The Shore Cafe

This place is now permanently closed. It is now Neil Michaels Steakhouse.

My wife and I were in the mood for Italian, and it doesn’t get more local for us than The Shore Café. We stopped in for dinner on Thursday evening, and there was not a single patron at the bar or dining in the restaurant, which worried me a little. We opted to eat outside, since it was beautiful weather. The patio area is clean, nice, and perfect setting for dinner.
The server went above and beyond for us. He was courteous throughout the evening, and even offered us the happy hour specials for our drinks even though it was slightly after 7pm.
We started with an order of the Vodka Sauce Flatbread Pizza for an appetizer, and it was delicious. I had the Chicken Parmesan for my entrée, and it was very good. The chicken was crispy and had great flavor. The sauce wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was still good. My wife ordered chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies. While she mentioned that the chicken wasn’t that «juicy,» she enjoyed the dish overall.
The price point here is on the higher side. The flatbread was $ 11. The the Chicken Parmesan was $ 18. Salads averaged $ 15. Steaks ranged from $ 24-​$ 30+.
If you are looking for good Italian food and don’t mind spending a bit more than some other local places, I’d highly recommend The Shore Café.
I will mention that this restaurant is under new management/​ownership for the last year or so. The sign went up a while ago about the changing of owners, but we waited to give it a try. We did come to The Shore Café in the past and weren’t as pleased as this last dining experience. I think the new ownership has helped with improving the service and food quality, but apparently not with packing the restaurant with people. They are closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, so you would think that they would be busier being that they are only open Wednesday-​Saturday. As a customer who likes to frequent smaller, local businesses, it makes my sad to see them struggling (this is only my assumption based on what I saw during my visit).
Give The Shore Café a try, you won’t be disappointed!

What happened here? Came in for dinner and the hostess never greeted us, just ran off to clear tables. Literally stood there for 5 minutes while she cleared tables. No hello, no welcome no «I’ll be right with you» so we ran out! Never again.

Food was decent but way over priced. Should be at least $$$ but whatever. Here on vacation will not go back.

Had a dinner party here (14 people) and I couldn’t be more disappointed. I don’t know where to start… Short staffed, zero personality, and oh so slow. We waited 2 hour and 15 minutes for our meals and when they started to come out it was 20 minutes from the first plate to the last. So if you were one of the lucky ones to get served 1^st, your meal was cold since you politely waited for everyone to be served. Oh yeah — the last plate was wrong. It’s too bad because my meal was pretty tasty.

Very tasty Italian place. A little expensive but the food is very fresh and high quality, plus portions are huge. Menu ranges from typical Italian to more rustic. The shore calamari is a huge portion and delicious. Don’t look over the flatbread pizzas either. Probably the best deal on the menu. A few years ago my wife and I also had our engagement party here and the entire staff was fantastic to deal with. Painless and accommodating.

Didn’t like it cold atmosphere not a friendly place to go
Rather go to anywheres else

Good food, slow service. We waited over an hour to get our food. But it was lunch time and there was only 1 waiter… so I guess its to be expected.
Interior is also very nice. It does not match the outside of the building.

Easy relaxed environment with excellent food. The service was a little slow but the owner checked in consistently and overall service was friendly,

You wouldn’t expect it while passing by on Rt. 36 at 50 mph, but this quaint building holds a gem of a restaurant. The food is really good and the service is top notch. Defintely eat here.

The Shore Café has the best Calamari in NEW JERSEY! The Secret Sauce kills it. Great Italian Food, Great Location, Great Atmosphere. Definitely have to check this place out. Happy Hours here are always a good time! Thanks guys!

Good quality had gone down the past year or so but I still go there because I can walk there. Bartenders are not too knowledgeable on certain things but servers are good. I enjoy the hot seafood appetizer and the saltimboca is good as well.

My family threw my bridal shower at Shore Café and I’m so happy they did. The décor was very nice, service was perfect, and food was very delicious. They were also very cooperative with my friwnd who has allergies. The Bruscetta appetizer was amazing, as was the pasta and chicken entrée I had. Everyone raved about the food at the party. It was a great time!

Had New Years dinner here and after party. Was very pleased. Calamar was Awsome and the staff was fantastic. Nice setup. Went with friends and couldn’t be more pleased. I will definitely go back for a nice dinner and drinks.

