Welcome to the NJ.com food and culture team’s local dining guide series, offering recommendations for foodie hubs in North, Central and South Jersey and everything in between. These lists are curated to give diners a mix of cuisines and the best restaurant experiences to indulge this summer and beyond. Let’s dig in!
Most underrated dining destination Down the Shore? Point Pleasant Beach, by a mile.
Asbury Park gets all the headlines, but I’m here to tell you Point Pleasant Beach is closing in fast. Asbury may have more high-end restaurants (Pascal and Sabine, Brando’s Citi Cucina, etc.) but “Point Beach” equals it in diversity and betters it in one important category — it’s so much easier to park there!
As with our rankings of the 11 best restaurants in Atlantic City, Cape May and Long Beach Island, the Point Pleasant Beach list is not about the flashiest or fanciest restaurants in town. It’s about the best restaurants, in all types of cuisines, surroundings and price ranges.
On this list, you’ll find some of the state’s best tacos, the state’s best Italian deli, and the ultimate BLT.
READ MORE: Asbury Park’s 11 best restaurants, ranked, for 2024
Mussels, Spike’s Fish Market & RestaurantPG
Happy 99th birthday, Spike’s! Channel Drive is alive with seafood restaurants (Lobster Shanty, Atlantic Offshore Fishery, Shore Fresh), but Spike’s, open since 1926, stands out for its lively, informal atmosphere, and ample selection of fresh fish and shellfish. “None of our food is deep-fried!” the menu proudly proclaims. There’s a broiled fish of the day, stuffed shrimp, crab cakes, Cajun seafood combo, and much more.
Try: mussels marinara over linguine ($23.95). The quintessential Italian seafood dish done just right.
Counter, Thai Jasmine, Point Pleasant BeachPG
New Jersey may lead the world in strip malls — and in strip mall dining. Thai Jasmine, tucked into a strip mall with a convenience store, pizzeria and seafood restaurant, would certainly quality. It’s a one-woman operation, at least during a recent lunchtime visit. She took my order, then went back in the kitchen to cook it. Recommended dishes: seafood Thai curry, with shrimp, squid, mussels, bamboo shoots, eggplant and basil in coconut milk; the drunken noodles with shrimp; and the pad ginger with chicken (with nice crispy carrots).
Try: kanom jeep or chicken dumplings ($7.95), steamed dumplings filled with chicken, shiitake mushrooms and mixed vegetables.
Carne asada platter, Dona Julia, Point Pleasant BeachPG
There’s a well-known chain taco joint in the same strip mall as Dona Julia. You want predictable, go there. You want authentic, head to Dona Julia. There are 16 kinds of “classic” and “specialty” tacos at Dona Julia, from chicken, carnitas and al pastor to lengua (tongue), tripas (tripe) and oreja (pork ear). Burritos, quesadillas, chimichangas, tortas and other Mexican standards dot the menu. Dona Julia finished high on our list of the state’s best tacos. And on our list of the N.J.’s best Mexican restaurants, ranked.
Try: the chicken tinga tacos ($4.50 each), cooked in a chipotle sauce. They’re terrifically tasty.
Steak and seafood dishes are served at the Point Lobster Bar & Grill in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ on Saturday, May 13, 2023.Jim Lowney | For NJ Advance Media
The best meal during my two-week Jersey Shore walk in 2020 came at Point Lobster Bar and Grill. I don’t remember exactly what three dishes I ordered except one was a risotto (I took detailed notes on the takeout menu, which is … somewhere). Point Lobster Bar & Grill is an offshoot of Point Lobster, on Louis Avenue. Jack Godwin, father-in-law to Point Lobster Bar and Grill owner Shannon Godwin, started Point Lobster out of the back of his car in 1981. Today, Point Lobster sells about a million pounds of lobster every year. The restaurant? The menu offers a spectrum of seafood and meat dishes, with a few creative curveballs: seaweed salad, Nashville-style flounder sandwich, and colossal African prawns, among others. There’s a Sunday brunch menu, too. The pork chop topped with apple slaw (this isn’t just a seafood restaurant!) is a huge and hellaciously good piece of meat.
Try: the lobster roll ($36). Maybe it’s no surprise finding a lovely lobster roll at a restaurant with “lobster” in its name, but this is one of the better ones you’ll find anywhere Down the Shore.
Shrimp Molly served at Spano’s Ristorante Italiano, 719 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. May 24, 2023Noah K. Murray | for NJ Advance
Spano’s was one of ten finalists in our statewide best Italian restaurant showdown in 2016 (it was also named the reader’s choice winner). “You’ve got to be stupid to be in this business,” Joe Spano told me back then. The restaurant owner, wearing an apron that looked as if it had been dipped into a vat of flour, had started working at 7 that morning. It was now 11 at night. His mom’s family is from Naples, his dad’s side from Bari, and the menu is full of hearty, heaping dishes; you won’t go hungry here. Recommended dishes: the mafalde Bolognese (with a meat sauce made of ground pork, beef, veal and pancetta and simmered with plum Italian tomatoes) and the gnocchi pomodoro. Note: Spano’s is reservation-only.
Try: bucatini amatriciana ($31). Bucatini is my favorite pasta (love its thickness) and when it’s combined with sauteed guanciale (pork jowl) and onions, it makes for quintessential Italian comfort food.
