The Watering Hull

A really cool place. Live music almost all the time, when it’s open during the season. The Bloody Marys are really good and the buffet was wonderful. The bartender on Sunday morning was awesome, and there is a real laid back, surfer feel in the bar area. The large screen TV is cool and the view of the courtyard and thoroughfare below is a nice plus as well. The clientele, while I was there look to be 20 something’s, they were cool, didn’t bother anyone, most of them seemed to come from money judging from their purses and attire. So there you have it. It’s a nice place to go, good drinks, good food, and well-​mannered people.

My husband and I have been coming to Stone Harbor for years, and we’ve always marveled at the fact that there are no high quality restaurants — whether expensive or inexpensive (the exception being Quahogs). There is so much wealth in this town — people willing to pay the really high prices needed to carry businesses over during the winter. But they are not willing to pay if the quality is low, and it almost always is with new restaurants, which are then gone after 1 or 2 years.
We were eager to try this new one, but pretty disappointed. There were 8 of us and most thought their entrees were awful — or at least at a level of quality you’d find in a cheap bar, not a supposedly nice place with high prices. Our server was very nice and it wasn’t her fault that the food took forever to come out, even though the restaurant was practically empty.
The rolls tasted like 2-​day old grocery store bread. The bar had that faint smell of dirty rags and disinfectant you get by 2 am in a sports bar.
I really don’t enjoy giving a new place a bad review. We always root for things to succeed in Stone Harbor. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this place was gone in a year or two just like so many new restaurants before it.
We will continue to cook at home or go to Cape May. :-(

I would love to give this place a proper food review… Unfortunately, they closed for the night and left our reservation on 13 people high and dry.
We knew something was fishy when we made the reservation and the hostess on the phone never asked for our info. As she agreed to the reservation and started to say bye, I asked, «Would you like my information?» She reluctantly said, «…okay».
Fast forward to a few weeks later– the day of the reservation. We had a member of the party sick, so I called to change to 12 people.
«Oh we aren’t staying open tonight»
Ummmm, what? No phone call and no apology. I understand it’s a tourist town and you make adjustments according to business but that’s sad if you close on the Thursday after Labor Day and don’t contact your reservations.
So very last minute we moved our wedding welcoming dinner to another location. Sigh.

Great upstairs restaurant with open walls both sides, 16 fine craft brews from New Jersey and surrounding states to choose from, plenty of seafood including steamer clams and catch of the day, plus exactly one burger for the landlubbers. A-​ok but could be more.
We visited for a quiet Friday lunch, only a few tables in the place, waitress was friendly & the kitchen was quick. My dining companions got sandwiches: a blackened mahi-​mahi catch of the day was very good and sweet potato fries were great; a burger was cooked perfectly medium and the fries were adequate. I tried a salad Niçoise, a few pieces of tuna lightly seared on the outside, a few greens, a little bit of potato, whole black olives, a hard-​boiled egg, and some green beans. But too little dressing and alas the green beans were still raw.
Has a little stage for live music in the evening.

Have wanted to try this all summer and finally got there tonight. Nice location on 2^nd floor in Stone Harbor mall on 96^th St. Menu is heavy on Seafood, but what else might you expect. My burger was nicely done and wife’s fish taco tasty. Our table faced 96^th St and we had a nice outdoor fresh air view. Our server, Cait was a delight.

Hidden gem. Hidden because the entry door is not well marked. Maybe that’s a good thing! Great craft beer selection. Garage door sides that are open to view the mall below and let in the breeze. Crab cakes were great although mine seem to have come without the red pepper cream sauce. The grilled corn on the cob was awesome. I’d go back just for that some beer and some little necks.

We stumbled upon this place unexpectedly and I am glad we did. The service is impeccable, the restaurant atmosphere/​décor is perfect for a shore restaurant.
I had the blackened fish tacos with mango salsa and my companion had the peel and eat shrimp. Unfortunately one of her shrimps was a little mushy (not a good sign).
I liked the place and I think I’ll return next summer!

Stopped in for a quick drink today. What a nice surprise to find this gem. Staff was great and they had live music. Apparently they have live music often and it was really good. Their brunch menu looked delicious and I can tell you that their Bloody Mary drinks are delicious! They will be open until October. Stop on if you get a chance. They even have an open air space with garage doors that open up the space. Great vibe!

Watering Hull’s not perfect, but I’m giving it 5 stars because it deserves a higher ranking in the island’s somewhat slim pickings. It definitely has the hippest vibe on the island, especially among the handful that serve alcohol and stay open late, but it’s comfortable enough for everyone from young children to the unhippest of old people. Case in point: they have both a kid’s menu and a drink menu offering local brews and well-​made cocktails that don’t come with paper umbrellas. The food’s kind of hit or miss, but the menu is well-​designed and just the right length. Oysters were fresh from Cape May, both the cracked conch and conch fritters were great — other orders were forgettable. The best part of the evening was definitely the live entertainment, a really talented band from Philly. Great to have them in town, and great to have this place in town, too.

Great craft beer selection and chill bar. Mixed crowd and nice place to grab a drink while my family shopped in town.

Food was great, extensive beer selection, awesome cocktails and extensive service.
Had muscles, scallops with bacon, crab dip and lamb chop special as our apps. Main course was salmon, tuna, fish tacos (with mahi) and ribeye special. Everything was plated beautifully and unique flavors in each. Great stuff!
All while there was live acoustic music playing

Nice craft beer menu, a little pricy especially since the same draft next door at the reeds was 2 $ less! It’s clean and airy but can get noisy. We only had drinks but the food being delivered looked good. Will try dinner next time.

