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The casino on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.
The casino on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

26 Places to Eat and Drink in Asbury Park

The Jersey Shore town is easy to get to by train with a burgeoning art, music, and restaurant scene

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The casino on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.
| Melissa McCart/Eater NY

Asbury Park, New Jersey is a beach town about 60 miles from Manhattan known for its rich musical history and trademark mascot Tillie, the grinning relative of George C. Tilyou’s Steeplechase Face. The convention center, built between 1928 and 1930 and embellished with nautical whimsy, anchors the boardwalk. The remains of a casino and carousel are close by, on the border of Asbury and Ocean Grove. The Stone Pony is probably the most well-known music venue in Asbury today, having been graced by dozens of icons: Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Ramones, Blondie, Todd Rundgren, Joan Jett, Blue Oyster Cult, Gregg Allman, Levon Helm, and of course Bruce Springsteen, to name a few. In the last 10 to 15 years, Asbury has flourished as a culinary hub — partly due to the number of NYC transplants — with a range of restaurants and bars to try on your beach day or vacation.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Heirloom at The St. Laurent

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This boutique hotel offers poolside lunch, a swanky cocktail bar, and a comely dining room with a New American tasting menu from chef and partner David Viana.

Assorted dishes on a white tablecloth.
Assorted dishes at Heirloom at St. Laurent.
Heirloom at the St. Laurent.

Frank's Deli & Restaurant

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With pics of the Boss along the wall and regulars at the counter, this solid luncheonette-style deli, open since 1960, bakes its own bread and offers an array of sandwiches and breakfast items for its fiercely loyal clientele. If you’re looking for a pork roll (no one says Taylor ham down the Shore), egg, and cheese for breakfast, order it here. Cash only.

Ada's Gojjo

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Ada’s serves a mix of Ethiopian and Dominican dishes with a wide selection of meat and vegetarian options including mofongo as well as samplers served on homemade injera. The owner’s presence lends warmth to the experience.

Georgie’s Bar

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Vibrant and welcoming, Georgie’s hosts events like drag and karaoke nights while serving snacky bar food and cheap drinks. Georgie’s has been a hearth for Asbury and the surrounding area’s LGBTQ+ community since 1999.

Look for rillettes, pimento cheese, giant salads, and a chophouse menu at this two-story restaurant on the revitalizing Main Street. Don’t miss the second floor back bar for a solid list of cocktails and a no-nonsense beer and wine list.

Wonder Bar

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Wonder Bar is home of the yappy hour, an outdoor sandy area with picnic tables where dogs lose their minds with excitement as they swim in baby pools while patrons drink Budweiser. This Asbury Park institution also features a regular roster of local performers like Springsteen cover band, Tramps Like Us. And it’s home to one of the best burgers in town.

The Diner at Asbury Lanes

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Connected to Asbury Lanes, a revamped bowling alley, bar, and music venue, the Diner serves dishes like hot honey chicken and waffles or brioche french toast. The prices are steeper than a typical diner, but then again, most diners don’t offer a wagyu burger. Time your visit right and catch a sound check while there.

A milkshake on a counter.
A milkshake from the Diner at Asbury Lanes.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

Mi Cabana Restaurant

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This small Mexican restaurant serves excellent tacos plus many other Latin American dishes like mofongo and Cuban sandwiches. Go for the tacos al pastor and send it home with the densely creamy flan or the coconut tres leches cake topped with peaches.

A taco from Mi Cabana.
A dish from Mi Cabana.
Kim Chavez/Mi Cabana

Jimmy's Italian Restaurant

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A red sauce spot on the edge of town, Jimmy’s is the kind of place that was founded in the ’80s and hasn’t changed since. This past year, Paul McCartney stopped by when he was in town, with other visits from Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Danny DeVito, and Bruce Springsteen. Try to grab a seat at the bar and grab yourself some antipasti.

Wild Air Beerworks

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Wild Air offers a diverse selection of lagers and wild ales each referencing works by literary giants. The brewery’s name evokes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Merlin’s Song.” Takeout is encouraged as you make your way through the tap list.

Porta Asbury Park

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A sibling to the one in Jersey City, Porta offers a solid collection of salads, sides like meatballs and Italian sausage, and pizzas like the Spring Betty with goat cheese, spinach béchamel, spring onions, artichokes, and pecorino Romano. The bar is endless and the room has little to mute noise, so if the party-level volume is not your scene, there’s the outside area with plenty of picnic tables with room to spread out.

