Jeremy's Ale House, What a dump! I'll meet you there.
Written: Nov 27 '05 (Updated Jul 13 '09)
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Pros: No class and the "Best Place to eat for under $10".
Cons: Not well suited for a black tie affair.
The Bottom Line: Standing outside on the deck, watching the boats come in and out of the canal while kicking back with a few cold ones makes for a perfect summer night.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Jeremy's Ale House - Freeport |
The appeal of this place is that it has no charm. Not much class at all. This place is a dump and a dive but the food is cheap, tastes good, they have a fair amount of brews on tap and the crowd is upbeat.
Jeremy's Ale House has two locations. One near the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan on Front Street. The other, that I am reviewing here is on Freeport's Nautical Mile. This is a relatively recent addition to the seafood restaurants, high-end, pretty-people hang outs and beer joints that dot this VERY popular summer-time strip.
Service
Don't expect wait service for food cause you "ain't gonna get it". You just grab a paper menu at the bar, grab a table or squeeze in with someone else and then once you know what you want send someone up to the bar where you place your order.
You can take your drink back with you and they'll bring the food when it's ready. The guy was good at bringing everything out HOT. We cleaned up our own table of the paper goods everything is served on. Don't expect to get into a conversation with the help for even a minute though, these guys are running! It was a chore to get some ketchup though. I would think a place like this would have a counter where you could help yourself. It didn't that I noticed and one of us had to wait at the bar to get their attention.
Atmosphere?
During the summer you'll walk by and see people inside and out. The outside has a multi-level deck area on the side and another open deck with five picnic tables out back. This is a great spot at 7:00p.m. when all the party boats and some fishing boats start out on cruises and expeditions. Some pumped in music fills the air. Mostly rock.
The inside of Jeremy's Ale Hose is a total dump but a great place to be. The bar that is made of heavily varnish coated ship hatches is broken up by outcroppings of draught beer levers. They have about eight to offer at most times changing seasonally. They charge $3.50 - $4.74 a pint and you can save a bit by ordering by the quart. The carpeting is well worn and tracked. Above, hanging from the ceilings, are bras of all sizes, shapes and colours. I told you this place had no class but hey look great and have a certain testosterone appeal. Hey it's better than these cold looking men's clubs in cherry woods or oak with animal trophy heads on the walls. The crowd, ages 20s through 50s, were a bit raucous.
Walk through the opening and you are in the restaurant section of the joint where a hanging juke box, a couple of TVs tuned into ESPN and a big screen that is wedged into a corner is ready for Monday Night Football. They offer a free buffet and wings at a dime each. The cool thing about being on the Nautical Mile is that you can get raw clams at 50 cents each. Sunday Nights offer a movie with theme drinks to match. Popcorn is free. This place has all TVs set on JET games on the weekend.
There is little in the restaurant section to speak of. There are a dozen or so tables and booths with chairs that must have been brought up from the steerage section of the Titanic. Perhaps I'll also mention the two ceiling fans, an air conditioner over a door with one of those huge round stand-up fans near it. An overhead heater is primed and waiting for the cold winter months on the canal. Open electric lines trace their way across the ceiling and a few errant bras seemed to make their way into this room too.
The place is noisy place was popular all day long. We were just there recently on a Tuesday after 2p.m. and I was surprised at how many people set themselves up for lunch.
Menu
We started with a round of Jeremy's Special Chips at $3.30 Three of us picked on these chips that were freshly cooked and still attached per spiral. They were pretty thin and very tasty. They are a must to try if you go there. Jeremy's has the usual appetizers and the prices are mostly under 4 or five dollars. Fries $2, Seafood Chowder $3.50, Onion Rings $2.95. Items like Calamari, steamers and shrimp cocktail go from $5 to $9. They serve their salads in edible Flour Shells at $40-$8.
Hot dogs are $2.00 and Burgers $5.00. My daughter had a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich that she thought was excellent for $5.95. Her boy friend had a chicken sandwich that was the same price and also said it was good. Ol' pops went for the grilled scallops. All their fish is fresh. and the scallops were large, grilled just right and tasted good. Everything is served on paper with a roll of paper towels center-table.
They offer both fried and grilled fish dishes and except for soft shell crab sandwiches everything is under $10. Fish and chips at $7.95 is a good deal. You can have a salmon steak or marinated tuna steak with rice and small salad for $8.95 each. No lobster served at Jeremy's.
Jeremy's won the "Best New England Chowder" award at the Freeport Festival. I didn't know that when I first ordered and I still haven't tasted the stuff. They also tout the fact that the Daily News says they have NYs best Calamari and the NY Press states they have the best clams. Ha, I noticed this on the menu well after we were eating. I wanted to try both so I asked which I should order in addition to what I was just finishing up. The guy said he'd make a plate half and half. They must have gotten a little side tracked in the kitchen because both were overcooked a bit. The clams had that just-at-burn taste and the calamari was a bit chewy. I will say however that the batter that they are fried in(they use vegetable oil) was excellent, very light and crispy.
Final Thoughts
Did I tell you this place is a dump? All the same I did have a good time there and liked the joint. I gotta catch a couple of Jet games, chomp on some wings and slurp down a couple-a-dozen clams. This is a place to grab something cheap and have a beer or two. I wouldn't call this a romantic place with bare wires and bras hangin' from the ceilings so ya better watch who you are taking and what you're lookin' for.
Now I rated this place just three stars but I recommend it. I had to give warning about the low class nature of the place through the rating.
I know I still want to try that #1 Clam Chowder and this place is well worth a stop for a plate of Jeremy's Special Chips and a cold brew. Yeah, the place is a dump but I'll look for ya there.
Nautical Mile Restaurants and Attractions
Cafe by the Sea Good menu and great desserts. Fun entertainment too!
RACHEL'S Waterside Grill Fine Fare on Freeport's Nautical Mile
Otto's Sea Grill On the Nautical Mile. Right on the water.
Bracco's Clam and Oyster Bar
Water Lilly's Waterside Cafe
Montana's Pizzeria and Restaurant Good Italian food near Nautical Mile
Ralph's Italian Ices a favorite on the canal.
Jeremy's Ale House - Freeport
Up north just a bit.
Montana's Pizzeria and Restaurant Good Italian food near Nautical Mile
Raimo's Pizza and Restaurant Our Pizza Place
Hunan Palace
Pier 95 A very fine Portuguese-Mediterranean Restaurant on the Hudson Canal just minutes from the Nautical Mile
The South Street Seaport @ Freeport a simple and very informative Maritime Museum.
Long Island So much to so many
Recommended:
Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Try Jeremy''s special chips.
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