It’s been a long time since Samantha and Mike Garbose have been able to truly enjoy the same pizza together. Ever since Mike discovered an intolerance to gluten in 2019, their pizza dates have resulted in this married couple ordering a “his” and “hers” situation with separate pies.
Being relegated to the gluten-free alternative is not a fate Mike begrudges: “We both agree that each of us is totally entitled to the food that our diets and preferences warrant.” Then again, the contrast in quality between standard wheat-flour crusts and those made with gluten-free ingredients can be hard to ignore.
“At places that have both gluten [-full] and gluten-free pizza,” says Samantha, “usually I get something that looks phenomenal and Mike gets something that looks like a cardboard circle — and then I feel guilty about that.”
Gluten-free pizza with summer corn at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
But there would be no guilt tonight at Barclay Pies. Not once the first gluten-free pizza arrives at our table, its airy puff of a crust crisped around the edges to a tawny snap that beckons from under a crown of molten mozzarella topped with sweet summer corn, bacon, and chile peppers. Another pie arrives, this one zesty with a layer of red sauce bursting with bright California tomatoes and a whiff of oregano;fistfuls of cup-and-char pepperoni rounds arescattered over the top, then finished with honey and freshly ripped basil.
“Oh wow, that does not even look gluten-free!” says Samantha.
That’s been my exact reaction every time I’ve visited this pizzeria in Cherry Hill, initially with my daughter, Alice, who has celiac disease. Barclay also makes standard pizzas with glutinous flour, but it has generated a serious buzz within the gluten-free community over the course of its first year — for good reason.
Gluten-free pizza with pepperoni at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerCo-owners Thomas “TJ” Hunton (left) and Daniel Romero at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Barclay Pies was launched last summer by friends Thomas “TJ” Hunton, a regional director of operations for Shake Shack, and Daniel Romero, a vice president in engineering for Aramark. Its remarkably good pizzas, careful protocols to avoid cross contamination, and outgoing hospitality have helped change the narrative about what’s possible in a fast-casual setting with gluten-free options that go beyond just the pies.
Indeed, a mozzarella stick was the first bite to turn heads at our table. A safe-to-eat mozzarella stick is rare and coveted in the gluten-free community because deep fryers are common culprits for cross contamination. Not only are Barclay’s fryers completely gluten-free, these delicately hand-breaded sticks encrusted in potato starch, rice flour, and gluten-free panko crumbs are perfectly crisped. There is also a hunk of milky fresh mozzarella inside (another rarity: most use standard low-moisture varieties) that offered hot cheese-pull satisfaction from one side of the table to the next.
Gluten-free mozzarella sticks at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The chicken wings were also superb, tender and juicy from a dry brine and par-bake, sealed inside a sheer crust of egg whites and rice flour, available in several good flavors, from punchy Buffalo sauce shaded with the richness of brown butter to lemon-pepper that sparkled in its craggy breading.
My encounters on previous visits with boneless chicken tenders were far less inspired, including some overly brined meat so rubbery they gave me a refund. But I was heartened by a 360-degree turnaround on this latest visit. The team recently reworked their recipe, and the final results — expertly verified by Hunton’s 6-year-old daughter, Amelia — are stellar: a perfectly tender baton of meat in a flavorful crust ready for various house-made dips. The tangy ranch with buttermilk and fresh herbs was a favorite, though classic honey mustard also did the trick.
Barclay Pies, located along Route 70 in Cherry Hill, has become known for its gluten-free pizzas.Craig LaBan / StaffJulie Romero (center right), of Cherry Hill, and Claire Ryder, of Collingswood, are enjoying some gluten-free pizza at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill on July 21.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
But pizza, of course, is the restaurant’s prime magnet. The duo decided to tackle the daunting gluten-free genre because Romero’s wife, Julie, has celiac disease. Making a gluten-free pizza worth the trouble is a major challenge. Gluten is a key protein found in certain grains — namely wheat, barley, and rye — that provides the structure to hold gas bubbles during fermentation and fosters a chewy, complex crust. Until recently, most GF versions of pizza I’ve tasted, whether made from alternative flours or cauliflower — and commonly outsourced in restaurants to avoid cross contamination — have been less than exciting, with textures ranging between pressboard and Styrofoam.
