Surf Bar Oases

I waited 40 minutes for a chicken sandwich, place was almost empty. Got it cold and mediocre. Ordering process is a nonsense too, key in your credit card on your phone, forced to tip upward min. 15% for what? You call it service? (But that's the whole airport apparently). Avoid. Somehow other airports can have excellent restaurants including fast food, smooth ordering process and great food, but not the EWR.

I looked at the reviews of about a dozen restaurants near me in this terminal. I picked Surf, because it was one of only two restaurants that had ratings about 3 stars. The worst fish n chips that I've had in my life. It was tasteless and so rubbery that it took a knife to cut. $40 with tax and tip for a meal that made a McDonald fish sandwich seem like gourmet food.

iPad serving system. And even with that it’s bad service. Just don’t go here. Took 30 min to get my burger. Barely had time to eat it. Not even anyone to complain too… Who the hell am I even tipping?

Disappointing experience. Service was very slow. Hamburger (asked to be “medium”) finally came out closer to rare. There was no time to complain as I had a flight to catch. Definitely not worth the exorbitant price

Great sushi and service. Located in terminal c close to gate 181. Ordered a yellowtail jalapeno and it was delicious. Sushi was fresh and the pieces were large and filling. There were 8 pieces before my pic was taken. ( Couldn't resist). Location is great with comfortable seating while you wait for your flight . Great service with friendly and helpful staff. Loved it.

Fast, efficient and friendly. There was a little maneuvering on the electronic menu but with a little patience you can get through. Not really a family oriented stop but well suited for independent travelers. The avocado rolls are very good, the drafts very large...I wasn’t paying attention when I ordered and wound up get a 25 ounce beer.

The decor was beautiful you felt like you were somewhere in the city. The view is wonderful, especially if you get a chance to be seated upstairs by the window. The food was very tasty. Everything we oder was delicious. However, I found the meals to be a little bit pricey. The menu very limited, not a lot to pick from.

The servers I saw were friendly and tried to keep the area clean. Prices are of the typical airport style. The drinks I had were actually well made. Makes for a happy visit.

Mostly automated through iPad in front of you. 1. Press food 2. Scan barcode of your boarding pass 3. Add to check then pay Remember to CLOSE your tab! You can also surf the internet on it :) Service was friendly and attentive although when I sat down two servers were arguing loudly. The kids grilled cheese is super sad, one star. Definitely kraft cheese singles and cheap bread. Came kinda cold too. Fries was decent. Stars are more for the drinks and cool concept. The pineapple jalapeño margarita was perfect. Great heat level, and not too sweet or sour. The bourbon lemon drink was good too, horse feather?

Sat at the bar across from my gate and ordered $50 in drinks (3 drinks total) and not even a minute after closing my tab the bartender approached me and said "if you aren't ordering anything you have to leave your seat". Not even a chance to put my phone charger away. Terrible customer service. Awful. I wish I could remove the gratuity because there was ZERO.

Sitting here now because it's right in front of my gate -- don't understand the low rating here. Average $11-$15 wines by the glass, quality protein options, and decent service. Quick ordering at your fingertip via iPad. Friendly service with coworkers that enjoy each others' company. What more could you ask for from a quick service airport dining option? Had one too many glasses of the brut prosecco, accompanied by the tuna tartare. Nice light dinner and cap to the week. One ding for cleanliness - had to ask the waitstaff to clear the table and wipe down the table, which should be a basic function for a restaurant (quick service or not).

2 stars is harsh but a pretty accurate evaluation. I thought the iPad-ordering was a cool touch, until the touch screen froze during some bonus game it was having me play for free stuff. (I want to redeem my points for a chocolate bar, dammit.) I ordered a salmon burger. The fries accompanying it were all clumped together and half broken. The salmon patty was pieced together from chunks of salmon, it's not a breaded salmon steak as I thought it would be when I ordered. The salmon also had a pretty heavy fishy flavor/aroma. The brioche bun was also way too dry. At $20+ after tax and tip (entree only, no drink), the meal can be considered mediocre and overpriced.

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.

Sushi is horrible, service is snotty Sushi has rainbow grey colors, pieces are minuscule Soy sauce has a weird taste. Salmon tastes fishy, hamachi is grey! And so tiny! Huge jalapeño chunks ??? What??? I should know better than to sit in a sushi bar in an airport!! JFK has a great sushi restaurant though!

