Surf Taco

Hands down, the best take-​out on LBI. Outstanding food at a great price.

Such a disappointment. Everything was bland– the fish and chicken had no flavor.
The 1 star is for the salsa– it’s the only item with flavor. #noworthit

Love the food here. Always fresh. Problem is it’s always jammed. It wouldn’t be a problem is they weren’t always short staffed. 1 girl taking orders 1 girl at the pick up counter and a 40 minute wait. Management /​Ownership if you are reading this you MUST hire more staff ASAP.

For the price I thought the tacos would be better. The mahimahi was very dry and had no flavor. I didn’t taste any garlic or much flavor for the garlic shrimp. Maybe my taste buds were off that night but I was not too satisfied with my meal here. All of the tacos just tasted so bland. The only good part were the nachos and dip appetizers… that wasn’t AMAZING but it had some flavor unlike the tacos

Usually when we are on vacation and rent a house, eating out is not on the radar. However the thought of making fish tacos seemed more work than we wanted to invest. Thank goodness for Surf Tacos!!! Their Mango Shrimp taco and fish taco were killer and totally hit the spot. Not too pricey and came with a side of chips. Would definitely go back!

The service was great and the food phenomenal! Try the Mahi Mahi Taco, Mango Shrimp Taco, Waffle Fries and Chicken Quesadilla. Only down point was no ketchup for fries. Highly recommended you visit while in LBI

I’m updating my review for Surf Taco and I’m bumping this place down a couple of stars. Last summer was the first time I’d ever tried Surf Taco and I really liked it. I also think the «newness» to me helped out a lot.
I made it back here again this summer and I was pretty disappointed. It was nowhere near as good as I had remembered. I went with a Mahi Taco «Baja Style». At almost $ 6 a taco, I couldn’t believe how small this thing was. I could have eaten the entire taco in 2 bites and not even 2 big bites. It was super disappointing (and not very filling). The tacos were much smaller than I had remembered. Oh well.
I also thought the service was incredibly disorganized and it took way too long for me to get 2 tacos. The people working the register were not very efficient at all.
I am still a huge fan of Surf Taco’s salsa bar. They only have about 3 – 4 different salsas but their hottest sauce is great. I actually should have read my review from last year because I forgot how hot their hot sauce is. Very surprising. That sauce really packs some heat. Typically, the chain type of places do not offer very hot sauces but Surf Taco definitely does. It’s good stuff.
I still think Surf Taco is decent but I can’t keep it at 4 stars. I probably wouldn’t even go out of my way to get here again. It is still nice that they give you free chips with your tacos/​burritos. You can’t beat that.

I am a pretty big Surf Taco fan, and I’m a fan of this particular Surf Taco location as well. I really love the food here– I’ve made my way around the menu and haven’t eaten anything that I haven’t enjoyed, but I especially love the mahi taco (baja style!) (I also really love the salsa bar!) The staff is always friendly and I feel like the place is pretty efficient (if there’s a line, it moves pretty quick and they clean off the tables pretty promptly once it’s given up.) Hooray for Surf Taco!

I have worked in food for a long time– I understand how important it is to make sure every single guest is treated like family, especially in a Surf Taco where it is a «we all love life and the beach atmosphere» kind of place. Of course, on a Thursday night in the middle of summer this fast food chain is bursting at the seams– rightly so for their fresh food and «beachy» theme. I have visited every Surf Taco and keep returning because of these vibes. I waited on line twice for extended periods of time mainly because there was ONE register for dine ins and ONE for pick up. First mistake.
Then, once I waited a long while to give the business my money, I had to then wait for them to refill the ice machine for at least eight minutes. No one apologizing for the inconvenience or making a joke out of it. Just me standing there, waiting again.
Once I was seated, the food took at least twenty minutes. Of course, understandable. But also, a little strange because others that were in line behind us multiple people, were leaving with their takeout orders.
Then, the food came out– presented beautifully as usual. I have always gotten cheddar cheese melted on my tortilla chips since I was in highschool at ALL Surf Taco restaurants and never had an issue before. This time though, there were three chips with melted cheese and the rest sprinkled with unmelted cheese underneath the others. They also charged me $ 1.00 for basically having no cheese on them. So after all these inconveniences I went up front and asked if they could please fix the chips. Then a young boy walked over to our table with our fixed chips and stated «we don’t normally do this, just so you know.» And went to walk away? So my response: «actually I’ve gotten it at every single surf taco always.» And he said «oh you did?» And literally bolted away from our table. Avoiding a confrontation or possibly incredibly busy and unable to help customers? I know that this is unacceptable in the owners eyes because he trained me personally to work for his franchise many years ago. I did extensive training with this company and understand the message they want to put out there. This is not it.
I later find out that the man who darted away was the MANAGER of the entire place. He could not be older than twenty and certainly does not know the ins and outs of customer service. There was not an adult in sight. How unfortunate for a place that has so much potential.
If you are looking to try Surf Taco perhaps consider ones of its other locations all over central New Jersey. I would steer clear of the LBI branch if possible.