Barclay’s gluten-free pies are not that. The Romeros worked for nine months to perfect a high-hydration crust that puffs like a supple focaccia. With a light dusting of cornmeal adding a delicate bottom crunch and the Detroit-style crispy frico cheese band around the edges, the pie achieves textural contrasts this gluten-free dough itself would not otherwise form. The pan-based format is helpful to prevent cross contamination, but having grown up in the Midwest, where deep-crusted pies are common, I found these to be completely satisfying platforms for Barclay’s toppings. I was impressed by the mushroom pie that blends thin-shaved creminis with caramelized onions over a white base of seasoned heavy cream and mozzarella. I also enjoyed the locally inspired combo of fennel sausage, broccoli, and zesty cherry pepper hoagie relish, the addition of Cooper Sharp lending the base of molten mozzarella some extra South Philly flow.
The gluten-free broccoli and sausage pizza at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill also comes topped with hoagie pepper relish.Craig LaBan / Staff
I appreciate that Barclay is continuously tweaking its recipes, increasing the size of its fresh sausage chunks from the dried-out crumbles I found early on to the porky nuggets that dotted the roasted pepper-sausage pie we ordered on a traditional gluten-full round. That pizza had a perfectly fine, well-developed crust that was solid by neighborhood pizzeria standards. But the gluten-free pies are the draw, special enough to merit a regionwide pilgrimage.
Samantha Garbose agreed: “Usually when we get gluten-free food together, I’m pretending it’s good, but I actually thought [Barclay’s] gluten-free pizza was better than the one that had gluten.”
Standard gluten-full pizza with sausage and peppers at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Barclay’s sales numbers are starting to bear this out. Hunton says they initially anticipated selling only 10 gluten-free pies a day to supplement their traditional pizza sales. But gluten-free pies now account for a third of the pizzas they bake.
“By the end of the first month we realized we’d really struck a chord,” says Hunton. “There’s a market need for a pizzeria that was truly inclusive.” Barclay also offers vegan pizzas with a cheese substitute made in-house from oat milk and tofu, deliberately avoiding nuts, an allergen ingredient commonly used in vegan cheese.
There’s still a catch. One reason this dough is so good is because it uses Caputo Fioreglut, an Italian gluten-free flour blend that contains wheat starch whose gluten proteins have been removed. Fioreglut performs closer to wheat flour than most GF blends and is considered safe for most celiacs, but not for those who have an allergy to wheat.
“We need to be pizza for everyone and we’re not fully there quite yet,” concedes Romero. “But that’s our North Star.”
The gluten-free broccoli and sausage pizza at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill also comes topped with hoagie pepper relish.Craig LaBan / Staff
The past few years have been a vibrant era for local experimentation with better gluten-free pizza alternatives, though few compare to Barclay Pies’ crust. Emmy Squared has long made gluten-free versions of its standard Detroit pies in Queen Village. Corio in University City has been working on a potato-based dough for thin-crusted counterparts to its Neapolitan-style pizzas. Gluten-free pasta specialist Settantatré has mastered an airy gluten-free focaccia base for the tomato pies it sells at local farmers market stands and its Berwyn market-cafe. Perhaps the best gluten-free pizza I’ve ever eaten was created by 13th Street Cocktails caterer Aaron Gordon for the exceptional pan pies at his Agricola in Passyunk Square, but this quirky corner pizza atelier is not a reliable source for frequent orders, limited now to only private charity events (but perhaps reopening to the public this fall).
Hunton and Romero have drawn on their professional experiences to quickly build Barclay Pies into the region’s most accessible hub for gluten-free pizza satisfaction. With its 50 indoor seats, 25 on its patio, and a bright pink-and-green makeover for the former Seasons Pizza, they’ve created a pleasant dining space with user-friendly systems for a cheerful and well-trained staff to operate efficiently while the owners, who are frequently there, also retain their day jobs. (Hunton, a Garces alum, still oversees operations at 70 Shake Shacks from New York to Virginia.)