So ok I'm really confused with the low star rating here. It really is a descent place to stop and grab some tasty sushi. I ordered salmon sashimi that came with three pieces instead of two, a yellowtail roll and a glass of Malbec. The sushi was FRESH. Service was QUICK. Wine was DEVINE. It was a modern dining experience with iPads used for ordering. The waitstaff was professionally dressed and moderately pleasantly. I would definitely stop in again despite the poor reviews. Lets face it: It's not Tokyo. Its Newark airport.

Nice wine selection, but expensive. The fries were a large portion but $6. They came with a tiny cup of ketchup and were cold. The server never checked back to see if I would like more ketchup or salt, or hotter fries. Pretty disappointing. The typical result of a monopoly and a captive audience? I'm rounding up from 1.5 stars because it is in an airport, which, sorry to say, lowers expectations.

Food is okay, had a shrimp tempura roll and an eel roll. Sushi is decent. I also ordered grilled fish tacos but ended up sending it back, it was really salty! Our waitress was super nice and took it back with no issues and she was also quick to ask me what I wanted and come back to make sure everything was okay. She probably made the experience better than it could've been. Overall, ok experience for being in an airport, of course the food was expensive, it's about when you can expect on any airport. $35 for two sushi rolls and lemonade.

Interesting concept. The sushi was pretty good. Service was friendly. The extensive use of touchscreens - using tablets for orders/entertainment/flight updates seems to be part of a terminal wide implementation. It cuts down on server demands...there's a learning curve, but I might even be able to order on my own if I eat here again. At the same time, it felt weird to take the human interaction out of the dining experience - I wonder if this is the future of food service? (I hope not...it feels so impersonal.)

Well, like all the concessions at Newark, You. order on the tablet, pay and then see if you can even get what you ordered. I did order, did pay, and did not get ANYTHING. 86 on my ordered dish, unable to find someone to refund. Waited 25 minutes and gave up. I guess I will have to wait for my credit card bill and then call and contest the charge. All in all I got nothing but :30 of waiting and homework to wait and contest a charge for something I never got. Foodservice at this airport universally sucks.

I went to this quick order restaurant thinking I had plenty of time to get a carry out meal. Nope. Even though there was 2 sushi chefs and 5 others working everything else for about 8 guests, it still was not possible. One lady was actively working and made my fish sandwich (which looked really good). Then she placed my order under the light I guess waiting for one of the others to actually assist. She went on to start another order. I waited, and looked and waited and looked and the other employees never did anything more than continue their bs conversations. Finally I asked about my order and asked if the sandwich was mine. It was. The guy went back to the woman who fixed the sandwich and then I see her drop the fries. I couldn't believe it.She was clearly frustrated as so was I. Never again. I left as they were trying to figure out the refund process. This is shameful since I had to scan my boarding pass prior to ordering. It wouldn't have been so bad if everyone was actively engaged. This was not the case. Normally I read the reviews but I didn't this time because they looked so organized and efficient with those nifty tablets. Wrong!!!

I tried this place today during my layover to Chicago. My flight was delayed a few hours and I was drawn to the ambiance of this restaurant. I was skeptical at first to try sushi at the airport because we all know it's usually horrid. To my great surprise the sushi here was AMAZING. 5 star quality indeed. Not only was the food great but my server was fantastic. Her name was Haydee and she makes the best "perfect Manhattan" I've ever had. The service I received was truly a pick me up after a long day in flight. Not to mention the music was really fun. I highly recommend this place to anyone who likes seafood and a good drink. When I'm back in Newark I will certainly be stopping by again!

Nice place while you're waiting for a flight. Sushi is mediocre, but the ambience makes it nice. Individual iPads for surfing the Internet or playing games while waiting and accurate pictures and descriptions of all the food options. They have plenty of seating and outlets to charge your devices.

This place is horrible, if I could give 0 stars I would. I ordered my food to go at a standing i pad. After 30 mins of standing I asked where my order was. The staff accused me of not using the i pad correctly. I then showed my receipt that was texted to me. I then waited another 15 mins for my food. I was almost late for my flight. Also the food I could make in my own home and was very underwhelming especially for the price. 0/10 would never step near this establishment again

Surf is actually a long counter located in the center of one of the main corridors in Terminal C, and for what it is, it's fine. This is an airport, after all. No, I don't like the IPad ordering system either, but the food isn't bad. The pre-made sushi is as good (or as bad) as anywhere else. The folks behind the counter are pleasant and treated me very well, even gave me a free coffee (I ordered it by mistake -- as an inexperienced user of this ordering technology). There's plenty of seating nearby, so if you're in Terminal C, Surf is a good place to wait for a flight, while sipping coffee or your favorite cocktail or wine.

