Cuzin's Seafood Clam Bar, Marlboro, NJ:
A Restaurant Review

Cuzin's Seafood Clam Bar, Marlboro, NJ. A restaurant review.

Cuzin's - Seafood Clam Bar
130 Route 79 South
Marlboro, NJ

Cuzins: Restaurant Highlights

Fare:  Seafood

Price: Expensive

Food Quality: Outstanding. Serves a creative menu prepared with care using fresh ingredients.

Service: Welcoming, well trained, and anticipatory

Ambiance/Decor: Upscale, Industrial chic throughout the dining room, bar area.

Liquor: Full Bar Service with a good specialty cocktails, beers & wine. Bar scene is vibrant.

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Note: Four star Rating System from 1/2 Star = Poor to Four stars = Best in Class

Noise Level: Moderate - High

Recommended For:  Diners who enjoy creatively prepared seafood dishes using fresh caught seafood with attractive upscale, industrial chic, ambiance

Not Recommended For: For budget conscious diners who prefer a casual menu of fried seafood.

Recommended dishes: When available, Alaskan King Crab with clarified butter, baked potato, ratatouille vegetables; The Grilled whole Red Snapper, with olive oil, lemon, roasted potato, and sauteed greens; and The Linguine and Clams with garlic, oil, parsley, choice of white or red sauce.

Liquor: Full Bar Service with a good specialty cocktails, beers & wine. Bar scene is vibrant.

Cuzin's - Seafood Clam Bar, open since 2016, is a central Jersey success story with diners who come to enjoy excellent seafood dishes with attractive industrial chic, upbeat ambiance.

The restaurant is family-operated and owned by Charlie Mayo.

The menu features a large section of creatively prepared seafood dishes using freshly caught seafood. The variety of seafood dishes includes Maine lobster, Alaskan king crab, crab meat, blue point oysters, clams, scungilli, and more.

The overall quality of the dishes served is outstanding. The menu at Cuzin's comes alive with creativity. It's prepared with care using fresh ingredients, and without the use of heavy sauces to mask the taste of ingredients.

The construction of the restaurant is an architectural gem with exceptional decor and ambiance. The interior has an industrial chic look that runs throughout the dining room, bar area, and the "Heated Lounge".

The restaurant is softly lit with cool-looking blue LED highlighting.

The dining area features a unique pinwheel banquette with three-sided radiated random plank wood tables. Hanging over the banquette is a custom chandelier mirroring the shape of the banquette.

The hallway leading to the kitchen and restrooms is done up with finishes of river rock, steel plates accented with shipbuilding rivets, reclaimed barn wood, distressed brick, and a custom-honed quartz bar top.

The bar area separates the dining room from the lounge. The bar has a flat-screen TV and a small tropical fish aquarium. The lounge behind the 2-sided bar has tables and a few modern-looking lounge sofas.

During the warmer months, there is dining al fresco on their outdoor patio. The outdoor bar features a retractable pergola roof that becomes part of the restaurant when the bi-fold bar-height windows are opened, combining the two spaces.

Service is welcoming, well-trained, and anticipatory without being intrusive. Beginning from the moment you arrive with a very welcoming greeting by the hosts and continuing throughout the meal by a team of wait staff including servers and busboys.

Reservations made well in advance are necessary for Friday & Saturday Evenings!

Cuzin's is open seven days/week for lunch and dinner.

They have on-site parking with free Valet service.

(Update: September 2024)

How Do We Review (analyze) Restaurants?

New Jersey Leisure Guide strives to provide analytic restaurant reviews.

The methodology used is research, analysis driven --- as opposed to that of a single restaurant critic or a social media platform, viewer comment posting board.

Learn More