Most importantly, gluten-free customers can take comfort in knowing protocols have been put in place to minimize risks of cross contamination. The gluten-free dough is mixed first thing each morning in a separate GF-only mixer, prepped at a separate station, run through a dedicated conveyor belt oven, and finished at a separate station with color-coded cutters and spatulas. The gluten-free pies are also proofed and cooked in round pans to clearly distinguish them from the gluten-full Detroit pies that are cooked in square pans.
Co-owner Thomas “TJ” Hunton making gluten-free pizza with summer corn at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
While there will never be 0% risk as long as products with gluten are made in-house, and that may not suit those who are especially sensitive, my daughter ate there three times without incident. Hunton and Romero also strongly believe there is a broader community benefit to offering both options, as opposed to being entirely gluten-free. This way groups of diners with diverse needs and preferences can feel seen and safely served together without being singled out.
This works especially well for the Garboses.
“We’d prefer to go to a restaurant that has great options for both of us,” says Mike. “Life is too short for either of us to eat bad food.”
But in the case of Barclay Pies, their “his and hers” pizza night had a different, guilt-free twist: “It’s been so long since Mike and I got to actually enjoy the same pizza,” says Samantha. “This was really a thrill.”
Gluten-free pizza with pepperoni at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill, N.J., on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Barclay Pies
450 Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill Township, N.J. 856-712-1900; barclaypies.com
Open Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 9:30 p.m.
Pizzas, $19-$24 (plus $4 for gluten-free crust).
Wheelchair accessible.
Menu is almost entirely gluten-free. Standard pizzas with gluten-full flour are made in the same facility but extreme care and protocols are taken to prevent cross contamination.
BYOB. There are several excellent liquor stores nearby. The restaurant also provides good-quality stemless plastic drinkware.
Menu Highlights: Gluten-free pizzas; mozzarella sticks; wings; chicken tenders.
Barclay Pies boxes in Cherry Hill.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
When Porcini opened in 1996, few people expected the brothers Steven and David Sansone to do much business, with only 30 seats stuffed into a dining room the size of a shoebox, debuting in an era when there were no other restaurants on Sansom Street. A BYOB? Philly hardly knew what that was aside from the original Dmitri’s across Broad Street.
And yet, 30 years later, this block of Sansom Street near Rittenhouse Square has become a mini-restaurant row. There are now hundreds of Italian BYOBs flourishing across the city, and the pioneer of them all, Porcini, is still kicking as the Sansone brothers continue to host lively Italian meals for their loyal following.
There’s David at his lookout post near the door, chatting with guests then scampering back to whisk plates of chicken Milanese in sloshy wine-and-butter sauce through the dining room. (“It’s not an Italian meal if you don’t get some on your clothes!” he consoled one guest, dabbing a plate-landing splash of sauce on his shirt.) And there’s self-taught chef Steven, just back from double cataract surgery (“I can see the tickets again!”), overseeing a tiny kitchen whose clattering plates and passionate banter frequently cuts in over the opera soundtrack wafting through the dining room. “It’s just like Big Nighthere, an argument with my brother every night,” jokes Steven. “We can’t get it out of our blood.”
Porcini, 2048 Sansom St., on Nov. 29, 2022.Michael Klein / Staff
Whatever it is that propels these two siblings, now in their late 60s, to keep going — be it a pride in their Sicilian and Neapolitan heritage, their top-notch Caffè Motta espresso, or the pure love of hospitality — they’ve preserved the sense of warmth, handcraft, and quirky personality that first endeared this cozy nook to the city. At my recent visit, two handmade pastas were vivid reminders of Porcini’s homey charm.
Some of the airiest potato gnocchi I’ve eaten all year bobbed light as a feather in a bright San Marzano tomato sauce dabbed with creamy clouds of Claudio’s fresh mozzarella. My favorite, though, was paglia e fieno, a plate of hand-cranked green-and-white linguine meant to evoke the changing seasons of “straw” and “hay.” The two-toned noodle dish has been served multiple ways over the years here, but it seemed fitting that I was able to swirl those delicate pasta ribbons through a rich, tan-colored cream sauce infused with the restaurant’s namesake porcini mushrooms. Like the restaurant itself, this humble plate of browns and khaki greens was more about the satisfaction of good, handmade flavors than culinary flash or trends. Four decades later, this kitchen’s simple touch still resonates.