Mary Frank (L) and Susan Castiglia eat at Mugsy’s Mercantile in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ on Saturday, May 13, 2023.Jim Lowney | For NJ Advance Media
Mugsy’s owners Meg LaManna and Natalie LaManna have Point Pleasant covered; Meg grew up in Point Beach, Natalie in the borough. The sandwich menu changes every Tuesday; check the big board on the wall. A recent special: chicken Reuben with house roasted shaved chicken breast, fennel and granny smith apple kraut, fontina, Bibb lettuce, and smokey mustard on toasted marble rye. A drink paid tribute to the late great Tina Turner: Proud Mugsy keep on burnin’ (lemon, celery, cucumber, watermelon, and “lots of ginger”). The porquetta, a special with Berkshire ham, pesto stuffing, provolone and broccoli rabe, is a standout. Mugsy’s mozzarella, another sandwich, winningly combined charred scallion aioli, greens and panko eggplant.
Try: the turkey and cheddar sandwich ($11.99) with honey mustard, granny smith apples, Bibb lettuce, pickled red onion. I never use the word “great” to describe a dish; we’ll call this “near-great.”
BLT, The Beanery
“Are you hungry?” begins the pitch on the Beanery’s website. Sure am! The popular eatery — it was packed on a recent lunchtime visit — offers appetizers, sandwiches, seemingly every imaginable salad, and gourmet coffee and tea. The warm brie salad combines cheese, apples and grapes: what’s not to like? The Santa Barbara with tuna salad (you can also get it with chicken salad), served on toasted raisin bread and topped with sliced apples and cinnamon, is highly recommended. Another standout: the mozz-focaccia, on a warm garlic focaccia, with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, Romaine, and balsamic vinaigrette.
Try: the BLT ($9.95). This may be my favorite BLT anywhere, served on multi-grain bread with a garlic herb spread. Bacon, lettuce and tomato never tasted so good.
Rosie’s square pie, Point Pleasant
There are a gazillion pizzerias down the Shore, ranging from excellent to screamingly mediocre. Rosie’s is near the head of the class; they appeared on our list of the state’s 101 best pizzas. Ordering is simple: choose either a square (grandma) or round pie, and add toppings. All pies are cooked well done, and finished with basil and extra virgin olive oil. The menu is short and sweet; the only other items beside pizza are meatballs, a house salad, calzone and a meatball sandwich.
Try: The square pie ($24), toppings extra. Light sourdough crust, fresh and aged mozzarella, milled tomatoes add up to pizza near-perfection.
Lobster roll, Shore Fresh Seafood Market & Restaurant
Shore Fresh boasts two locations: on Channel Drive in Point Pleasant Beach, and Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant. At both locations, you’ll find the freshest fish; the Point Beach location is next door to a fisherman’s co-op. Apps include a pot of steamers and lobster mac n cheese, and you can get Blue Point oysters and littleneck clams from the raw bar. Broiled scallops, stuffed flounder, pan seared grouper and steamed lobster are among the main courses. I’ll take the Manhattan over the New England clam chowder, and the blackened swordfish is nicely cooked, juicy and tender (nothing worse than overcooked rubbery fish). Shore Fresh ended up on our list of the state’s 23 best seafood restaurants.
Try: the lobster roll ($20). Maybe the biggest you’ll find anywhere; it’s loaded. And tasty besides.
Let’s start here: Joe Leone’s is the state’s best Italian deli. Which is saying something; New Jersey does Italian delis better than anyone. The Point Beach store is an Italian food wonderland, with Italian meats, cheese, prepared meals, and more on display. Italian subs are a dime a doughy dozen in New Jersey, but the subs at Joe’s stand out mostly due to the great bread. Make sure to check the online daily specials; recent ones included shrimp piccata; boneless pork chop savoy, spaghetti with Roman artichokes, and Tuscan fried chicken. Good luck not dropping a few large bills here.
Try: Joe’s Italian combo sub ($9.95 to $26.95 depending on the roll). Simply great. Yeah, I know, I never use that word.
Apple brined pork chop, The Poached Pear, Point Pleasant Beach
“Familiar dishes served in innovative ways” is the slogan at The Poached Pear. The owner/executive chef is Scott Giordano, a Culinary Institute of America grad who worked at the Saddle River Inn in Saddle River, the Park Restaurant in Park Ridge, and Whispers in Spring Lake before opening the Poached Pear in 2014. The pastry chef is Teah Evans, who won a mystery ingredient cooking competition on the Food Network’s Chopped show. The menu is temptingly eclectic: beef short rib carpaccio and asparagus fries are among the apps, while entrees include pan roasted French cut chicken breast and ancho coffee rubbed New York strip steak. All three main courses sampled dazzled: the apple cider brined pork chop; the rack of lamb persillade, and the grilled salmon fillet. But my two favorite dishes were none of those; see below.
Try: I couldn’t pick between the two, so I’ll go with both the arborio rice pudding ($12) and Grandma’s cheesecake ($12), the latter highlighted by a graham cracker crust and port wine cherry sauce. Rice pudding for 12 bucks? When it’s this good, absolutely.
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Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. On Twitter, @petegenovese. On Instagram, @peteknowsjersey and @themunchmobile.