Low key. Use touch screens to order. They have kids menu items. My sushi was good. The waiters were extremely attentive and super nice to my 4 and 6 year old kids. We had a two hour delay and my kids were very happy eating here and waiting.

Long wait for a $10 beer they would have forgotten if I didn't remind them. The beer finally arrives in a glass that's sticky. Gotta love Newark Airport.

Slow, unorganized, purveyors of mediocre fare. All the pictures on the menu and descriptions sound wonderful. Then you suffer through an interminable wait (every time), and get your food only to realize just how over hyped the food is relative to what you've received. Guaranteed to disappoint every time.

Ordered a beer and chicken wings. The beer took longer than it should have seeing as these guys don't take orders but whatever that's fine. The problem was it was not very cold. Took me 10 more mins before someone came down the row to get a water. I asked one of the non serving staff for water and it was like it was such a huge ordeal. I could see the water pitcher from my seat. Wings came and they were okay but no option of hot, mild, medium so they just give hot. They were large wings and very saucy so both of those are pluses but can overcome that some of the wings were not hot, actually cold, not room temp but cold. Not a single wait staff asked how things were or refilled my water. Glad I get to pay $25 and I'm the inconvenience! Def eat somewhere else but the shitty service is everywhere at the airport so I dunno. I guess everyone hates their jobs in Newark.

Very poor and slow service. Manager did not care that my salad arrived with a hair on it. Menu doesn't represent what you order. Don't be deceived!

This has been one of the worst experiences ever. I acknowledge that I made a mistake with ordering my drink, but when I spoke to the bar tender, she stated "well you need to read the menu, it tells you everything that is in the drink before you order it." Again, I acknowledge that I made an error, but the way the bartender spoke to me was very rude, hostile and condescending. I even made a comment to the girl, "you don't have to be so rude" and she stated "I'm not, but if you would have just read the menu, you would've known what it had inside of it. I spoke to Evelyn, to say that she needs to teach her staff how to speak to people, because the girl was very rude. Now I see why this establishment receives such poor ratings. They're disrespectful, rude and condescending and when I spoke to another bartender about it she stated to me "yeah, I know, that's how she speaks." So, does this make it ok? The bartender even closed out my tab, without me asking for it to be closed. How rude and unprofessional is that. I would never recommend this establishment to ANYONE. I would simply say, take your money to an establishment that has better customer service, because clearly the staff doesn't care about their customers. They forget THE CUSTOMER IS THE REASON WHY THEY HAVE A JOB. AND WITHOUT US, YOU WOULD NOT BE WORKING IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT!!!!!!!!!!! I would recommend Evelyn better coach her staff on the importance of delivering excellent customer service. Finally, as I told Evelyn, I would never come back to this establishment ever again!!!!!!

Oasis in the middle of the 80s wing of Terminal C. I only had a drink, so I can't speak to the quality of the food, but everyone around me seemed to be enjoying themselves. Once you get past the outrageous airport prices, it's a nice little place. The sushi chef looked like he was taking care in delicate preparations of fish, and the kitchen was bustling. They make a delicious Bloody Mary. If you're stuck in Newark airport, there are worse places you could be!

By far the worst experience I have had at an airport bar/restaurant. The entire staff ignores you and has a snotty attitude. The manager Juan is a joke and should never have been put into any type of leader position, it shows in his staff. DO NOT stop there. It is way over priced, the food is trash and so are the drinks. I would give negative stars if I could.

Terrible. Waited foreverrrrrrrr for food to arrive even though it was NOT busy! Ordered the Bacon Egg Cheese sandwich and OJ. Took over 20 minutes to arrive and then discovered the eggs are over cooked to the point between sponge and powder. At the prices they charge ($14) you'd think something SIMPLE like a breakfast sandwich would have been at least average but no. Avoid this place!

Horrible service. Really horrible. Gratuity is automatically rolled in. Great if you have at least an hour. Wait. I take that back. In my opinion, food is overpriced and sucks. Please bring Mcdonalds back!

