Seafood Festival

"Had a decent experience here. The lobster roll from Claws was very good. Their food options look very delicious. But when walking into the festival, you have to pay $10, and that’s stupid, it should’ve been $5. Overall, it was nice to be there, it was a good view of the water and had a great time."

"They should tell you to bring a chair, as there is no seating, although who wants to carry a chair around while looking at crafts or waiting on long lines for something to eat. The band was excellent, but again no seating."

"There are a few issues with this place. Before you go consider the following: 1 - They charge you 10 bucks just to get in. And that’s it, you get NOTHING extra except to be allowed to enter. You are literally giving them $10 for the privilege of spending large sums of money inside. Doesn’t even get you discounts. 2 - No shade. The only place with shade is by the main eating area. But that tends to be full most of the time, and it’s only for eating. We did find seating in the eating area, but expect to do a bit of searching. 3 - No additional seating. The only place they provide to sit is the eating tent (see #2). You should bring lawn chairs if you wish to sit somewhere else. 4 - Expensive food. I would think that these festivals would provide some time of price break since you are supposed to be tasting everything. Wrong 5 - Cash only. Many NON FOOD vendors offer the option of visa and MasterCard. Unfortunately NO food vendor does....very annoying. But guess what? They instantly point you to their “convenient” ATM machines which charge you $5 per transaction just for the access of your own money. 6 - Not as much seafood as you may think. I only noticed 2 vendors selling seafood, but most vendors aren’t even selling food at all. It’s more of a flea market that also has a bit of seafood. We had a lobster roll and it was delicious. The CLAW restaurant area was pretty good, but the prices look to be the same as if you went to their restaurant which is open all year long and DOES NOT charge you $10 just to come inside. I recommend you just skip the festival and go directly to their restaurant instead. The only way I would come back is if someone paid for the entrance fee on my behalf. And if I were to enjoy the music, there was a band playing a lot of familiar songs. And if you want to come just to enjoy the music, I suppose maybe that’s worth the $10. But personally, I was there for the food."

"We referred to it as the line festival. Very, very crowded affair, with endless lines and people aimlessly roaming about inside and out on the streets... but a somewhat pleasant experience if you enjoy festivals on Long Island and some live music. Decent vendors and local beer is a plus... but the ticket system was a bit of a hassle. Although understandable with the crowd size."

"Record crowds expected at The Long Island Maritime Museum’s 24th Annual Seafood Festival in West Sayville, NY. Celebrates regions of oysters, clams and seafood traditions along with live performances..."