Watermark

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Here’s a second-level boardwalk venue with a view of the ocean on one side and the Stone Pony Summer Stage on the other. It’s more of a bar with high-octane cocktails as well as inventive mocktails, yet also sells snacks like za’atar fries, shawarma, pretzels and beer cheese, or skirt steak. If it rains, there’s also a handsome indoor bar with a fireplace.

Kimchi Mama

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With an original base in Fairlawn, New Jersey, Kimchi Mama opened a second location down the Shore a little over a year ago, bringing much-needed Korean cuisine to Asbury Park. For $10-12 you can get a filling bowl packed with meat, vegetables and kimchi over rice, accompanied by miso soup and extra kimchi. Share plates include Korean chicken wings, a crisp vegetable pancake, plus bubble tea and ice cream.

Purple Glaze Donuts

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Fluffy, cakey donuts are made daily at Purple Glaze. If you’re a sugar fiend, you’ll like the fancy and filled flavor options such as maple bacon, banana cream pie, and cannoli, but the plain and glazed donuts are a balance of sweetness.

Pascal & Sabine

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This brasserie is a crowd pleaser with an inviting dining room and a retro menu of tartare, shrimp cocktail, escargot, French onion soup, Dover sole, variations on steak frites, or the burger, if you must.

Cardinal Provisions

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Look for towering sandwiches and elegant sweet plates like a berry skillet cake in Cardinal’s green and sunny daytime spot. Start or end a meal with a pillowy xuixo: a fried pastry filled with cream and coated in sugar, which originated from the Catalonia region of Spain.

A dish from Cardinal Provisions.
Kim Chavez/Eater NY

Barrio Costero

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Mexican-inspired, experimental dishes and petite tacos layered with unusual embellishments like chayote slaw and chimichurri create the dynamic flavor experience at Barrio Costero. The expansive cocktail menu follows suit, with a wide range of bright and zesty drinks.

Cafe Volan

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This low-key operation is a go-to for high-quality coffee roasted by owners Douglas Parent and Paul Cali’s nearby roastery, Maiden Coffee. Pick up an iced latte, cold brew, or one of their seasonal iced teas to bring to the beach, or settle in among the many regulars.

The Bonney Read

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Go the bar food or the seafood route at this restaurant at the start of Cookman coming from the beach. There are plenty of outdoor tables as well as an expansive dining room with floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows for excellent streetscape people watching. For dinner, consider raw bar items, fish and chips, sausage and clam stew, or linguine with clam sauce.

Bond Street Bar

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Dimly-lit Bond Street offers casual bites for dinner or late night, including $10 burgers, $7 grilled cheeses with additions like bacon and apple, plus shoestring fries, onion rings, and more. The basement level of the bar hosts events and live music, accessed by passing through Bond’s connected partner restaurant, Capitoline.

Talula's

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At Talula’s, everything is baked, pickled, and fermented in-house: Sourdough loaves and pizza are essential to the menu, which features a roasted pastrami reuben sandwich loaded with red cabbage slaw, and the Beekeeper’s Lament pizza topped with soppressata and honey. Plant-based options are never boring here, like the “crab” cakes, hearty and layered in both texture and flavor.

Cookman Creamery

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This ice cream spot has an expansive selection of both dairy-based and vegan options, including honey lavender, blueberry pancake, and raspberry tulsi sorbet.

Locals revere Taka for the upscale atmosphere and the inventive sushi rolls like the Jun-San, a medley of tuna, avocado, salmon, and yellowtail with scallion, caramelized soy sauce, spicy mayo, and crunchy tempura. The ceilings are lofty, orb-like lights hang above the bar, and sake casks line the back wall of the main dining room.

A collection of sushi.
Sushi from Taka.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

The Windmill of Asbury Park

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This is for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with frilly or precious restaurants. Think big chili dogs and crinkle-cut cheese fries presented in paper boats (with little plastic spears to deliver each fry to your mouth). This fast-food chain only exists in New Jersey; other nearby locations include Long Branch, the original, and the only one with an actual windmill.

The Grand Tavern

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Though it’s among the more expensive restaurants around, the atmosphere at Grand Tavern is relaxed and rustic, with wood-beam ceilings and fixtures evoking English hunting culture. The menu is small and refined, celebrating beef, fat, butter, and cream. Expect small plates like fried sunchokes, and dishes such a. short-rib sauerbraten. The dessert on rotation won’t disappoint, including sticky toffee pudding in a pool of caramel, topped with fresh whipped cream and flaky salt. 