Toast was stale. Potatoes tasted a little rotten. Worst part was service. The staff actively ignored me and other customers who had prepaid for their breakfast using their tablet-based system. I saw one lady get scolded at for commenting that her order was for a salad and not potatoes. No one needs that kind of rudeness in their life at 6am in the morning.

Great food terrible service. Half the staff doesn't even understand English! Salmon is great, but took talking to 4 people and waiting 10 minutes to get a tea refill...

They've tried their best to replace service staff with automation but even still. Had to beg for cutlery, and it took literally 4 touches by staff to get me a fork and knife, then a napkin, then soy sauce for sushi, then chopsticks. They were out of every beer on the list except for one. And then I ordered a kale Caesar, only to get a Caesar made with spinach. I guess they're both green so I completely get it that the "chef" can't tell the difference. What is wrong with food service these days.

This place was ok. The ipad ordering was different but fun to play with while waiting for food. Had an excellent waiter but overheard some of the other waitresses and sushi chefs fighting about an order. Thought it was unprofessional in my opinion. I got a moscow mule and it was served in a regular glass and not a copper mug like normal which I thought was wierd. Overall this place was just OK while I waited for my flight.

The lobster roll so good! And - the service is much nicer than I expected at an airport, and if you take it to go, you will get jealous glances on the plane.

Gf ordered a quesadilla and had to wait 30 minutes..after asking if her order was coming they said oh they are making it now..pathetic

Horrible service and bland food. Best to just grab something at a grab and go or try another restaurant. They have automatic gratuity added to the bill and could care less about actually earning it. Consistent with other reviews.

Too late for delivery, even thought no much customers.... Chatting chatting and chatting... I don't recommend you have less than 30min

Not bad for an airport sushi bar. You order on iPads and everything arrived within 15 minutes. Sushi and service was pretty good. It was nice to get a decent meal before heading out on a long flight.

Santiago was so knowledgable about the entrees and whether or not they contained gluten!!! He was awesome, great spot to eat, highly recommend

I ordered a shrimp salad sandwich for $16.00- when I bit into it I could not even see the shrimp salad. There was a very thin coating on one of the rolls with little micro-shrimp in it....

Bad service despite the nifty tablets. Go elsewhere. And don't tip until you get your food and drinks. Service is abysmal.

Had the rainbow roll and a UFO. Food was prepared fairly quickly (got it in about 10 min). Sushi was fairly fresh for airport fish.

I did not find the service bad. The people who served me were very nice and the waiter even showed me how to get an additional 20% off my order. However, the food was awful. I ordered the shrimp tempura. It was overly breaded, soggy and covered in a greasy, bad tasting sauce. I scraped a few of the shrimp clean and ate them, but even withoutanything on them they were not good. I left over 2/3rds of my dish. Too bad, the place looked great and people were nice, but food was awful.

The food is quite bad. The rice is all wrong and they couldn't give me the fish I ordered, but instead kept trying to pass off other types of fish. Worst of all you order on a kiosk and have to tip before you even see a server.

I must say that I don't understand the low rating. Dealing with the checkpoints and rudeness generally found at Newark Airpot is exhausting. What a contrast this place makes. Decent sushi. Cold beer. Great playlist. Mostly though, this is a staff of young, energetic, professional, and extraordinarily service minded people. If you are in C terminal in the high 80 gates, keep walking to the end. Don't think you'll be disappointed. I certainly wasn't.

Terrible service. Wings were fine but beer came after I was almost done. No water was served.

New England Clam Chowder was potato soup. Cod fish and chips was flavorless and not handmade at the restaurant. It's a nice looking place but the food is below average.

Food was just ok The service was horrible and you literally have to beg for utensils and water after food is delivered ; i had to wait 5 minutes for them! Would not recommend this overpriced place

Ordered the octopus salad for $15. Lots of fresh greens and three skimpy pieces of octopus, barely discernible. What a ripoff. Be warned! This is egregious. Shame on you, Surf! I will bring food to the airport going forward. Tired of this nickel and dime bullshit.

The service is horrific, the man next to me flipped out and walked off, and I could not even blame him.

I'm a big fan of the OTG restaurants, but this one seems to be operating in a vacuum. Rude staff, excessively long wait for drinks, oysters did not come as described and hair on another meal.

Empty restaurant and sill a significant wait. The person next to us even left. The bartenders are busy flirting rather than helping customers and were very rude. Once we finally got the food it is done wrong. Although, the sushi is decent.