Castaways Seafood & Grille

Great place on the water with a selection of fresh seafood; you can come here with family, friends, or a loved one and enjoy the scenery. The service staff is kind and accommodating in addition to the food being promptly served. I haven’t had New England sea food in a year, so it was nice to have a good experience.

My daughter and I stumbled upon Castaways when we were expanding our exploration of Hampton Beach / Seabrook. It was 1PM on a Sunday - in late June - and the restaurant was empty, even though the beaches were all packed. Curious start. It took us a while to get the attention of wait staff. Though, once our waitress did stop by, she was very attentive after. A pet peeve of mine is a long wait after to pay the tab. This did not happen. Very prompt! I got the local clam basket. Market price. I was surprised to be served whole belly clams. And, they were excellent and abundant! They tasted fresh, they were well fried, crisp and delicious. The fries that accompanied were just OK. I’m not a fan of fries w that chemical coating that kinda fakes a good potato crunch. Just cook them correctly and this is unnecessary. My daughter, less adventurous, ordered chicken tenders. They, too, were excellent and generously portioned. The meal fed her a dinner as well. Same story on the fries, of course. Sigh! I drink a lot of iced tea, especially at lunch time. Castaways tea had an odd taste to it. I couldn’t quite place it. Not really objectionable. Just odd. $70 for two plates and one tea (w tip). A little steep for lunch w your kid. But, I get it, right on the beach road, fun views. Not really complaining, just saying…

For a restaurant on the water front, we were not impressed. The calamari appetizer was not fresh. we got about 12 calamari rings, they were very rubbery. Not worth the price at all. We ordered the tuna burger, and it was pretty good. No complaints there. Unfortunately we went during low tide and being next to the beach, the sand fleas were INTOLERABLE. Most everyone on the deck was intolerant of the pests. The host staff could have mentioned it prior to seating us outside that we were going to be eaten alive. But we did get switched to an inside seat when asked, with out issue. Over all it’s a not that great, but that that bad of an establishment.

We really did stumble upon Castaways and I’m so glad we did ! We were going to a concert at Blue Ocean and wanted to find a restaurant close by. We sat at the bar and our servers were very attentive. We all ordered seafood dishes -scallops, baked haddock, lobster 🦞avocado salad. All perfectly cooked and excellent. John,one of the owners, came over to welcome us to the restaurant and was very personable. By the end of our meal, we felt like we were regulars! Can’t wait to come back, make a reservation and sit on the deck for the sunset 🌅. Kuddos to John and the whole team!

This place has gone downhill. The food used to be much better. We got the fried haddock plate. Small piece of flavorless fish with a bland batter. Fries were undercooked and 4 onion rings. $80 for 2 of us. Very expensive for fish and chips. Too many other options for local seafood to come back here. Place was empty for dinner for a beautiful night in July.

Way overpriced. Clam chowder tasted like I was eating raw clam. Onion rings were raw. Lobster in the lobster roll tasted dirty. Coleslaw tasted like straight up vinegar. The castaway burger was burnt. This restaurant is definitely a thumbs down I will never go back. It made my whole family feel sick. Gave my brother a shaken up soda.

I wish we never stopped. Overpriced and under portioned. The food was not good either. The ungenerous portions would shock you. My 9 dollar basket of onion rings worked out to 83 cents an onion ring. My son's chicken tenders were frozen inside. My lobster roll that was $37 dollars was all bun. Ripoff. It should be named Stayaway!