Craig LaBan’s favorite Shore restaurants for 2026, from LBI to Cape May

The best part of opening a Jersey Shore branch of a classic Philly pizzeria is that you have a built-in loyal clientele. It’s also the worst part. They know your pies better than anyone. The pizza at Alex's Pizza, an offshoot of a Roxborough standby since the 1960s, may not measure up to expectations yet, but the team these does do one thing especially well: smash burgers. The patties on LaBan's double stack were swiftly griddled to an impressively crisp and lacy skirt, then layered with onions and oozy cheese that trapped all of its juices. They’re worth the trip.

The sweets menu at Nicole Callazzo’s revamp of Made Atlantic City Chocolate Bar is anchored by an ambitious bean-to-bar chocolate program. While there are more sophisticated chocolatiers in the region, the quality of Callazzo’s small-batch chocolates is satisfying in a straightforward way. You can sample several specialties on a tiered platter, which brings multiple shades of chocolate bars, double fudge brownies, chocolate mousse, and various bonbons. Try it while sipping a martini infused with the bar’s own 60% cocoa chocolate, or add on one of their whiskey flights.

This chilaquiles specialist stands out among not just the Shore’s Americanized Mexican food, but also the dozen-plus more traditional Mexican restaurants just six miles north of Somers Point in Pleasantville. Chilqueria Los Girasoles’ menu includes nine salsa combos that are used to sauté tortilla chips until they achieve the perfect balance of crunch and softness (they’ll even ask your preference). LaBan's ultimate pick is the traditional salsa roja and salsa verde. Top them with your protein of choice, like eggs and steak or salted cecina beef, then plan for a nap when you’re done. 

China Sea is a Shore dining scene survivor, thriving for 31 years in an unassuming Absecon strip mall. Founders Lily Lin and her husband, chef Chei Lin, delivered consistently good Cantonese food with a special distinction: much of it is gluten-free. Chinese food can be tricky for those with gluten intolerance, but the restaurant's General Tso’s chicken is especially impressive, as is its shrimp in peppery Hunan sauce, perfectly deep-fried chicken “wing dings” in a crackly salt-baked crust, and savory beef with peppers. The restaurant’s commitment to consistency is a good thing. China Sea's ownership has been in transition since September, when the Lins retired. The new owners — Lily’s niece, Melissa Xie, and her husband, chef Billy Zheng — have plans to introduce more traditional seafood dishes from Zheng’s home province of Fujian.

Takeout can be tricky at the Tide Table Group’s popular LBI restaurants — Parker’s Garage, Bird & Betty’s, Black Whale, Ship Bottom Shellfish — where diners are willing to wait up to two hours for a seat. The group now has a solution with Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes in Beach Haven, a fast-casual destination for some of their greatest hits. The kitchen’s best assets are all about the crisp. The fried chicken is the same crackle-crusted, buttermilk-fried bird from Parker’s Garage. There are two crab cakes styles, but LaBan picks the baked version from Parker’s, which are made from sweet lump crab bound by a béarnaise sauce flavored with tarragon and Old Bay (and gluten-free, to boot). Don’t leave without a side of deep-fried green-tomato tots covered in drizzles of zesty pimento cheese, either.

Steve & Cookie’s Cookie Till has been remaking the half-century-old Florida Cold Cuts & Liquors deli since 2022, but the space’s biggest changes came this year. Till removed “cold” from the name, upgrading the classic sub shop into an artisan sourdough bakery with grab-and-go items on focaccia and sesame-speckled semolina baguettes. There is nothing like the new Florida Cuts in the Shore's sandwich scene. The shop draws on local grains to make stellar loaves that have integrity and flavor. They’re used for outstanding original sandwiches, from the minimalist (focaccia laced with mortadella, ricotta, and pistachios) to the maximalist (freshly roasted turkey layered with Steve & Cookie’s signature “ugly tomato salad,” gorgonzola, and crispy shallots). The tuna salad, fragrant with lemon zest and crunchy peperoncini rings, is a sleeper hit, and the ham and butter on a sesame semolina loaf can compete with Philly’s best.

With confectionary-sounding coffee drinks that include dulce de leche, dot cake, and banana bread appearing on menus up and down the Shore, it’s become clear that running a cafe in 2026 is about thinking like a pastry chef and a barista. I’m not a dessert-coffee fan, which is why I kept returning to Guapo’s in LBI. Their specialty lattes still taste like they actually include coffee. The Salty Dog — their most viral drink — delivers a toasty undertow of the house blend of Ethiopian and Colombian beans, roasted to a medium hue by Yellow Dog Roasters in Manahawkin. All of the coffee shop’s add-in ingredients are made in-house, from the sea-salted caramel syrup in that Salty Dog to the cold foam turned sky blue with organic spirulina. It looks like a beach day in a cup.