My Uber driver could be forgiven for becoming a tad disoriented as we gingerly approached Terra Grill. After all, this newly cobbled stretch of Germantown Avenue in Northern Liberties has not appeared on a Philadelphia map since the 19th century, when the massive Schmidt’s Brewery rose here in 1860 on 14-plus acres east of North Second Street.
The legendary brewery is long gone, closed in 1987, demolished in 2000, and replaced in 2007 by developer Bart Blatstein’s original Piazza project, which supercharged gentrification of this once-industrial neighborhood. The mixed-use development quickly sputtered after an ownership change in 2013, just as nearby Fishtown and Kensington began to thrive.
Can Terra Grill help revive the Piazza dream? I’m not convinced a steakhouse alone will do the trick, even if it’s something different for Northern Liberties. (Remember the short-lived “vibe dining” of meat-forward SIN?)
But the development’s current owners, Post Brothers, clearly hope this modern American grill will help restore at least some of the neighborhood’s shine. It’s a $6 million anchor for the Piazza Alta, a new 1,100-unit high-rise complex targeted to families, not just the “frat boys in backwards trucker hats” that Post CEO Michael Pestronk said occupied the Piazza during its decline under their predecessor, Kushner Cos., whose tenure saw falling rents and shuttered retail storefronts.
The exterior of Terra Grill on July 9 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The fact that there are people blithely wandering across our car’s path as we approach Terra Grill’s landscaped facade is both confusing and deliberate. Post Brothers has resisted adding road striping to the avenue (a technically private stretch now open to the public) to “prevent it from becoming a speedway.” The unmarked stones are meant to foster a street-facing, Euro-style pedestrian plaza.
Recruiting a nationally known chef for this project in Laurent Tourondel is also part of the strategy to give the neighborhood an upscale, Center City-esque aura — signaling that this once-edgy neighborhood has a new polish on top of its existing gastropubs (Standard Tap, North Third), cutting-edge vegan cooking (Pietramala), brunch spots (Honey’s Sit ‘N Eat, Cafe La Maude) and standout BYOBs (Pera, Apricot Stone). With an apartment boom bringing thousands of new residents and median incomes skyrocketing over the last decade, the affluence and density is suddenly there to potentially support something fancy like Terra Grill, whose entrees hover in the mid-$30s before you even touch the $50-plus prime steaks.
The interior of Terra Grill on July 9 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Is it a particularly adventurous place to dine? Not especially. But that may not matter. The restaurant exudes a textbook chophouse vibe, with circular booths clad in cushy black leather, a marble-topped bar, dark wood accents, walls of wine bottles, and hot pans of fresh, salt-speckled Parker House rolls served with little crocks of whipped miso-garlic butter.
There are culinary twists on classic cocktails to spark the meal, like the Quick & Dirty, an entry-level dirty martini washed with tzatziki yogurt and piqued with giardiniera brine, or the Golden Hour white Negroni, infused with red and golden raspberries as a nod to Philly’s Clover Club.
The Crazy Bird and Quick & Dirty cocktails at Terra Grill on July 9.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
It’s the bar program’s nod to the kitchen ethos of the French-born Tourondel, a respected chef based out of New York best known for BLT Steak (which he no longer owns) and BLT Fish, which briefly held one Michelin star and is now closed. Tourondel has since evolved into a management chef for hire, having opened 58 restaurants, from Kazakhstan to Panama, over the course of his career. He now operates 12 locations under his company, from Manhattan (L’Amico) to South Beach, where we recently dined on a delicious and stylish rendition of steak and eggs for brunch at LT Steak & Seafood.
Terra Grill is large, with 139 seats inside and 50 on the patio, alongside the chef’s cozier and more casual Roman-inspired Scusi Pizza. But the menu is essentially straight off the Tourondel rack: quality ingredients in familiar dishes treated with a thoughtful flourish or a seasonal touch. In other words, something for everyone.
