Welcome to the NJ.com food and culture team’s local dining guide series! For the next several months, our writers will publish a weekly guide to eating in a different foodie hub, tapping 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!
Over the last two decades, Asbury Park’s reputation has shifted mightily, from a ramshackle shell of a once-prominent Shore town to a chic destination for all things food, drink and fun. Along the boardwalk and Cookman Avenue downtown drag, dozens of restaurants battle for attention from locals and tourists alike. Storefronts open and close each season, only the strong survive.
While most of Asbury Park’s enduring restaurants are perfectly serviceable, fortune favors more adventurous eaters amid the city’s list of cuisines. If you’re hungry enough, you could devour delicious Ethiopian, Dominican, Korean, French and coastal Mexican food — plus a pizza or two — in a single day at the beach.
As so many of Asbury Park’s restaurants now charge vacation-level prices, research is key before booking a coveted reservation to maximize satisfaction. That’s where we come in! Yes, the guy who used to rank every single Asbury Park restaurant is back with a more exclusive list, highlighting mainstays and a few new faces.
Here are Asbury Park’s top 11 restaurants, ranked by food quality, creativity, service and overall bang for your buck. Happy eating!
11. The Black Swan Public House
After much success with The Bonney Read — the city’s stalwart seafood haven —chef/owner James Avery turned his attention to the European gastropub concept in 2021, opening The Black Swan just a block away on Mattison. The low-lit hall screams British, with soccer club scarves hung above the bar and loads of kitsch nailed to the walls: large-mouth bass, weathered tennis rackets, wooden waterfowl and loads of faux flowers. Diners are best-served clinging to the theme here; the Scotch egg and sausage roll are smart starters, and the classic shepherd’s pie is the obvious stick-to-ribs fare with excellent depth of flavor. The menu’s ambitious twists, like chicken tikka masala, are less successful.
Try: The traditional shepherd’s pie, with ground beef and lamb ($28)
10. Dolce Fantasia
Expanding from Staten Island to the Jersey Shore in March, Dolce Fantasia is the newest restaurant on this list — and perhaps the boldest. Chef/owner John Djonbalaj’s menu, mostly Northern Italian with touches of French influence, rivals some diners in its immensity. The banana-yellow dining room is open morning, noon and night six days a week. This might suggest, like many diners, a quantity-over-quality approach. Not the case; Dolce Fantasia is detail-oriented, creative and a lively option for locals and tourists searching for fresh eats. The appetizers are exquisitely presented (go for the tuna tartare or baked zucchini flowers with mascarpone). But the house-made pasta is a must; simple, bright and reasonably priced (for downtown Asbury, anyway). Here’s hoping this ambitious newbie sticks around.
Try: The pappardelle al telefono nostro, with tomato cream sauce and mozzarella ($18)
9. Talula’s
Since 2015, Talula’s has thrived on Cookman Avenue, elevating its pizza-plus program beyond the hipster-chic frivolity of its exposed brick, light woods and much of its clientele. While chefs/owners Shanti and Steve Mignogna continue to anchor the restaurant with delicious Neapolitan-style pies, Talula’s excels elsewhere, with specials, pop-ups and menu swaps: The chicken satay hoagie, currently available this spring, is an addictive flavor bomb. Their bright salads and rotating “grill cheese of the day” are fine choices, too, as is the salt-lovers’ pastrami hash for brunch. With less competition from now-defunct Medusa (closed last year on Main), it’s essentially a two-horse race in Asbury Park for best upscale pizza restaurant: Talula’s versus Porta, the city’s wood-fired institution. While both are fine options, I give the edge to Talula’s.
Try: The beekeeper’s lament (pizza), with hot calabrian soppressata and local honey ($20)
8. Plaza Tapatia
Any local worth their guac knows Tapatia offers the city’s finest authentic Mexican food. Long-standing and lively, Tapatia endures on Main Street beside its attached grocery store (grab some paletas on your way out) as a go-to for both the Americanized staples — tacos, enchiladas, fajitas; the latter a two-for-one bargain on Thursdays — and well-loved entrees you definitely won’t find at Chipotle. The bistec encebollado (grilled steak with onions) and tlayuda mixta oaxaqueña (crunchy tortilla piled with meats, avocado and jalapeños) and winners, but please, do not leave Tapatia without the show-stopping molcajete (or a few sips of michelada). The dining room is exciting and vibrant: from vivid traditional Mexican murals to the sign that reads “para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, tambien.” (“For all evil, mezcal, and for all good, too”).
Try: The molcajete jelipe el Tapatio, a stone bowl of carnitas pork, onions, chile peppers, avocado, Mexican cheese and choice of sauce ($26)
7. Kimchi Mama Dalgona
Relocating from its takeout-only Fair Lawn location last year, Kimchi Mama now spices up the downtown scene with Korean fusion and flare. On chef/owner Justin Hwang’s menu, there’s a deep well of flavor: Cupbop (Korean barbecue in a cup), Korean barbecue, burritos, bibimbap, stir fried, soups, pancakes, stone bowls, and chicken wings. For lighter fare, grab a bowl of miso soup and some savory Korean pancakes; crispy but not greasy and loaded with veggies. Or if you’re starving, go for the sizzling chicken hot stone bowl — just be careful of (very) hot sauce on the table! Cool off with some soft-serve ice cream or bubble tea.