The team behind Gully’s in Avalon is betting on its “sassy but good-natured” weekend-only seagull mascot — along with competitive Monday minnow races and updated American pub fare — to bring some “old-school beachy vibes” to their makeover of the former Black Cactus space. It just might work. The restaurant is more affordable than its predecessor, with a menu that is also a notch better than it has to be. Hits include a well-built chicken Caesar wrap, plump shrimp for the feta-dusted Mediterranean salad, and “skinny” crushes made with fresh juice and seltzer (not soda) to wash it all down. Stick with Gully’s more straightforward items and you’ll be fine. Order the clothesline of candied bacon, too.

It took eight years for the Tide Table Group to complete Hollow Pines, a sprawling compound in the Pinelands with an outdoor bar, bocce courts, duckpin bowling, and an A-frame cabin that serves upscale comfort food. Chef Al Cuff’s menu spans beach-adjacent bites, from rich crab chowder and pull-apart hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry to oysters broiled in zesty Calabrian chili butter and a s’mores doughnut. Most of the menu is equal parts delicious and on-theme, though some items are a bit too cute, like the salad with sour cream-and-onion dressing and potato chips. Still, the restaurant is a nice reminder that New Jersey summers can be just as tasty in the forest as at the beach.

Il Riccio is anything but ordinary, and not simply because of the lofty prices. With some entrees in the triple digits, you may wonder if the food is gilded. Some of it, like the $99 cacio e pepe risotto stamped with 24-karat gold and topped with A5 Wagyu tenderloin, actually is. Still, the 50-seat BYOB doesn’t use gimmicks as a stand-in for quality. Cured ham aficionados will find rare treasures here, from the acorn-fed Spanish Ibérico ham sliced from a rolling cart to the multiple varieties of Italian culatello available with truffled sottocenere cheese. You can try the restaurant’s signature baby octopus — a pom-pom of grilled tentacles over spicy broccoli rabe — on its slightly more affordable lunch menu. LaBan also recommends the soulfully stewed beef braciole stuffed with pecorino and the gnocchi in a pool of a pastel-green gorgonzola blended with pistachios.

The vast menu at this standby on Ocean City’s northern end offers classics like fish tacos, crab imperial, and fried or broiled fish platters from its extensive fresh-catch board. The 30-year-old restaurant also has an extensive selection of gluten-free offerings, carefully made to avoid cross-contamination. The pecan-crusted salmon, key lime pie, and twin crab cakes were so good that LaBan's celiac daughter questioned whether she’d received the wrong order. She had not. 

The Shore already has plenty of options for your daily scoop, but Jersey Cow — a fast-growing chain of takeout windows — has come to play. Their ice cream is made from high-fat milk that allows for more vivid flavors with less sugar. Chocolate Therapy is fudgy and intense, while Bordeaux cherry chip has a more fruit-forward punch than the typical maraschino version. LaBan plans to go back for their originals, especially the Asian flavors featured as rotating specials — ube, black sesame, mango sticky rice, and red bean — inspired by co-owner Maureen Gaw’s upbringing in Myanmar.

Steve’s Grilled Cheese is out. Johnny Cutlets is in. This smartly revamped Sea Isle City shop is already making a serious bid to join the elite ranks of the Jersey Shore’s sandwich derby. The cutlets are the main event, hand-breaded with two kinds of crumbs, Parmesan, and herbes de Provence, then fried at a lower-than-usual temperature to maintain the juicy tenderness of a home-cooked cutlet. The cutlet sandwiches are impressive, especially the South Philly-style signature, served with sharp provolone, broccoli rabe, and a long hot draped over a seeded Aversa’s roll. Don’t sleep on Johnny’s steaks, either.

You can easily miss Joy & Salt Cafe, located in an understated storefront near an intersection where drivers slingshot on and off the causeway to LBI. But it’s worth stopping at this Ship Bottom newcomer, a collaboration between veteran chefs Jordan Miller and Jimi Savianeso that’s a last-ditch effort to preserve the charm of old-school BYOBs. The menu focuses on scratch cooking and local ingredients, which means flavorful chowder made from just-dug whole clams, slices of locally fished grilled tuna on brioche, or bountiful shrimp cocktail tossed in a saucy Mexican-style marinade. The duo routinely cook fresh-off-the-boat seafood specials for dinner, but The duo routinely cook fresh-off-the-boat seafood specials for dinner, but the menu's homey Italian touch comes natural to Savianeso, whose North Jersey upbringing imbues his cooking with a nonna-esque magic.

