3 Best Restaurants in New Jersey Shore, New Jersey

Owned and operated by the Dougherty family since 1897, the city's oldest restaurant serves seafood in a setting of wood and stained glass engraved with nautical scenes. Sample from the raw bar, try the flounder stuffed with crabmeat, or test your mettle against a hulking steamed lobster (they sell them up to 7 lbs). The wine list is expansive and reasonably priced. A must for anyone in search of a taste of old Atlantic City.

Local fisherman deliver fresh sea fare seven days a week right to the dock at the always-rollicking Lobster House. Cape May salts, a petite and briny oyster, are harvested from the restaurant's beds in Delaware Bay. Dine inside on checked tablecloths, at the raw bar, or outside on the dock for the full maritime show. Of course, the eponymous crustacean is all over the menu—in bisque and salads, its tails stuffed and served with steak, and steamed or broiled whole.

The only thing "mad" about this spot, which is credited with starting Cape May's restaurant renaissance in the 1970s, is the wild popularity of its bountiful American breakfasts and brunches. Be prepared to wait. Or book a table for lunch or dinner. Request the porch to watch the action on Jackson Street and sample the dishes that are their greatest pride and joy: the buttermilk pancakes, the clam chowder, or the lump crab cakes.