Rick’s American Cafe

This place closed awhile ago and will soon reopen as Daymark, a seafood restaurant.

Perfect lunch time eating spot if you are in the area visiting the Barnaget Light house.
Our waitress was extremely nice to us and was outgoing in making sure we had everything we need.
The food will not «WOW» you but will do the job if you need to grab lunch or need a «pick me up» after a night of drinking.
Inside is nothing fancy either as it looks like it is stuck in the late 80s early 90s and you especially get that feel based on the music they play while you dine. I like 80s & 90s music so I enjoyed it a lot.
I wouldn’t go out of your way to eat here but if you are in the area this is hands down a must visit.

OK so it took half of my family working there to get me to go in. Yes I had become one of those people I speak so much about. Oh you know the ones, judge a book by it’s cover? Now thats not to say it looks like the baymen’s shed you see coming over the causeway bridge to the island but you have to imagine that this place is snuggled in among some of the most expensive real estate in New Jersey. Ricks is one of those local bars that just ain’t for the locals only. They have a variety of bands playing on the weekends and some headliners that just might surprise you. A nice size bar with plenty of seating greets you when you enter. There are ample booths and tables too. It has a very limited menu but they do offer specials. Burgers weren’t bad. Crab clusters and the fried pickels were excellent. But most important the beer is cold and the bartenders are fun. This looks like a very fun place on the weekends and draws big crowds. A great place to loose your mind at night or a nice place to grab lunch and a cold one during the day. Oh I forgot to mention they have a raw bar too!

Only place open to grab a beer at 10:30 on a Wednesday night.
Chill hole-​in the wall beach bar. Beers were $ 5 a pop…
Bartender gave me wrong change on a $ 50…I hate having to correct people but neither you or the bar deserve a $ 30 tip. Pay attention people!!!

Full disclosure, I tended bar here for 2 summers while in college. That being said, this is authentic LBI and Barnegat Light. This is where on any given night you can find long-​line fisherman just in off a 30-​day trip mingling with some Loveladies co-​eds. And Genesee Cream Ale’s are always on special.

Decent bar by the lighthouse. It has a very beach-​town local feel and friendly people.

All that was needed was a Pac Man video game in the corner and I would have sworn I just walked out of the wrong side of a time machine into 1982.
Picture it: We just went out for 4 hours of deep sea fishing and I was feeling a little sick, but also pretty hungry. We walk in at noon from the blazing hot sun into a dark cave of a time warp — complete with Journey’s Escape blasting the entire time we were in there. The place had only 2 other occupied tables, plus a guy at the bar doing shots of tequila and drinking a miller lite.
The posters and other paraphernalia on the walls looked at least 20 years old, if not older, and I don’t think the place has ever seen a renovation. It reminded me of the bad diners we stopped at on family vacations in the 70s and 80s…
We sit at a table with a vinyl tablecloth and order 2 sodas, 1 sandwich and a fried seafood basket to the sound of Don’t Stop Believing playing in the background. The food took longer than I would expect at a near empty restaurant, but perhaps I was antsy from the sea sickness…
When the food finally came I was shocked. the fried seafood basket had 4 small shrimp, a small handful of clam strips (not the full clams just crappy strips), and about 10 thin cut fries. It looked pitiful in the basket that was clearly too large for the portion. The shrimp tasted ok, but the clams were ultra tough/​dry. BF did not like his crab cake sandwich at all either. Second shock came with the bill $ 30 for that little bit of lunch! $ 3 for each soda! WOW. Not worth it. I will stick with Mustache Bills…