With a beach, a boardwalk, and an aquarium, Point Pleasant is a vacation spot that attracts families from the surrounding New Jersey area, New York and across the U.S. But along with all of your shopping, scuba diving and lying by the beach, you'll need to stop and have a bite to eat, and luckily Point Pleasant caters to most budgets while specializing, of course, in seafood.
If you're in the mood for fresh, locally caught and inexpensive seafood, Spike's is the place for you. A local and tourist favorite, you'll have to wait in line to order favorites like lobster chowder, the tuna-melt sandwich, crab cakes and lobster tails. This laid-back crabhouse may also surprise you with its more upscale signature dishes such as flounder stuffed with jumbo lump crabmeat, the Dungeness crab dinner and mussels marinara.
Spike's Fish Market and Restaurant
415 Broadway
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
732-295-9400
Despite the name, Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty is a fine dining establishment that also caters to special occasions such as weddings. Sitting on the water's edge, diners take in house specialties from chef Mark D'Angelo including lobster ravioli with white truffle butter, grilled sea scallops topped with a brandied red grape cream sauce and blue crab cakes served with filet mignon. Oyster fans can try the raw bar, which also serves clams, shrimp cocktail and chilled Alaskan king crab legs. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday but you can come in for dinner or for Sunday brunch, which is held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty
83 Channel Drive
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
732-899-6700
jackbakerslobstershanty.com
This resident staple seems quite unassuming upon entrance, but having been featured in the "New York Times", Zagat, and "Country Living" magazine, its 12 tables are almost always full at mealtimes, and patrons often wait for a table while eating appetizers on the restaurant's outdoor deck. The specials boards are changed twice each day with items like grilled clams, Asian squid salad and fish tacos.
Red's Lobster Pot
57 Inlet Drive
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
732-295-6622
redslobsterpot.com
If you need a break from seafood, this Irish pub serves steaks, salads, sandwiches and Irish dishes such as fish and chips and shepherd's pie along with plenty of ales, stouts and beers. Stop in on Tuesday night for a $3.50 Guinness and two-for-one corned beef along with live music, or during happy hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for half-price appetizers including Irish nachos and a dish called the Molly Malone, which is cockles and mussels sautéed in butter and white wine served with garlic toast points.
Farrell's Stout and Steak
401 Broadway
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742
732-892-2090
farrellsstoutandsteak.com