The grilled octopus at Terra Grill.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
I especially enjoyed Tourondel’s octopus starter, coiled into a thick ring with its tentacles pointing out over a hash of crushed fingerling potatoes bright with lemon, olive oil, espelette aioli, and black dots of cured-olive purée. A baked crab cake is meaty and fresh, and fun to eat from the shell that it’s been stuffed back into.
Beside such successes, though, there are some fusion dishes that felt off-key, like the fried calamari with sweet chili dip, or the chimichurri-dabbedshort ribs wrapped in bao buns whose puffy hinges had gone stale. A luxe hot dog encasedin puff pastry with Gruyère and sauerkraut would have been delicious had its Wagyu dog not been so dense and rubbery. (Just as with burgers, a Wagyu pedigree does not make a hot dog better.) A tuna tartare stuffed into a flower-like bloom of shaved watermelon radishes beneath an avocado dome was flavorful and satisfying. But a mizuna salad draped with yuzu-dipped slices of yellowtail was awkward to eat and a waste of good fish.
The prime rib eye with dauphine potato puffs and grilled asparagus at Terra Grill.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The entrees are naturally headlined by the steaks — all high-quality prime grade (except for the Angus filet mignon) and properly cooked over the live flames of a hardwood grill, served simply with the sauce and side of your choice. The 22-ounce rib eye was the ultimate beefy cut of the four options, and also the most expensive at $98. The entry-level skirt steak wasn’t huge for $52 (and oddly, more expensive than the signature dish at Tourondel’s Skirt Steak in Midtown Manhattan), but the 10-ounce flap of black garlic-marinated beef glazed in hoisin was delicious, especially with crispy croquettes of dauphine potato puffs on the side.
The bar at Terra Grill restaurant, 1099 Germantown Ave.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Considering designer Olya Volkova’s attention to fostering the clubby comforts of a swank dining room, it’s a shame the mood is so often squashed by the glaring flash of big TVs behind the central bar. It speaks to a personality conflict this fledgling restaurant is still trying to resolve: Is Terra Grill a special-occasion destination, or a chic weekly hangout for neighbors to watch the Phillies over a $28 burger?
I’d actually come back for that prime beef burger encrusted with seven different kinds of peppercorns and topped with molten raclette cheese — if only they manage not to overcook it next time.
I can also see returning for the excellent branzino, which gets butterflied and crisped skin-side down over the wood fire and served with a seasonal garnish — a lemon-soy salsa verde in spring, and now a summery puttanesca of blistered tomatoes with capers and olives. That fish is a fair deal at $36. However, even the chef conceded the entree of head-on red shrimp was “a little small” when I sent him a picture of my plate with three crustaceans for $36.
The grilled branzino puttanesca at Terra Grill.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The rigatoni in lamb Bolognese is understandably popular with Terra’s regulars, both hearty and flavorful for $28. But it also feels random on a menu that has few other Italian flourishes — even if Tourondel’s adjacent pizzeria, Scusi, is right next door.
With its blond wood, aperitivo hour, and appealing menu of salads and pies (many available by the slice), Scusi could very well be just the affordable counterpart Terra needs. But its thin-crusted Roman pies were so strangely heavy from a blend of grains, including bran, that the dough was leaden and tough. My weighty slice of sausage and pepperoni was also incinerated.
Two slices of pizza at Scusi, located in the Piazza Alta in Northern Liberties.Craig LaBan / StaffScusi Pizza next door to Terra Grill.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Having previously enjoyed Tourondel’s Neapolitan-style Sag Pizza in the Hamptons, I know he’s capable of good pies. But Scusi’s troubled crusts reflect one of the perils of having a remote-control chef conducting from out of state.
Even more difficult than executing recipes, though, is finding the soul of a cookie-cutter concept, such that it feels like it fits the fabric of a place. Of course, in a literal blank slate like the Piazza Alta, the right restaurant can help set that tone. I did enjoy much of my food here, including the whimsical finale of a caramel popcorn sundae with a tableside chocolate sauce drizzle.
There are good ingredients in place. And the service is friendly enough (despite some rushed pacing with the starters). But there is still a paint-by-numbers corporate energy to Terra Grill.