Surf taco is always good for a quick bite. The food is fresh and the menu is abundant. Also, you can never go wrong with unlimited salsa options.

It’s my fault. The place is called Surf Taco, I didn’t order fish tacos. I get it. I messed up.
I had one beef and one chicken taco, both hard shell. The shells were AWFUL. The meat in both were absurdly missing anything resembling seasoning. The salsa bar is what an American would call a salsa bar and a Mexican would turn their nose up at.
My wife and brother in law each had fish tacos. They weren’t as displeased. I… won’t be back.

We figured, what’s better than fish tacos at the beach? Surf Taco exceeded our expectations. I tried the shrimp and fish tacos and my hubby had a burrito – loved it all. Also thought the salsa options were pretty good. If we had been here longer than a long weekend, I’m sure we would have been back! Will definitely put this on our list for any return LBI vacations.

Service was great girls were really nice but food just isn’t the same. Point pleasant location puts this to shame which shouldn’t be. Really needs consistent quality with all menu items.

I’m always a fan of surf taco, any location because they always nail the trifecta — convenience, affordability and consistency. To me it’s become a jersey shore staple.
We were here on a Friday night around 8:30. The restaurant is huge a clearly does a lot of business as they were filled to capacity. We placed our order with the friendly cashier who told us to help ourselves to the salsa bar while we waited for out orders. 3 out of 4 of the bowls of salsa were completely empty though so I told one of the employees who was happy to replenish them.
We waited far longer for our food at this location than our usual (seaside park) location. Our meals came out perfect though so considering the volume in the restaurant, I really didn’t mind so much. I had the #2 combo which is your choice of any 2 tacos with rice, beans, chips and a drink. I enjoyed both my garlic shrimp taco and my surf taco.
There’s a lot of restaurant options in this town — but when the wait is long and you’re getting hangry, surf taco will always be there.

I’ve had Surf Taco’s catering before but I was excited to actually check out one of their stores in person. It got a little cloudy and windy on the beach so it was the perfect time to stop into Surf Taco for lunch.
It probably took about 10 – 15 minutes to order our food and then another 10 – 15 minutes for it to be ready. I made good use of my time during both waits. The first I spent deliberating the menu. I ended up going with the garlic shrimp taco (Fresh Shrimp sautéed with garlic topped with shredded cabbage, Pico de Gallo, white cilantro sauce & a squeeze of lime). Each taco also comes with chips & access to the salsa bar. I ordered a side of guac because I just had to try it.
During my wait for the food, I got to prepare for my meal at the «Almost Famous Salsa Bar». I wanted to sample all four salsas, as well as get a little cup of hot sauce. Unfortunately, the Hot was running low and wasn’t refilled while I was there. There was enough for me to try though and I enjoyed that it was a thicker salsa. The description claimed to have whole jalapenos however they must’ve been chopped up, unless I totally missed them. Although not a spicy salsa, the verde was probably my favorite since it was extremely flavorful.
By the time my food came out, I was hungry and ready to go. Everything was really tasty but it was just really hard to pick up my taco. I ended up having to cut it up, which was also difficult. The shrimp seemed fresh and the white cilantro sauce was creamy. The guac was awesome and I wish I got a larger size because it was good. There weren’t a ton of chips either. The cost for the taco was $ 4.75 and I felt like I was getting a good amount of food for my money, especially considering there were 5 – 6 shrimp in my taco.
Surf Taco reminded me of a Chipotle or Qdoba, but better since they are a local chain and have a seafood element. The quality was also better in my personal opinion. The menu is fairly extensive so I’ll have to go back and try some additional items.

Surf taco is a delicious burrito & taco joint. I discovered it after surfing in Manasquan once. SOOO good! This Jem is easy to
miss, but hard to forget. The best burrito is the Jenks, followed by the buffalo soldier. Great service. The LBI location is converted from some kind of old folks seafood joint. It’s painted fun colors inside with surf videos and fail videos playing.

As far as counter service food goes, Surf Taco is a good option. The food is fresh and well prepared, the prices are reasonable and there are a lot of options to meet a variety of tastes/​dietary needs. I had the two taco meal with the surf tacos. They were stuffed to brimming and fried cod wasn’t at all fishy or greasy. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, reasonably priced bite to eat.