Joe Pop’s Shore Bar & Restaurant

Food was tasteless. The French fries didn’t even have salt on them. I had the surf and turf burger which came with a crab cake on it. The crab cake the burger and everything else on my burger had no fast what so ever. It even came with a «red pepper aioli «which tasted like red pepper and water. Wings had barely any sauce on them. My two sons had kids pizza and it was burnt. My wife wanted guacamole and chip. The literally mushed up avocado and put it in a bowl with nothing else. Worst food all trip.

I didn’t have high expectations for this bar, but I was pleasantly surprised at how attentive the bartenders were. The nerds and the Benjamins were excellent, and I was pleased to spend my 21^st here. Keep in mind, the food is bar quality so if you’re looking for a culinary experience just go somewhere else.

I Used to LOVE this bar since its a jersey shore icon but since the storm they have really gone down hill. I was there tonight to see the Nerds, the MOST popular cover band in the tristate region. First. Their ATM Was broken durning a night that they would expect high volume. Second, their bartenders are the worst you will find on the shore. Since they can not handle a crowd, they use a stupid rotation system. I waited 30 minutes for 2 beers and the bartender wouldn’t acknowledge me unless he was at that part of the bar or had breasts. Third, their POS system is 20 years old because they can not handle tabs unless you go to the same bar tender. Most modern bars now can use your tab across multiple bars in different rooms. Time to upgrade. I also noticed they only have 1 tap station… Unless you are going on an off night, avoid.

Quite possibly the worst food I have ever had in my life. The coconut shrimp were greasy and the dip on the side was applesauce! Who does that??? The fish tacos tasted frozen and lacked any and all
Flavor. The caprese salad, which in my opinion is impossible to mess up, had a balsamic reduction that tasted like Lysol. Super disappointing. We also complained and only the coconut shrimp was taken off our bill. If it weren’t for The Nerds playing tonight I would’ve left.

Horrible!!! The worst restaurant experience I’ve had in 20 years of eating out 400 – 600 meals a year. Arrived at 7PM on Sunday, July 5^th. Went with my extended family — total of 12 — and sat outside at the ‘Tiki Bar’. Told by hostess — who came out after we seated ourselves — said they were ‘slammed’ and it might be ‘a little longer’ than usual and she had no menus at the moment! Waited 15 minutes for waiter to take drink orders and put in food order simultaneously. After another 15 minutes my sister-​in-​law — who’s worked in several restaurants — sought out the waiter to check on our drinks. They then came out 5 minutes later. Waited another 15 minutes and asked about our food and were told that our ‘order is on the line’. My sister-​in-​law asked does that mean it’s being cooked. The answer was ‘no, it will be another 25 minutes’. Nearly an hour to get one round of drinks! At that point we canceled and asked for our bill. The manager came over and asked if she could do anything. No offer to comp drinks — only ‘sorry, we’re just slammed. My daughter was crying and niece was sobbing! Ended up walking across the street to Surf Taco, ordered and had our meals before we would have gotten them at Joe Pop’s. Actually, the tacos were so good I had a second round. BTW — check out the ‘slammed’ crowd a Joe Pop’s; a slow lunch at any decent restaurant. No excuses!

Well not much has changed at this place. Bad service. Bartenders that could careless about customers. I do like coming to Joe Pops because it always reminds me of how much better other bars on LBI are. Thanks Joe Pops you disappointed me again.

Very very disappointed. Got here at 9 to hear a band who at 10:13 still hasn’t begun to play. And my friends and I planned on eating here as well and they told us their kitchen closed at 8:30. 8:30 on a Friday night? Really? Safe to say I will not return.

Don’t recommend. Went there for dinner with my husband this evening. Food was adequate as was service. Band truck had blocked us in and we had hassle getting out. Then security «child» who obviously thought he was CSI scolded US for where we parked ! Rude Was told earlier by local store owner this was not a good choice. Wish I had listened.

I’ve been to Joe Pop’s two summers in a row now and it seems to be one of the few places to party late at night in LBI. There is a $ 10 dollar cover, but the drinks are reasonable and the bartenders are quick. The live bands can be range from playing classic rock and alternative music to just jumping around the stage. The bands keep the crowd lively, but it seemed like the DJ music got everyone dancing even more. Joe Pop’s isn’t a bad option if you are roaming the shore for nighttime drinking and dancing.

This was a total mixed bag of promise and inconsistency. I would actually give Joe Pop’s 3 ½ stars if I could.
Pluses: Always have fun seeing the Nerds at Joe Pop’s. One of the highlights of the summer. Drinks weren’t too expensive during happy hour (inside bar) and the two bartenders we had during the two times we went were very friendly (and attractive I might add lol) but also knew how to make drinks. The drinks were very good. I don’t usually order anything but beer, but I decided to go the cocktail route and it was worth it. Bartender at night was good.
Negatives: The outside tiki bar didn’t support the inside bar happy hour prices. Entertainment outside was hit or miss. I walked by one day and the entertainment sounded good. When we went the entertainment was awful. Note: we later went inside. $ 15 dollar cover was way too much for a cover band, but since it was The Nerds and it might be the last time I see them, it was worth it, but probably wouldn’t pay it again. The other bartender at night was rude. The food was ok at best. Only the happy hour pricing saved it.

