overall I was disappoint the service and food

Made reservations @ 8pm for the Friday after their block party/opening. Got there and people were walking out. The hostesses that greeted us told us that they cannot even seat us because they were way over booked and they cannot take anymore orders for food.
The ladies were nice enough about it, but I think the management should've done something to try and make it up to us and the the others that were turned away? I don't know? Maybe like a sincere apology or 10% off an appetizer on our next visit?? If it were me I would've been taking names, addresses and phone numbers. Then contacting each and every person turned away and making it abundantly clear that I was sorry and that was an isolated incident. Maybe they don't care if we ever come back?
From what I could see, the place did look nice.

Such a cute place to go! Came here during winter on a saturday night and still busy. Call ahead and make reservations. Food is delicious. Pork chop, calamari & teriyaki chicken wings are really good. Haven't tried their fish yet but lots of choices. Boat shaped bar is very unique! We will be back

Lovely place. Been here a couple of times and I always get great service and have a wonderful time. Food is really good, not too many options though. Worth a visit for the view, some drinks, and good time with family/friends

My wife brought me here for dinner for my birthday. First, the views of Lake Hopatcong are amazing. The restaurant sits right on the edge of the water. The weather was perfect. No humidity, not too hot and a slight breeze off the lake. We had the seafood cocktail which had shrimp, scallops and calamari in a slightly spicy sauce and fried calamari as appetizers. For the main dish we had the blackened king salmon in a citrus sauce. Absolutely delicious. Portions were generous and the food was prepared perfectly. We had the limoncello cake for dessert. Very light and not too tart. The service was excellent and very friendly. I highly recommend this place. The drive there was 60 miles from home and well worth it.

We had a really relaxing Sunday lunch here. Beautiful waterfront views regardless of whether you're sitting indoors or outdoors! Meals are affordable and vegetarian options available. I ordered the Eggplant Parmigiana pizza since I noticed that they have their own pizza oven on display...thin crust isn't my favorite but the rest of my party really liked it. Can also vouch that the Eggplant Caprese, Windlass Burger, and onion rings are delicious choices. My only wish is that they would add more outdoor seating especially the wooden swing benches on the dock. The wait for outdoor seating was 1hr+ even at an irregular lunch time.

All I'm saying is don't go there for the Easter buffet.. Essentially you are paying almost $30 a head plus tip for what could be described as nothing short of joke of a "buffet" with rock hard bagels, rice, eggs and some type of bow tie pasta with white sauce. Seriously, I've had better buffets at motels serving a complimentary continental breakfast.. The waitress came around literally once for drinks. And good luck actually getting your food and back to your table when navigating through the tight squeeze in the labyrinth of people sitting at their tables..

had chicken marsala small portion spaghetti not cooked wife had eggplant was ok spaghatti not cooked asked for a 5 or 6 oClock reservation was told know . got a 4.30 was there well over a hour outside was empty salad bar not good at all for the cost . needs some work

Food was great, they were able to accommodate my low salt diet.

We only had drinks on the dock but it was great. Limited service since they were a little short-staffed due to weather forecast but our server was very friendly and attentive once she made her first visit to our table.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the FANTASTIC Team at the Windlass. The event coordinator Kim was super friendly and accommodating. She helped every step of the way, gave great ideas and executed everything beautifully. The food was delicious and the service team and bartender kept the drinks flowing. It was a beautiful event. Thank you Kim, RJ, Autumn, Dylan and Nikki. You guys ROCK!! I highly recommend having your event here. Well worth!! Thank you for making this event so special. It truly was a fantastic day.
Highly recommend, food was outrageously good. Penne Vodka, chicken Frances, salmon, beef tips. Salad was fresh and bread delicious. They made a homemade chocolate cake with cannoli filling and fresh cream was great.
Hands down the Best experience

Nice lunch, delicious sangria, bartender Kyle is always on it with attentive service and a smile!

The food is excellent many choices the staff is kind and the atmosphere is happy. I got a southwest Cobb salad and it was absolutely delicious

Great views of Lake Hopatcong fun atmosphere, yummy food, outside seating by the water beautiful sunsets. Take a ride on the Ms. Lotta and tour the historic lake!

Great dinner last week, probably the best dinner out in a long time. Our server, Rebecca was everything a customer could ask for. Represented the Windlass perfectly, was attentive without being bothersome. A truly nice young lady! Both meals were done just right. Hope to order again.

Good food with lakefront views and family friendly events.

This place is overpriced for small servings, the service if terribly inattentive. I had to help myself, get my own napkins plates and whwn I asked for the bathroom I was told.to ask someone else.
Don't buy into the lakeside gimmick, I will never come here again.

Breakfast with Santa was awesome ,grandkids were excited. Food was good !