Braised red cabbage.
A dish from Grand Tavern.
Celia Buckley/Eater NY

Pete & Elda's Bar / Carmen's Pizzeria

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There’s always a wait for seats at Pete and Elda’s, a Neptune staple for 50 years, here for cheap beer, bar food, sports on the TVs, and a thinner than a Saltine crust pizza that’s attracted a legion of fans. Eat a whole extra large pie and get a free t-shirt, which, since it’s so light, happens all the time.

A giant, very thin pizza with peppers in a pizza box.
Pizza with pickled peppers from Pete and Elda’s.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

Heirloom at The St. Laurent

This boutique hotel offers poolside lunch, a swanky cocktail bar, and a comely dining room with a New American tasting menu from chef and partner David Viana.

Assorted dishes on a white tablecloth.
Assorted dishes at Heirloom at St. Laurent.
Heirloom at the St. Laurent.

Frank's Deli & Restaurant

With pics of the Boss along the wall and regulars at the counter, this solid luncheonette-style deli, open since 1960, bakes its own bread and offers an array of sandwiches and breakfast items for its fiercely loyal clientele. If you’re looking for a pork roll (no one says Taylor ham down the Shore), egg, and cheese for breakfast, order it here. Cash only.

Ada's Gojjo

Ada’s serves a mix of Ethiopian and Dominican dishes with a wide selection of meat and vegetarian options including mofongo as well as samplers served on homemade injera. The owner’s presence lends warmth to the experience.

Georgie’s Bar

Vibrant and welcoming, Georgie’s hosts events like drag and karaoke nights while serving snacky bar food and cheap drinks. Georgie’s has been a hearth for Asbury and the surrounding area’s LGBTQ+ community since 1999.

R BAR

Look for rillettes, pimento cheese, giant salads, and a chophouse menu at this two-story restaurant on the revitalizing Main Street. Don’t miss the second floor back bar for a solid list of cocktails and a no-nonsense beer and wine list.

Wonder Bar

Wonder Bar is home of the yappy hour, an outdoor sandy area with picnic tables where dogs lose their minds with excitement as they swim in baby pools while patrons drink Budweiser. This Asbury Park institution also features a regular roster of local performers like Springsteen cover band, Tramps Like Us. And it’s home to one of the best burgers in town.

The Diner at Asbury Lanes

Connected to Asbury Lanes, a revamped bowling alley, bar, and music venue, the Diner serves dishes like hot honey chicken and waffles or brioche french toast. The prices are steeper than a typical diner, but then again, most diners don’t offer a wagyu burger. Time your visit right and catch a sound check while there.

A milkshake on a counter.
A milkshake from the Diner at Asbury Lanes.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

Mi Cabana Restaurant

This small Mexican restaurant serves excellent tacos plus many other Latin American dishes like mofongo and Cuban sandwiches. Go for the tacos al pastor and send it home with the densely creamy flan or the coconut tres leches cake topped with peaches.

A taco from Mi Cabana.
A dish from Mi Cabana.
Kim Chavez/Mi Cabana

Jimmy's Italian Restaurant

A red sauce spot on the edge of town, Jimmy’s is the kind of place that was founded in the ’80s and hasn’t changed since. This past year, Paul McCartney stopped by when he was in town, with other visits from Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta, Danny DeVito, and Bruce Springsteen. Try to grab a seat at the bar and grab yourself some antipasti.

Wild Air Beerworks

Wild Air offers a diverse selection of lagers and wild ales each referencing works by literary giants. The brewery’s name evokes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Merlin’s Song.” Takeout is encouraged as you make your way through the tap list.

Porta Asbury Park

A sibling to the one in Jersey City, Porta offers a solid collection of salads, sides like meatballs and Italian sausage, and pizzas like the Spring Betty with goat cheese, spinach béchamel, spring onions, artichokes, and pecorino Romano. The bar is endless and the room has little to mute noise, so if the party-level volume is not your scene, there’s the outside area with plenty of picnic tables with room to spread out.

Watermark

Here’s a second-level boardwalk venue with a view of the ocean on one side and the Stone Pony Summer Stage on the other. It’s more of a bar with high-octane cocktails as well as inventive mocktails, yet also sells snacks like za’atar fries, shawarma, pretzels and beer cheese, or skirt steak. If it rains, there’s also a handsome indoor bar with a fireplace.

Kimchi Mama

With an original base in Fairlawn, New Jersey, Kimchi Mama opened a second location down the Shore a little over a year ago, bringing much-needed Korean cuisine to Asbury Park. For $10-12 you can get a filling bowl packed with meat, vegetables and kimchi over rice, accompanied by miso soup and extra kimchi. Share plates include Korean chicken wings, a crisp vegetable pancake, plus bubble tea and ice cream.