I went in for lunch with my son. I was in serious need for food. The food was pretty pedestrian, my server was very nice and attentive. Clearly this is really a place to drink and socialize. It was clean and didn’t have that «bar smell».

Wow… so they have a Tiki bar now… with little chick waitresses that have «F U Sandy» on their skimpy shirts… wow.
Diesel blonde cougars on the prowl. $ 5 summer cocktails. Reggae pumpin.
Hell Yah… its summer time, mofos.

Went to Joe Pop’s to see The Nerds! Older crowd but still a great time! Place was nice, very open and didnt get hot! good place to see a band play!

Let me start by saying how much I USED to love this place! We went for lunch today, we got the loaded fries app, so mushy & greasy. I told the server that they tasted like old oil, & we still were charged (for eating nothing) food came out about 2mins after the app, normally I wouldn’t be happy about that but we were hungry. I had a roast beef sandwich, meat was good, bread was mush. My husband had fish & chips, fish was alright but the chips were the nasty fries… No one ever came by to say sorry about the fries, not sure if or when I’ll go back… so sad, lots of memories here

Cheap drinks but cover at the door. Whooomp! When I want to go to the bar at the beach I want something more low key. It’s a low grade dance club too. They do have bands that play although the bands I’ve heard haven’t been that good but you can;t expect much for a beach bar /​dance club.
If you took Joe Pop’s off of LBI it would easily be a 2 star bar.

Let me break down this review. If based on restaurant environment alone, Joe Pop’s would get one star. Based on food, it’d get 3 to 3 and a half. If you choose to «pop» (yes, pun intended) in here, know what to expect. The food is greasy and wonderful in a divey way. The tables are as greasy as the food. Seriously, there are crumbs stuck on some of the furniture that would probably take a hazmat team to clean off. Get the onion straws– you’ll gain ten pounds, but you’ll be happy. If you’re a clean freak, bring Purell or stay home. If you’re looking for a more upscale dining experience– what the heck are you doing going to a place called Joe Pop’s? Chill out, get a beer, and relax.

I have been to Ship Bottom, NJ only once before (and most likely my last visit), so I cannot really say more than what I can say about the first time being at Joe Pop’s. My guests and I initially tried going to a different bar, but honestly, this isn’t the most hip and happening town at night. There were hardly any decent bars open past 9pm, but Joe Pop’s seemed like the most inviting and interesting from the outside. It’s a quite spacious interior with a large mixed crowd. There was a live band and a dance floor. The music, I have to say, was pretty awful. I just couldn’t get myself to dance because of how bad the music was. The weird crowd at this place also made it worse. It was an odd mix of people, definitely not the type of crowd I would choose to be around with. In addition, young guys kept hitting on me as much as I gave them the look to back off. The food and drinks here, however, were not bad at all. All in all, definitely would not come back to this place unless forced to, but if you are looking for a decent bar in this area that is opened late (meaning until 10pm), then give Joe Pop’s a try.

So we got down to LBI a little early as we usually do (rather be ON the island than sitting in Parkway traffic) and we needed some place to eat. Our tradition has always been to eat at Woodies, but it was PACKED today. What to do, what to do… let’s try Joe Pop’s! We say every year we want to check it out, so we finally did.
Very, VERY happy we made the decision. Both my wife and I needed a beer desperately and they had Blue Moon (for her) and Landshark on tap. Great! Kids went with normal fare-​grilled chicken wrap for my daughter and chix fingers for my son. I started with a dozen steamers in white wine and butter (OMG, GREAT start to vacation! Inplan on having clams every day I’m here) and my wife and I had the crab cake sandwich. Normally, not my first choice as it can be overpriced and too small for the price. NOT at Joe Pop’s. Served with a roasted red pepper aioli on a large bun-​the crab cake didn’t get lost in the bread at all-​thing was as big as my son’s face and had very little ‘binder’. Absolutely delicious.
Though we never eat at the same place twice while we’re here, I will absolutely add this as a go-​to restaurant!
Don’t think our waitress was having the best day, but she was pleasant enough. Normally wouldn’t give a bar/​restaurant 4 stars on the first try, but this was a great lunch.

This place is a scam. Do not go here. They over charge you at the door for the crappiest food, crowd, music, and ambiance I’ve ever experienced. We called ahead to see what the cover would be and they said 10. When we got there two minutes later they said 20. There were four of us. We’re all young and were dressed nicely and they out right refused to honor the fact that we were told 10 on the phone. 80 bucks for four people three hours before the band goes on before drinks and apps? The place was dead inside and they were so rude. We ended up going to Daddy Os rooftop bar which doesn’t have a cover, plays good music, an has a really fun crowd. If you ask me don’t bother with joe pops. They charge manhattan prices for an armpit of dive bar.

A night out down the shore-​not the type of place where you get dressed up for but the kind where you go and see frat boys in jeans, ladies in tank tops and shorts, and plenty of beers.