Ate here for the first time tonight with 4 other people and we all left agreeing that we probably won’t be back.
First off the appetizers.
Clams on the half shell — tasted fresh and were pretty good.
Fried Calamari — Also was pretty good, seasoned nicely and also tasted fresh.
Entrees.
Steak Delmonico — Was terrible. Was tough and dry and not cooked evenly. Tasted like the steak was frozen.
NY Strip Special — Seared too much on the outside so was a little burnt. Not a quality cut of meat, lots of tendons and really hard to cut. Also cooked unevenly and looked like the meat was frozen.
Mussells with Linguine — Sauce tasted water down and had no flavor. Mussells were ok.
Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage — Again barely ok, under seasoned and just nothing great about it.
Stuffed Pork Dish — This was the only winner. Was seasoned nicely and good flavor. Pork was cooked perfectly.
Dessert —
The desserts are served in large martini glasses and looked nice. We have the salty pretzel and caramel thing and the red velvet cake.
They had potential but they tasted old like they’ve been sitting in the fridge for over a week.
So to sum it up, appetizers were pretty good, entrees only 1 winner out of 5 orders and desserts did not taste fresh. To their credit, they took off the steaks from the bill and they comped the desserts. So maybe it was a off night but I probably won’t go back to find out.

I read the positive reviews and thought I’d give this place a try instead of another area Italian we’d been to before. Big mistake. Maybe it was an off night, but the service and food were terrible.
To be fair, our server said they were short-​handed this evening, but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was waitstaff who were obviously inexperienced and overly familiar, casual and inept. Our server kept asking how everything was but clearly wasn’t interested in the answer. The owner (or manager?) was brusque. Not an iota of dignity in sight anywhere. («Goodnight, guys», he said, and we’re both women) Nothing about this experience conveyed that they appreciated our business and wanted us to return. The place closes at 9pm on weekdays and at 8:40 my friend and I were the last ones there and we could already smell the sharp odor of ammonia being used to clean the place. Even if we didn’t feel rushed by the staff (which we did), the smell drove us out.
As for the food, my friend’s wasn’t bad (linguini with fresh clams) but my penne with broccoli rabe and sausage was the worst I’ve ever had, and I choose this every time I see it on a menu. The penne was mushy, the broccoli rabe extremely tough and the sausage wasn’t right either, nor was the sauce/​broth. Really sub-​par. To top it off, at this Italian restaurant, instead of a crusty Italian bread, they serve boring white rolls with hideous, overly salted herbed butter. The salad was slapdash. I think that covers it, but you get the idea. Not even close to being worth the money.
Maybe in warm weather the outdoor dining experience compensates for the other factors, or maybe they have better staff during the busy summer months. But for us, next time, it’ll be back to the less expensive place with MUCH better food.

Great service, excellent food. Always delivers!
I love love love the way they cook their chicken dishes. All of them are great!

The best Italian food in the area. Have been here numerous times over the past year. Great food, great cocktails, and the wait staff is always very friendly.
My family also hosted a repass here about 6 months ago. The party was run very smoothly and all of my family loved the food.

I was here earlier to do for a party and was impressed by the ambiance, which reminded me of Italy, the staff, who were kind, courteous and very professional and most importantly: the food!
We received a five-​course Italian meal.
The first were appetizers: bruschetta, mozzarella and tomato, and calamari all of which were quite fantastic. Everything tasted great and was prepared well both aesthetically and literally to taste.
Our pasta dish was penne vodka which was divine. The sauce was perfect, pasta was al dente and there was just enough cheese grated on top. Delicious.
Then came the main course. I opted for the eggplant rollantini, which was phenomenal. The vegetables on the side were cooked very well, lightly blanched and there was a good seasonal mix! The eggplant rollantini was breaded and baked deliciously, covered with mozzarella and the ricotta inside was great! Everything was balanced wonderfully.
Dessert was divine.
Overall, fantastic!

Its a 4 star only cause it is in jersey.
The good:
The environment was very inviting. it seemed like everyone knew each other and was having a good time. if you are a regular (which alot of people seem they were), you will find it like your second home.
The décor was bed bath and beyond but tasteful
The food was okay. I had the marsala which was good
The bad
the seafood seemed not so fresh. it was defiantely over cooked
the antipasto seem store brought– very average
service was lacking– not professionally trained
messed up and almost threw out the dish we wanted packed