The caramel popcorn sundae at Terra Grill.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Maybe its stride will come with more customers: The restaurant was less than half full during my visits. Perhaps they will materialize if the neighborhood gains the kind of momentum its developers hope to conjure — including the promise of an undisclosed local star chef slated to take a prime space across from Terra. Tourondel’s restaurants alonedo not carry the gravity to fully animate this recently revived stretch of Germantown Avenue, but Terra could complement a broaderscene. Just like the chaotic, slow-motion traffic patternsoutside the restaurant’s doors, it feels like a work in progress.
Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday; until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m Saturday and Sunday.
Entrees, $28-$98.
Wheelchair accessible.
A little over half the menu items are gluten-free, with several others being easily modified with care to avoid cross contamination. Fried items are not available.
Menu Highlights: Parker House rolls; fried calamari; lemon chicken parm sandos; grilled octopus; stuffed crab cake; grilled branzino; Terra burger; prime steaks (skirt; strip, rib eye); potato puff dauphine; caramel popcorn sundae.
Drinks: Creative takes on classic cocktails with culinary twists are front and center, including a tzatziki-washed riff on a dirty martini and the rummy Crazy Bird tinged with bitter Campari. The sub-50 label wine list covers multiple styles with a balance of big names (Whispering Angel, Jordan) and lesser-known options (Decibel, Txakoli rosé). There are solid choices by the glass at $20 and under.
The interior of Terra Grill on Thursday, July 9, 2026 in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Hidden deep in the Orange Crush heart of the Jersey Shore, there’s a beloved dive bar near West Wildwood’s bay that ignores all the common rules of commerce and good cooking. And yet its ceiling is covered in money and its unlikely hit sandwich is a Reuben made with … scallops?!
Not far away in Cape May, a new Italian restaurant is also doing things differently, crafting extraordinary meals from the highest quality ingredients ― with eye-popping prices to match. At the other end of the dining spectrum, there’s a destination-worthy cutlet sandwich in Sea Isle City and a hot new cheesesteak stand on the Wildwood boardwalk where the crowds come in hopes of glimpsing the owner, an alleged former mob boss who’s refashioned himself as a South Philly sandwich king. A very different kind of celebrity in the making — a giant seagull mascot — is aiming to energize a lively new outdoor restaurant and bar in Avalon and give fresh meaning to “Go Birds!”
Such eating adventures across the southern end of the Jersey Shore this summer were an exploration of dining culture extremes, but never dull and frequently delicious.
These 11 places from Cape May to Ocean City are the ones I’ll remember most.
Dollars hanging from the ceiling at Westside Saloon in West Wildwood, N.J. Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
WEST WILDWOOD
Westside Saloon
Everyone talks about the dollar bills tacked to the ceiling of the Westside Saloon like Monopoly money confetti, the result of a barroom challenge that’s added a distinctive dive bar quirkiness to this venerable tavern on the tiny isle of West Wildwood. To me, however, those bills are the least intriguing aspect of the Westside Saloon, as this watering hole — which dates to Prohibition and was once known as the Bridge Cafe — was renamed in 2003. My eyes are drawn to the crates of ripe fruit stacked near the front door, set to be juiced daily for the lineup of dangerously smooth crush cocktails made with all-natural ingredients — orange, grapefruit, pineapple, watermelon — shaken with vodka (or tequila) and seltzer. “My mother always told me that drinking would get me nowhere,” says the bar’s manager and chef, Billy Scott, 52. “But it’s worked out pretty well for me here. These drinks are my babies. They make people smile, and I’m definitely the King of the Crush now.”
The saloon is owned by the McCoy and Keating families, but Scott, a family friend, is also the culinary mind responsible for the strokes of whimsy — or cheese crimes against seafood, depending on your perspective — that have prompted the Westside Saloon to tout itself as a “five-star dive bar” that’s booming despite an independent streak with its hours (“We open when we feel like it; we close when we feel like it”) and a published phone number that’s never answered because they ripped the phone off the wall 15 years ago. (“It wouldn’t stop ringing.”)