Try: The bulgogi bibimbap, with beef, rice, seasonal vegetables and egg ($17)
6. Ada’s Gojjo
Ethiopian and Dominican cuisines collide at Ada’s, a humble restaurant on the city’s north end, in a Memorial Drive strip mall that also includes The Galley, an excellent pizza and wings spot. This incredibly tasty fusion joint relocated from Long Branch in 2019, and has since built its name as a staple for locals craving doro wot or mofongo — and a gateway for not-so-adventurous eaters to try something new. The Ethiopian side of the menu tends to be more successful, as most meat entrees are delicately spiced and served on an injera — a pancake-like flatbread soaking up the juice — with sides of fresh vegetables. Their golden-fried empanadas make our best-of list every year, and they serve a helluva cheesesteak for takeout. A sleepy spot most of the week, Ada’s fills up on weekend nights and regularly welcomes local artists for some musical ambiance. Pound-for-pound, it’s perhaps the city’s best hidden gem.
Try: The doro wot (chicken legs sauteed in Ethiopian butter and red pepper sauce), with two veggie choices ($21)
5. Barrio Costero
It’s simple enough: If you crave traditional Mexican food, head to Tapatia (above). But if you’re down for a more modern and seasonal approach dripping with surprises and passion, Barrio Costero is a necessity. Since 2016, Barrio has cemented its place as a destination for chic-yet-accessible eats with a banner cocktail program and flirty vibes — you may not find a better first-date spot (or a margarita) in the city. Taco Tuesday is huge here — the fish tacos ($22 for three) are habit-forming — though diners are better served visiting throughout the year to observe how the menu evolves. In a recent update, their spring-inspired takes on huarache and classic roasted chicken mark the latest banner plates.
Try: The chicken, with sikil p’aak (think pumpkin seed salsa), greens, turnips, citrus. ($24)
4. Taka
Takahiro Hirai’s high-end Japanese restaurant — a bounty of sushi, shumai and teriyaki — has been a staple on Cookman Avenue since moving to the larger space (from neighboring Mattison Avenue) in 2014. The dining room is among Asbury Park’s most distinct and gorgeous, awash with colorful murals and warm globe lights. But Taka is far from all style; every dish I’ve tried here over the last decade has been delicately prepared. Sushi lovers choose from about two-dozen rolls (the red dragon and tataki shrimp are killer), but don’t sleep on the entrees — the braised short rib touts unreal depth of flavor. Reservations are highly recommended for weekends, as tables are always full and the bar packed with stylish minglers.
Try: The braised short ribs, with wasabi mashed potatoes, frizzled onions and green beans ($34)
3. Pascal and Sabine
Upon the closure of Madame Claude’s in Jersey City last year, Pascal and Sabine is now certainly in the conversation for most impressive French brasserie in New Jersey (a very specific title, but hey). The place has become something of a fine-dining institution in downtown Asbury Park, with well-to-do diners piling in for butter-soaked escargot, peerless steak tartare and decadent fromage and charcuterie boards. The circular bar and lounge in the front of the space makes for an invigorating nightlife stop, though locals know to make a reservation, stay a while and stuff themselves full of coq au vin and pork chops (the latter’s spring preparation, with chili peach glazed, Swiss chard, confit fingerling potatoes, is divine). Finish with the pot de crème, which is simply the most perfect dessert in the city.
Try: The milk chocolate pot de crème, with caramel and sea salt ($12)
2. Brando’s Citi Cucina
Like most of New Jersey’s culinary hubs, Asbury Park overflows with Italian food, which ranges from serviceable to stupendous. The fact that Jimmy’s — open for more than 40 years on Asbury Avenue with a dedicated fanbase — isn’t even on this list speaks volumes about the city’s ever-rising foodie standards. But Brando’s on Main Street remains a true beacon of the cuisine, a high-end pantheon of pasta and pesce. To that latter end, the perfectly seared scallops with zucchini risotto and pistachio brown butter remains the best seafood dish in Asbury Park. As the name might suggest, chef/owner Steven Botta’s dining room is old-school; Billy Joel on the stereo, heavy white-cloth napkins, well-dressed waiters. But the rotating specials spice things up a little; a recent trip yielded some excellent lobster cannelloni, as well as the luxurious filet mignon agnolotti. Brando’s is ripe for family dinners and special occasions, a winner at every pass.
Try: The scallops, with zucchini risotto and pistachio brown butter ($32)
1. Heirloom at The St. Laurent
Hidden away on residential Seventh Avenue, well away from the bustle and impossible parking of Cookman and the boardwalk, Heirloom at The St. Laurent is a masterclass in precision and flavor. Helmed by chef David Viana, a former “Top Chef” contestant and James Beard nominee, the new American knockout is a spinoff of his highly acclaimed Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge. Though this restaurant, opened last year inside the newly renovated St. Laurent boutique hotel (formerly the Hotel Tides), expands on Viana’s commitment to excellence. If you’re lucky enough to snag a table, you’re treated to an impeccable pre-fixe experience with deeply knowledgeable staff in the airy, sea-kissed dining room. If this all sounds a little hoity-toity, well, it is. But my god, the food. The menu changes regularly enough, but what always stays is the duck. I beseech you; order the duck. Never had duck? Order the duck. You think you know duck? Order the duck.
If you’re down for a splurge, Heirloom is among the Jersey Shore’s latest and greatest destination dining locales. And while you’ll enjoy your meal at any spot on this list, none will make you quite as devastated to depart.
Try: The duck, with blood orange marmalade, red endive brûlée, black rice, burnt onion jus (part of three-course pre-fixe, $89).
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Bobby Olivier may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook.