Castillo Fresh Seafood Market

Second time eating at Castillo's, have to say even better than the first time, and I loved it when we went a few months ago! Edwin and his wife Wendy couldn't be nicer, they had their young daughter working on the weekend, who was super sweet (I can't for the life of me remember her name at the moment) as was the other server. Everyone was happy, polite, and on their toes. For a small location they manage to make everything flow nicely, like a well oiled machine. We were there on a Friday night at 7pm, they kept tables turning the entire time until we left around 10 something.
They have the place has a nautical decor with a little bit of a throw back to the service, I'm guessing to give it a hometown feel to Raritan's beloved John Basilone, a fallen Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor among other awards.
Their menu is fairly extensive with lots of seafood dishes & a few chicken & pasta dishes for the non-seafood eaters. They have daily specials with the "catch of the day" where you decide how you'd like it cooked & with what sauce. They also have an upcoming Taco Night! We went with another couple, the portions were a nice size and we didn't leave hungry that's for sure. We had clams casino and fried calamari to start (the calamari was served crispy, with chopped tomatoes, scallions with a balsamic glaze) & they also brought out a caprese salad on top of a thin eggplant disc ~ delicious
Our entrees were to die for, followed by amazing desserts. You should try Castillo's, you won't be disappointed, I'd call for a reservation on the weekend though. Mangia!

This was my first time here. I came with a group of friends. 5 of us were all celebrating February birthdays.
This is not a big place it holds approximately 30 people. I had high hopes for this restaurant because I was told the owner used to be the chef at Uncle Vinny's for years and I like that place.
Several of my friends have been here before. This is a BYOB which I like.
The reason I'm giving them one star is because my group encountered several big problems.
The first was with ordering of our meals.
Several of us ladies decided on a scallop dish. I was so looking forward to scallops until the waitress came back and said they were out of scallops. (1) OK on to choice number two.
When our waitress came back I asked about a dish called LITTLE BITES. It comes with scallops, red snapper, halibut, and the crazy one shrimp, with your choice of one of four sauces. I asked her will the chef have the scallops for this dish since she said they were out. My waitress assured us they would have scallops for this dish because they're put aside just for this dish. OK so my friend and I chose to have that instead of just scallops. My other friend chose another dish. I thought it was weird because either you have scallops or you don't. Ten minutes later the waitress comes back and says there are absolutely no scallops left. Again, I look at my friend and the waitress tells us we can sub another fish in there. (2) OK what are our choices? Shrimp, Red Snapper, Halibut, or Seabass. My friend and I both chose Seabass. The waitress leaves again and another ten minutes go by and she returns and says the chef said we can't sub Seabass, you can choose one of the other three choices. (3) We both then choose Halibut for our subs cooked Oreganata style. Our waitress leaves again but returns five minutes later because she said we can choose a side. We both chose Broccoli Rabe.
Problem number 2. A few of the people at our table said we've been waiting 2 1/2 hours and our food still didn't arrive. We mention to the waitress and finally our food all came out. I was so disappointed, so we're the other ladies. My shrimp was over cooked and rubbery. The other fish was overcooked bland and dry.
The Oreganata sauce was more like it was rolled in breadcrumbs only. The entire dish including the Broccoli Rabe lacked complete flavor. It was so bland I couldn't eat it.My friend spit out her shrimp in a napkin and said hers was awful.
I grew up eating and making clams, shrimp, fish Oreganata style. (You take Italian style breadcrumbs, good quality olive oil, tons of fresh chopped garlic, crushed red pepper, oregano, salt and pepper, fresh chopped parsley, good quality grated cheese, and lemon juice mix it together and top the fish Sprinkle on a little paprika and dot with butter then you bake it. You can even add white wine before baking.) This dish didn't have any of that in it. It was so bland! It was just like rolled in bread crumbs with absolutely no flavor. ( see picture)
Onto my Broccoli Rabe. It was cooked properly for texture, but again had absolutely no flavor.(After blanching Broccoli Rabe it should be patted dry, and then sautéed in evoo, tons of fresh thinly sliced garlic, crushed red pepper, and S&P. You can even add a squeeze of lemon juice.) None of these flavors were present.
My other girlfriend ordered Shrimp Scampi over linguine and there wasn't a drop of fresh parsley in the dish which is a staple.( look at the picture.)
My other friend ordered The Crazy One: Jumbo shrimp platter cooked on the grill with asparagus's peppers
and tomatoes finished with honey ginger sauce with Gorgonzola cheese. She didn't like her dish either. The shrimp was over cooked too. ( shrimp should only be cooked a couple of minutes per side bc there is leftover residual cooking time.)
After 2-1/2 hrs of waiting for our food I can sadly say I took 2 bites and passed on my dinner so did two of my other friends.
The chef never came out and addressed us, but the waitress did offer a couple of desserts. By this time we all just wanted to leave so we said no thank you to desserts. I will say that the three horrible dishes did come off our bill.
Unfortunately, I can not recommend this restaurant.