When it comes to island refreshments, Greece has a head start of a few thousand years on the Jersey Shore. So I was excited that the family behind Ocean City’s classic Greek diner, Yianni’s Cafe, opened Kyma on Asbury Avenue. The frozen-treat destination offers something different than the norm: Greek-style frozen yogurt that carries a refreshing tartness. Its elaborately composed bowls are eye-catching — especially the Beach Baklava, a swirling tower of frozen yogurt drizzled with chocolate, pistachios, berries, and flaky hunks of baklava pastry. Another bowl comes scattered with crunchy kataifi, almonds, and honey, while a third is Dubai chocolate-themed and drenched in green pistachio sauce. The other prime bonus is the bold punch of their frappés, a Greek specialty invented in 1957 that whips instant Nescafé with sugar, water, and milk to create a stiff peak. Shaken with ice, it becomes a powerfully caffeinated foam.

The Exit Zero Filling Station has been salvaged and transformed into a vision of Greece with Mediterrano. Owner Florian Furxhiu uses the playbook from Santorini, the popular Greek haunt he owns in Wildwood, to mixed results. The Greek meatballs in tomato sauce were unyieldingly dense, and the single-serving moussaka lacked the satisfaction of the traditional large-format casserole. The big lamb shank, however, was impressively tender, and the butterflied whole branzino — a favorite at Santorini — was as good as ever, its delicate white flesh glazed in lemony butter sauce and capers. I have little doubt Furxhiu’s team will level up its other dishes as summer progresses.

This charming new prepared foods shop in Stone Harbor checks off a bucket-list wish for Jennie Mopsik, who wanted to work alongside her mom and dad in the Shore town where she lives all year. It’s inspired by the home entertaining she saw her parents, Eugene and Helen Mopsik, refine over the years. The shelves are stocked with well-chosen products, from top-notch pasta and Samaki smoked fish to frozen pierogies from Port Richmond’s Czerw’s Polish Kielbasa. But the real gems here are the daily specials cooked by her dad, a retired photographer who became known as the “Philly Loxsmith” in his tenure at Biederman’s, where he rediscovered a love of cooking. At Mother’s, you’ll find Eugene whipping up homey daily soups (cream of asparagus, gazpacho, matzo ball), fresh quiches, muffins, and excellent grab-and-go salads. They include his legendary whitefish and a farmer’s cheese spread blended with labne, shallots, and dill.

If there’s a 20-plus minute wait for your food at Nana’s Good Eats, it’s for a good reason. Nothing hits the fryer before you order from this soul food hub, located in Atlantic City’s Tanger Outlet mall. Nana’s serves up a huge portion of plump, lemon-scented fried whiting sealed inside a delicate cornmeal crust, just as owner Samantha Prescott’s grandpa taught her as a child. Prescott’s cooking chops are also evident in the sides. The mac and cheese retained the almost fluffy texture of perfectly cooked cavatappi while the five-cheese sauce remained creamy. Braised collards were infused with the whiff of smoked turkey wings. On the sweet side is Prescott’s pudding, a holdover from her now-closed sweet shop in the Hamilton Mall. The build-your-own options are vast, with 30 different base puddings, crunchy cookie add-ins, and various crumbles.

Since fire-roasted chicken is in the name, it’s no surprise that the juicy birds turning on a rotisserie spit are the big draw to Pedro Rincon’s restaurant in downtown Pleasantville. Pollos Asados’ whole birds are served in cut-up pieces in a Styrofoam box alongside a side of refried beans with rice, a bundle of fresh-pressed tortillas, and squeeze bottles of vibrant salsas. Rincon’s kitchen has other gems, like the large deshebrada de res quesadilla, a stew of tender shredded beef on a pliant half-corn half-flour tortilla.

Jersey Shore pizza has been trending toward thicker crusts in recent years, rising from cardboard-thin rounds that have long been the boardwalk prototype. LBI’s entrant into the Detroit-style pizza game is Queen City Crust, a former pop-up sensation in its third year as a standalone Beach Haven storefront. Here, owner Troy Sambalino can crank out 200 pies on a busy Friday night, enough to earn him the top spot on NJ.com’s 2025 shore pizzeria ranking. Sambalino has a patient approach to his dough, which has an impressively airy interior after a two-day cold ferment. Mozzarella and tangy cheddar are his cheese combo of choice. A 10-by-13-inch pan easily feeds four people, but Queen City also sells pies by the slice so you can taste a variety of toppings, like cup-and-char pepperoni drizzled with hot honey or puddles of milky burrata laced with bright tomato sauce and topped with basil.

Chef Syed Abbas is best known for the Nizam’s, the well-regarded Egg Harbor Township Indian restaurant that he owned for 15 years before selling in 2022. After three years of shadowing in kitchens across the Middle East, the New Delhi-born chef is back with a restaurant that draws on his family’s Persian roots. Ruhani Kitchen is a delight, its menu a greatest-hits list of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes from Lebanon to Afghanistan. Abbas’ skills shine through in the quality halal ingredients and satisfying flavors, starting with the smoky baba ghanoush and fava bean falafel. The main highlight, however, is the Sultan’s Platter: a generous medley of grilled meats that include lamb and chicken kebabs tenderized with yogurt and fragrant seven spice; succulent shell-on shrimp; and ground chicken and lamb adana kebabs scented with cumin and sumac. It lands on the table like a showstopper and easily feeds a crowd.

