Thuy T N.
Yelp
I'm giving Surf at Newark Airport 2 stars because the food is sufficiently edible to the extent that I ate most of what I ordered, especially for airport food (3 stars), the really glammed up, tech-savvy ambience (4 stars), the sub-par service (2 stars) and the general uncleanliness (1.5 stars).
TIP: you order on a smart tablet but then have to pay in full while submitting your order. So for those of you, like me, who carry little cash, you have to tip BEFORE your meal. This clearly puts you at a disadvantage because there is no impetus to provide good service. Here, is a perfect reflection of why it's not a good idea to pre-tip.
When you're at the airport, waiting for a connection, you'll do anything to distract yourself. For those of you who are frequent flyers, it's totally never worth it to pay for club lounge access for continental US travel, especially if you compare them to international lounges. Also, given that the big airport hubs are large enough that they have become economies of scale, there are so many good food options that double as lounges if you're a patron.
Case in point, Surf. I love seafood and have walked by Surf a few times, my interest always piqued by the lobster, oysters and clams that they have sitting in display on ice. The restaurant is set up like a giant bar, using smart tablets where you can order, pay, play games, or peruse the internet at your leisure. Like a shiny object, it drew me in.
Nice, tech-savvy ambiance. The restaurant is a long bar, with the kitchen on one side and the drinks and bartenders on the other. It exudes a hip, modern vibe and with its fresh fish display, it beckons you to take a departure from traditional Wendy's and Cinnabon. But looks can be deceiving...
Sub-par service. I wanted to take a cursory glance over the menu and wow! The server sped up to me in lightning speed to show me how to operate the smart tablet. Little did I know that it was just a ploy to feign good service. As soon as you sit down and swipe, it's all downhill from there. They have a "call server" button but it's about as useful as a turn signal in rush hour traffic in NYC or DTLA -- in fact, I think (as with the signals where cars actually speed up) that it tells them to walk by you faster so they could ignore you better. I had to ask several times before I got everything I needed (see below).
Cleanliness. They provide a metallic silver doily as a place mat, but I tell you, it's a breeding ground for germs and placeholder of leftover remnants from meals past (ew). I had to specifically ask the server to wipe down a wet area adjecent to me, which he just took a napkin and kind of smudged it around so that it was no longer a pool of whatever it was. Other than that, the plates, cups and silverware appeared to be well-cleaned.
The food is edible but forgettable. Granted, the food is definitely a step up from Wendy's or Cinnabon but not by much. I had the tuna tartare and the salmon crunch role.
Tuna tartare. The picture on the menu looks very appetizing and promises to serve you a well-garnished tuna steak with a ponzu sauce and lime wedge. I got 5 pieces of tuna, very little garnish and no ponzu or lemon wedge. When I asked the servers for it (by flagging them down), they acted like my request was as outlandish as asking them for their first born. When I finally got them, the tuna had some favor (otherwise it would have tasted like nothing), but mostly just soy sauce with lime in it. The menu stated the ponzu sauce was house-made and was a thick, creamy, cilantro-based sauce. Everyone knows that the ponzu sauce can make or break a tuna tartare.
Salmon crunch roll. The roll actually looked very much like the picture on the menu but when I bit into it, I had to reread the menu to learn what they meant by "crunch." It had a ton of onions in it and had very little tempura. What tempura it did have was so soggy, you couldn't taste it. Because it had so much onion in it, I initially thought they meant for the crunch to be from the onions. Once I took most of the onions out, it tasted fine but certainly not like a crunch roll. It was just another soggy salmon roll with mostly rice and a semi-sour sauce.
As I walked to my gate, I couldn't help thinking that everything else looked so much better than the mediocre lunch that I had. The meal was only $40 but I probably would have had an equally satiating meal at Wendy's for $10. I'll let you know whether it was prudent to order raw seafood before boarding a 5-hour flight, if necessary. If there's no update, it would be safe to assume so.