I have never had a bad meal here. the family is always warm and inviting. the food is always, fresh hot and delicious. my favorite is the scallops over a salad. my husband raves about the shrimp parm.

Great food! Fresh and delicious! It was well worth it! Great wait staff-very attentive and accommodating. Perfect first date atmosphere. The earlier the better because this place fills up pretty quickly!

Amazing!! Scallops, flounder, fish and chips , everything is siesta delicious!! Highly recommend.

Had very good meal at Castillo. The food was excellent and there was a very laid back homey feel. I had the stuffed sole with a steamed clams appetizer and both were very good. I grew up on the shore and the freshness and quality matched my expectations for both choices. We will definitely go back again. Side note: Uncle Vinnies is next door to Castillo. Both restaurants are great but differ in the atmosphere - Uncle Vinnies is a true bar, loud vibe and Castillo is very laid back.

Despite my awkward encounter at Uncle Vinny's resulting from Tripadvisor's listing Castillo's number as theirs, the experience altogether was great for pickup. We ordered fried calamari, chicken parm-which was delicious and cheesy- shrimp scampi, clams oreganata, and pasta with white clam sauce. Everyone liked their food and the young owner was very nice and professional. It's clear they're just starting out, so would really recommend ignoring the growing pains and supporting a fledgling local business during these rough times. Will be back.

I am sure the food is excellent. But I wouldn't be able to tell you. The service failed in an epic manner. The server was not competent. We had to ask for plates and silverware four times. The server could not manage the order of both appetizers and a main course. She could not even handle bringing us water. Another server arrived on the scene and finally took our order, writing it down.

The appetizers took a half hour from the order to be served. After almost an hour wait, the server came to our table to ask if we were "still waiting on something." We informed the server that we were waiting on our main course. She asked us to repeat our order and then told us that she was "confirming." It was clear that she had either lost our order or was stalling.

That question was soon answered fifteen minutes later. A man walked into the restaurant and the server informed him that he still had to cook. At was at this point, an hour and half later, that we heard the kitchen spring into action.

We finally had enough as it was late. We left without receiving our main course. To their credit, they did not accept my offer to pay.

This is disappointing as this restaurant was formerly part of the establishment next door (Vinnie's) and had been an absolute treasure. If I were the owner next door, I would make Castillo display and disclaimer clarifying that are no longer affiliated in any way.

I have been enjoying dinner at Castillo's for some time now and we love this place!  It is a small hidden gem if you do not know of it.  My husband and I have had everything from a simple dish to the lobster seafood combo special.  Every meal was tasty cooked perfectly and served at the right temperature. We have always found the staff to be friendly and accommodating. We have introduced many friends to this quaint restaurant and always look forward to our next meal here.
I was shocked to see the review posted by Donna R on February 12th, 2022.  As it turns out, my husband and I and our 2 friends happened to be there having dinner the same night.  There was also a large group of around 20 people who were talking about how they meet up there every other month.  They obviously love the food too!  So, after reading through the review regarding this group of 9 (not five as Donna states in her review), just had to make my own comment in response to this untrue post.   We arrived at 6:30. The first group of 5 of them came in at 6:45 with the review poster coming in with 2 other women at 6:50
They were very loud so much so I wanted to leave but it was our friends first time here so we stayed. And it got worse as the alcohol kicked in. Drinks were spilt and profanities flew.
First, as far as the waitress- yes, she is young and she is new. In fact she's the owners daughter trying to help and is a schoolgirl. The fact that she kept checking on their requests, it was obvious to me, she was trying her best to answer all their questions accurately.
Second, when you have certain dishes with mixed seafoods, it may already be prepared earlier in the day, or set aside for those dishes.  The then fish is available in that dish but not may not be available for the stand-alone dish -ie the scallops.   We know that prices are climbing, and shortages are all over due to Covid.   If she has been living under a rock, she may not be aware.
Also the owner purchases his fish daily for that day.
It was hard not to hear all their discussions due to how loud they were, especially after the Yellow Tail and 19 Crimes wine kicked in.  Apparently, she knows how to finagle free meals and gets her food bills reduced. I say this based on her bragging to her friends on how she has done on other occasions. To confirm this, just check her other posts on Yelp. The saddest part is that the birthday girl was left there asking who's paying for my dinner after almost all her friends had left . Not one of them offered to pay for her even though three of them didn't have to pay for their entrees as per the owner trying to make them happy.
Also they were there less than 2 hours and not
'Waiting 2 1/2 hours for their food" as she states, we left at 9:00 and they were already gone.

Date night Friday 11/26 at Castillo's in raritan. Not much ambiance but the service and the food made up for it TEN FOLD. BYOB! The food was AMAZING, generous portion, fresh and delicious. I had the scallops with spinach, my fiance had shrimp oreganata. WE WILL BE BACK!