Restaurateurs Tanya and Petar Petrov turned to the bay beside their Ventnor home for inspiration when it came to remaking Petar's former Cafe Velo into Rustico, a naturalistic dinner cove wrapped in plastered-wall montages of foraged driftwood, sea moss, and rocks. The menu is still decidedly Italian, with enough overlap for Ventnorians to get some tried-and-true Cafe Velo classics like arancini, linguine with vongole, and chicken parm. Now with an expanded kitchen and dining rooms, the revamped restaurant is able to undertake ambitious specials like broiled lobster and linguine feasts for two. Fresh seafood remains their strength. Moist and meaty halibut set over purees of cauliflower and carrot was fantastic, a special-turned-standby from chef de cuisine Lorenzo Hernandez.

Fantastic made-to-order strombolis and a gloriously messy Buffalo chicken cheesesteak might be better calling cards for the Wildwood outpost of this popular South Philly sandwich stand from Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, the infamous wiseguy to cheesesteak mogul. The marquee cheesesteaks are consistent and better than anticipated, but not quite elite, with barely cooked onions that needed more love and a piece of gristle among otherwise tender meat. The pizza is average.

The third reboot of Atlantic City’s favorite secret gastropub might be the spark that finally gives the Tennessee Avenue development some momentum. True to its speakeasy roots, the Iron Room is tucked into an enclosed back-alley patio accessed through the rear door of another establishment, Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails. The Manhattan and mezcal-washed Storm Queen were some of the best cocktails LaBan sipped this summer, while the small plates that emerge from the shipping-container kitchen were pure fusion fun. The menu resurrects some old Iron Room hits — like truffled udon mac and cheese — but chef Kevin Cronin's new creations are equally bold. The spicy Oaxacan chorizo meatballs glazed in red salsa and shavings of Bar 32 chocolate were a favorite, along with the boneless Korean-fried chicken and a rich pasta carbonara that blushed with Korean gochujang spice.

A notable counterpart to the pierogie heaven that is Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach is the Pierogie Place, which has two stands on the Wildwood Boardwalk and an outpost in Lincoln Financial Field. Founders Liz and Bohdan Kulchyckyj view the six-year-old operation as a tribute to Ukraine, where they lived for two decades as expats. The draws are, obviously, the pierogies (or “vareniki,” as they’re called in Ukraine) offered in a variety of fillings and served with deeply caramelized onions and a dollop of sour cream. The potato and farmer’s cheese filling is LaBan's first choice, with the jalapeño-cheddar stuffing a close second — even better when crowned with a snappy link of kielbasa. Don’t miss the dessert of sweet cheese dumplings topped with berries and a cloud of whipped cream.

The scene at Tideline on the bay behind Margate City, where full restaurant service is offered on deck to 30 moored boats and 12 Jet Skis at a time, could make anyone have yacht envy. But this splashy yearling from the family behind Tomatoe's has enough room in its 240-seat, multi-floor bar complex for everyone to nibble, imbibe, and observe. Given the swanky setting, chef Carlo Marsini’s food is a notch better than it has to be, from generously stuffed truffle cheesesteaks and chicken Italiano cutlet sandwiches to shot glasses stuffed with fried soft-shell crab halves dunked into poblano-spiced avocado green crema. Also on offer: A $1.1 million top-shelf vodka cocktail that comes with a custom speedboat. It has no takers — yet.

Ripe fruit is juiced daily for the dangerously smooth Crush cocktails at this longstanding West Wildwood bar. Made with all-natural ingredients, they come in four flavors: orange, grapefruit, pineapple, watermelon. “These drinks are my babies,” said bar manager and chef Billy Scott. “I’m definitely the King of Crushes now.” Scott is also responsible for the strokes of whimsy — or cheese crimes against seafood, depending on your perspective — that enable Westside Saloon to tout itself as a booming “five-star dive bar,” with one of the Shore’s most unusual seafood menus, headlined by the iconic scallop Reuben. It’s an odd combination that should not work, but the plump Jersey scallops offer a meaty alternative to corned beef, with a briny sweetness that harmonizes with the tangy sauerkraut, piquant Swiss cheese, and butter-toasted rye. It’s not Scott’s only seafood-and-dairy gambit. His most audacious creation is the option to order your seafood “blue,” or bathed in gorganzola-blended marinara. It added an unexpectedly appealing funk to a bountiful seafood pasta.