Purple Glaze Donuts

Fluffy, cakey donuts are made daily at Purple Glaze. If you’re a sugar fiend, you’ll like the fancy and filled flavor options such as maple bacon, banana cream pie, and cannoli, but the plain and glazed donuts are a balance of sweetness.

Pascal & Sabine

This brasserie is a crowd pleaser with an inviting dining room and a retro menu of tartare, shrimp cocktail, escargot, French onion soup, Dover sole, variations on steak frites, or the burger, if you must.

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Cardinal Provisions

Look for towering sandwiches and elegant sweet plates like a berry skillet cake in Cardinal’s green and sunny daytime spot. Start or end a meal with a pillowy xuixo: a fried pastry filled with cream and coated in sugar, which originated from the Catalonia region of Spain.

A dish from Cardinal Provisions.
Kim Chavez/Eater NY

Barrio Costero

Mexican-inspired, experimental dishes and petite tacos layered with unusual embellishments like chayote slaw and chimichurri create the dynamic flavor experience at Barrio Costero. The expansive cocktail menu follows suit, with a wide range of bright and zesty drinks.

Cafe Volan

This low-key operation is a go-to for high-quality coffee roasted by owners Douglas Parent and Paul Cali’s nearby roastery, Maiden Coffee. Pick up an iced latte, cold brew, or one of their seasonal iced teas to bring to the beach, or settle in among the many regulars.

The Bonney Read

Go the bar food or the seafood route at this restaurant at the start of Cookman coming from the beach. There are plenty of outdoor tables as well as an expansive dining room with floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows for excellent streetscape people watching. For dinner, consider raw bar items, fish and chips, sausage and clam stew, or linguine with clam sauce.

Bond Street Bar

Dimly-lit Bond Street offers casual bites for dinner or late night, including $10 burgers, $7 grilled cheeses with additions like bacon and apple, plus shoestring fries, onion rings, and more. The basement level of the bar hosts events and live music, accessed by passing through Bond’s connected partner restaurant, Capitoline.

Talula's

At Talula’s, everything is baked, pickled, and fermented in-house: Sourdough loaves and pizza are essential to the menu, which features a roasted pastrami reuben sandwich loaded with red cabbage slaw, and the Beekeeper’s Lament pizza topped with soppressata and honey. Plant-based options are never boring here, like the “crab” cakes, hearty and layered in both texture and flavor.

Cookman Creamery

This ice cream spot has an expansive selection of both dairy-based and vegan options, including honey lavender, blueberry pancake, and raspberry tulsi sorbet.

Taka

Locals revere Taka for the upscale atmosphere and the inventive sushi rolls like the Jun-San, a medley of tuna, avocado, salmon, and yellowtail with scallion, caramelized soy sauce, spicy mayo, and crunchy tempura. The ceilings are lofty, orb-like lights hang above the bar, and sake casks line the back wall of the main dining room.

A collection of sushi.
Sushi from Taka.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

The Windmill of Asbury Park

This is for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with frilly or precious restaurants. Think big chili dogs and crinkle-cut cheese fries presented in paper boats (with little plastic spears to deliver each fry to your mouth). This fast-food chain only exists in New Jersey; other nearby locations include Long Branch, the original, and the only one with an actual windmill.

The Grand Tavern

Though it’s among the more expensive restaurants around, the atmosphere at Grand Tavern is relaxed and rustic, with wood-beam ceilings and fixtures evoking English hunting culture. The menu is small and refined, celebrating beef, fat, butter, and cream. Expect small plates like fried sunchokes, and dishes such a. short-rib sauerbraten. The dessert on rotation won’t disappoint, including sticky toffee pudding in a pool of caramel, topped with fresh whipped cream and flaky salt. 

Braised red cabbage.
A dish from Grand Tavern.
Celia Buckley/Eater NY

Pete & Elda's Bar / Carmen's Pizzeria

There’s always a wait for seats at Pete and Elda’s, a Neptune staple for 50 years, here for cheap beer, bar food, sports on the TVs, and a thinner than a Saltine crust pizza that’s attracted a legion of fans. Eat a whole extra large pie and get a free t-shirt, which, since it’s so light, happens all the time.

A giant, very thin pizza with peppers in a pizza box.
Pizza with pickled peppers from Pete and Elda’s.
Melissa McCart/Eater NY

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