Shea's Riverside Restaurant Bar - Essex

They are PERMANENTLY CLOSED and OpenTable allowed my reservation. I actually BOOKED THIS RESERVATION AT OPENTABLE'S SUGGESTION! Fortunately, CK Pearl's next door kindly accommodated us and our Mother's Day lunch was saved.

My friend and I tried this restaurant for the 1st time today. I made a reservation and we arrived 1/2 hour early. The hostess was very friendly as was our waitress. We started with the oyster Rockefeller which we both enjoyed (very fresh). I had a salmon burger with fries and my friend had clams with fries. The salmon was well seasoned and could’ve been eaten plain without the tomato, onion and aioli but together was great. The fries are hand-cut and are so good. My friend wasn’t overly happy with the clams but he ate them. We then shared a cheesecake slice which we both enjoyed. My martini was well prepared. The view is beautiful and we saw two seals. Yes the prices are high but are worth it for a treat.I’ll go back again and recommend the restaurant highly. It all worked for me.

AWFUL EXPERIENCE! We came here for my friends birthday, there was no hospitality. They are not upfront and transparent with their pricing not to mention biting into RAW CHICKEN!!!!! Don’t waist your time. We called back to fix our bill since they added a whole extra plate and the manager simply had nothing to say. Did not give us back our money for something we didn’t agree with in our bill

This place has really declined. Temp outside was 85 degrees, door was open, no AC. Flies inside around the table and windows. Big problem with finish on table. In the humidity, everything, menus, napkins etc. stuck to the table. Server made some excuse about the disinfectant, but it was the table. Food was not as good as in the past and prices are high. Have been going here for years since it was Tom Shea's. Will not return.

They should have told us when you ask to sit on their patio that they have a bee problem. When our food came we were being swarmed with 10+ bees at points. The waitress could see we were very bothered and she did nothing.