The Essential Seafood Restaurants of the Jersey Shore

Crab Shack Seafood Market and Restaurant

The Crab Shack Seafood Market and Restaurant in Brigantine offers a bevy of fresh seafood offerings for dine-in or takeout. The fresh, wild caught seafood market and restaurant provides you with the option to grab a seat at one of the outdoor picnic tables and dive into your hot lobster roll sandwich, served with French fries and coleslaw, or savor the homemade jumbo lump crab cake platter with two sides, including baked potato, vegetable of the day, or another one of your favorite side dishes. You can also order your seafood favorites to go and enjoy your Old Bay-steamed king crab legs at home with family and friends after a fun day at the beach.

Dock’s Oyster House

For a fine dining option filled with seafood fare, Dock’s Oyster House is an optimal choice. This popular Atlantic City restaurant, owned by the same family since 1897, offers a full raw bar and other seafood specialties, including tempting Manhattan chowder, pan roasted branzino with lemon beurre blanc sauce, and pecan crusted salmon in a zesty horseradish sauce. Accompany your lobster tail or crab meat au gratin entrees—menu staples since the restaurant first opened in 1897—with a glass of cabernet or sauvignon blanc to complete the meal.

Betty’s Seafood Shack

Betty’s Seafood Shack in Margate offers New England-style seafood dishes that can be enjoyed with an awe-inspiring bayside view. Watch the sun set bayside as you enjoy classic lobster rolls, fried shrimp platters, and flavorful New England clam chowder or dine indoors while savoring hand-breaded clam strips with fries and coleslaw and blackened yellowfin tuna along with your favorite BYOB option.

Steve & Cookie’s By the Bay

Margate restaurant favorite Steve and Cookie’s is a high in demand dining spot, especially during the summer season. Grab the coveted table reservation for a night out at this James Beard Awards-nominated establishment and enjoy seafood samplings such as jumbo lump crab pasta, lobster tail, or a bouillabaisse concoction filled with shrimp, clams, scallops, and fish, completed with pernod, saffron broth, tuscan bread, and saffron aioli.

Smitty’s Clam Bar

When you’ve spent a long day lounging at the beach or cruising along the back bays, you’re probably ready for a casual seafood feast and Smitty’s Clam Bar is an excellent option. Known for its popular clam offerings, this seasonal Somers Point seafood shack on the bay also offers other tempting seafood bites, such as fried clam strips, baked sea scallops, fried crab cakes, and creative daily specials.

The Crab Trap

The Crab Trap in Somers Point is just a quick trip over the Ocean City Ninth Street bridge and well worth the short car ride for the restaurant’s famous creamy crab bisque and baked crab imperial. This popular restaurant is bustling all seasons throughout the year, especially during the summer, and for good reason—the expansive menu offers something for all seafood lovers to enjoy, from the deviled clams appetizer to the blackened mahi mahi entree.

Tuckahoe Inn

Situated in Marmora/Beesley’s Point on the mainland, not far from Ocean City’s 34th Street bridge, is the sensational seafood spot Tuckahoe Inn. Enjoy the red snapper pontchartrain and broiled sea scallops gratine entrees in the indoor dining room’s pleasantly cool climate or satisfy your seafood cravings outside on the seasonal Back Bay Cafe bayside deck where you can grab a crab imperial grilled cheese, clams casino, and other seafood bar bites while listening to live music and taking in the water views.

Spadafora’s Seafood

Ocean City’s Spadafora’s offers seafood offerings galore, including freshly prepared hot seafood platters and steamer buckets to cook at home. Local flounder, cooked-and-cleaned shrimp, and Cape May salt oysters are some of the products you’ll find at this centrally located seafood market with convenient street parking right in front. If you’re looking for a prepared seafood platter to enjoy at home, try the fried flounder, coconut jumbo shrimp, or broiled shrimp and scallop combo platters with your choice of two sides, such as red potato salad, corn on the cob, and coleslaw.

Mike’s Seafood

Mike’s Seafood in Sea Isle City is a must-visit spot on the dining lists of many shore vacationers. Diners at this popular bayside restaurant can BYOB their favorite libations to accompany savory seafood offerings, such as lobster bisque, Old Bay crab balls, steamed clams in butter garlic white wine sauce, and fresh Jersey flounder.

Marie’s Lobster House

Situated along Fish Alley in Sea Isle City you’ll find Marie’s Seafood featuring a bountiful fried and broiled fish menu from which to choose your favorites when you dine on the dock at this seasonal restaurant. The fried shrimp platter, lobster roll, and broiled flounder entree are some tempting options to add to your order. If you want to take your seafood specialties to go, the fresh cooked seafood items are available at the convenient takeout market.

Oceanside Seafood

Oceanside Seafood of Avalon has been serving fresh seafood offerings to Jersey Shore locals and vacationers for almost two decades. Dine in at this BYOB spot and enjoy ahi tuna salad, broiled or fried sea scallops, and whole steamed lobster or grab some entrees to go and share a fresh seafood meal with friends and family in the comfort of your shore house.

Back Bay Seafood

Back Bay Seafood in Stone Harbor helps you with your seafood search with its expansive takeout menu. The family-owned restaurant offers generously sized crab cakes, mussels, broiled scallops, and shrimp scampi to name a few seafood favorites. You’ll also find this popular to-go restaurant at the Stone Harbor Farmers Market during the summer season where the spicy crab dip is high in demand and sure to keep you coming back for more each week.

Hooked Up Seafood

Hooked Up Seafood is your go-to spot for an impressive seafood menu and dockside dining in Wildwood. The family-owned and operated restaurant and market puts the focus on fresh, local seafood and offers a bevy of seafood favorites including stone crab claws, fried cod fish tacos, chilled peel-and-eat shrimp, and fish of the day specials.

Boathouse Restaurant

The Boathouse Restaurant and Marina Deck in Wildwood features a seafood-laden menu and picturesque waterfront dining. Start your meal off with firecracker shrimp, clams casino, or a cup of crab bisque to accompany a refreshing IPA or glass of chardonnay then make the difficult decision of which shellfish delicacy or other seafood offering to have for your entree. Some standout culinary dishes include scallops imperial, baked stuffed shrimp, fresh flounder, and linguini and clams.

The Lobster House

The Lobster House in Cape May greets visitors as they enter this South Jersey town at Exit 0 on the Garden State Parkway and offers multifaceted dining options, including indoor dining in the main restaurant, raw bar seating, and food and drink offerings aboard the Schooner American, a 130-foot Grand Banks sailing vessel that’s situated alongside the main restaurant. Seafood fare is bountiful at this popular restaurant with culinary items including fried calamari, Jersey oysters, baked clams casino, and flounder francaise filling the menu.