The ‘Hull’ is in prime location where the other shops and bars with restaurants of the same style nearby. When you walk in you can see that everything is generally fresh and open. It’s clutter-​free and enough window space to give a few tables (⁴⁄₅) good people watching. There are a few comfy booths for groups and it is family friendly, although I didn’t see a kids menu (?). The staff, service and food to table was very good as well. Small diner rolls are complimentary.
Food itself was not quite up to par for the entrée prices. My guest and I went simple since we weren’t starving. He had the fish taco and I went for the crab lump tower. We both had a really good local craft beer for $ 5 each. No happy hour specials at the time though (5pm, Friday).
Crab Lump Tower: the presentation was great and the crab lump was good quality, which made this worth the price. I had to deduct credit for the tomatoes and avocado that weren’t ready to hit the tables. Not ripe yet. These are easily things that the Hull could fix so I didn’t give too bad of a rating.
The word from my guest was that the side of rice was overcooked but that the tacos were decent.
One thing on the room is that they definitely need a sign for the restroom since I almost went into the kitchen area. Speaking of the kitchen, I could see directly inside. I appreciate a business that has nothing to hide. Despite the few hiccups, I think if they fix a few simple things the Hull could be a 5 star restaurant. Street parking with coin-​op meters are outside if you’re driving.

Good little spot in the heart of Stone Harbor.
Nice Cocktail menu, excellent seafood and a caribbean based entrée selection. Food was pretty good, I enjoyed the Cracked Conch and my friends enjoyed the Bam Bam chicken,
I have been to dinner there twice, and enjoyed it both times. Looks like a pretty lively bar crowd as well. All in all, I will be back again.

Loved this place. Kate our server was awesome. Crab sliders were actually soft shell crab. The fish tacos were scrumptious, but the best was the portabello mushroom sandwich which my daughter had.

Although I have not had the food (yet) I’ve come here a few times just for the beer selection. For this area, it’s one of the better options if you are seeking pints of US craft beer.
With selections from Yards, Oskar Blues and Ballast Point (at the time of writing) this is reason enough for me to stop in. The space itself is functional and multi-​use. There are two bars, one U-​shaped and one smaller one near the hostess stand, an attached dining area and a stage for live music. The second time we stopped in, they had a band playing for brunch. It was a bit loud but you can expect that from a band.
The bar area has large open windows which get a very nice breeze coming through them. While not right on the water, it didn’t feel sweltering in early July.
So far, I like what the Watering Hull is doing and I’ll certainly be back to check in on their food situation.

This place is great and is definitely my new go to bar when im in stone harbor. The inside has a really relaxed island vibe and when the roll the garage doors up you get a nice breeze. This place has the best craft beer selection BY FAR in all of stone harbor, avalon and sea isle. 16 taps and they have some really unique stuff (Boat and O-​Dub from Carton, some cape may brewing co stuff, six point, etc). They regularly have live music too which adds to yhe whole experience. I cant wait to go back! Without a doubt my favorite bar on the island.

I love the location, the setup, and the concept. Great beer list, cool atmosphere, helpful waitstaff and heck I even enjoyed my burger. Only problem, that was my only choice of food really. The menu lacks options if you aren’t a seafood person. A few salads where you can add chicken, a burger, and chicken wings. Even the steak was in a crab sauce.
So my only gripe is that they need to expand the menu a little for people not that into seafood. It’s a cool spot and they definitely put some work and money into the location so hopefully they can get a few more things on the menu or else it would be hard for me to go back there unless it were for a few beers.

Our new favorite spot in Stone Harbor! If your looking for a relaxing yet cozy space to have a drink with friends or a nice intimate dinner with friends and family this is it. Very open space with inviting couches to enjoy your cocktail. The menu could be bigger but the food is exceptional. The fish tacos feature fresh fish of the day with mango salsa. Delicious! The staff especially Shelby one of the managers made us feel like we were family and went out of her way to make each visit exceptional. Friday night Ragae band was a great time for all ages. And the large screen with surfing video made out experience a true pleasure. Can’t wait til next year.

There aren’t a ton of bar options in Stone Harbor, so it’s nice to have something new on the island… enter Watering Hull. A friend told us that he was impressed with their opening night, so we decided to try it out. It was decently busy, so we opted to sit at the side counter by the back bar. Despite that fact that we weren’t at the main bar, we never felt ignored by the staff. It’s a great concept to have a lounge above the 96^th Street Harbor Square Mall — but I’d be lying if I didn’t mention how hot it was since there are no fans to actually move some air around. The ceilings are also a little low, so I could imagine feeling somewhat claustrophobic in here if people really start packing in.
With that being said, the menu didn’t seem too large or too small and had some awesome seafood options (conch fritters, poke, and ahi tuna steak, to name a few). The draft list featured a good variety of beers (16, if memory serves me right) and some of them were local (ie Cape May Brewing Company). I was also a fan of the décor. It was somehow the perfect combo of casual and beach chic. They even have a stage for live music. I’m not sure if they have happy hour specials, but hopefully they’ll come up with some kind of calendar for the summer.
I’m definitely into this place and hope that they do well this season. We’ll be back here the next time we get down to the shore.