A bartender making crush cocktails at the Westside Saloon in West Wildwood.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
That reclusive attitude hasn’t slowed the crowds that wander into this trapezoid-shaped building for one of the 28 seats at the trapezoid-shaped bar (or 40 outdoor seats) to listen to live music and indulge in one of the Shore’s most unusual seafood menus, headlined by the iconic scallop Reuben. It’s an odd combination that by most conventions should not work, but Scott has access to some of the best ingredients on the East Coast through nearby Dock Street Seafood. The plump Jersey scallops offer a meaty alternative to corned beef, with a briny sweetness that harmonizes with the tangy sauerkraut, piquant Swiss cheese, and butter-toasted rye. It’s not Scott’s only seafood and dairy gambit. The stuffed long hot pepper is exploding with fresh crab and provolone, a prosciutto wrap, and a Gorgonzola finish. There’s so much crustacean in the she-crab soup that our spoon nearly stood up straight. (If it had been hotter, it would have been perfect.) Sesame-seared local tuna comes piled over crisped wonton chips for Asian nachos. But Scott’s most audacious creation is the option to order your seafood “blue,” a marinara sauce blended with Gorgonzola that added an unexpectedly appealing cave-aged funk to our bountiful seafood pasta.
Seared tuna nachos at the Westside Saloon in West Wildwood, N.J.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
For those averse to seafood spectacles, the Westside’s chicken wings and “volcanic eruption” burger (a cheese-stuffed patty topped with bacon and long hots) also have fans. But what surprised me most was that the saloon makes its own desserts, including a towering key lime pie and an Oreo-encrusted cheesecake we could not stop eating. This won’t be news to anyone who knows how much passion Scott and his crew, who also recently bought a bakery, have put into making this iconoclastic institution so much more than a random dive bar.
“The only thing artificial here are my initials — B.S.,” says Scott. “When you come to the Westside Saloon, everything else is real.”
Westside Saloon, 770 W. Glenwood Ave., West Wildwood, N.J. 08260, no phone; on Facebook
Chef Alfredo Dapi rolls out pasta for pistachio gnocchi in the kitchen at Il Riccio in Cape May, N.J. Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
CAPE MAY
Il Riccio
There are so many Italian restaurants at the Jersey Shore, I was not particularly excited about the prospect of yet another, especially considering the newcomer most recommended to me this offseason by my local sources was located in a turnstile Cape May address where I’ve reviewed three different restaurants since 2003.
Chef Alfredo Dapi pauses while making pistachio gnocchi in the kitchen at Il Riccio in Cape May.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
Number four — Il Riccio — turns out to be anything but ordinary, and not simply because the lofty prices, with dinner entrees ranging from $38 to triple digits, will make you wonder if the food is gilded. In fact, it is. But the shimmering stamps of 24-karat gold hovering above the cacio e pepe risotto are not the prime reason this showstopper dinner indulgence costs $99. That would be the quarter-pound of meltingly rich A5 Wagyu tenderloin from Hokkaido that comes seared on top, as well as the raisiny sweet swirls of reduced Amarone wine, not to mention the coveted seven-year-old aged Acquerello rice that’s cooked to al dente perfection by chef Alfredo Dapi for 19 minutes on the dot, adding the imported butter from Parma and pecorino cheese only at the end to keep it light.
“We wanted a dish that touched all the senses — sweet, salty, sour, and bitter,” says Il Riccio’s gregarious co-owner Luca Cimmarotta, 52, a Tuscan winemaker, olive oil producer, and importer who, since his earlier days as a sommelier for both Aldo Lamberti and Georges Perrier, has always wanted to open an Italian restaurant that made no compromises when it came to quality.
Il Riccio in Cape May, N.J.Ted Nghiem / For The InquirerPistachio gnocchi at Il Riccio in Cape May, N.J. Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
That is exactly what he’s done at Il Riccio (“the sea urchin” in Italian), the posh 50-seat BYOB he opened a year ago in a Victorian bungalow beside Collier’s Liquors with his wife, Stefania Chiaro, 46, who works in the kitchen, and their son, Michele Cimmarotta, 21, who charms the dining room as lead server.
Our night, he was offering a wild fresh Holland Dover sole whose beguilingly firm texture, delicate flavor, and roe sack (a bonus!) were expertly deboned tableside, and tasted clearly superior to the more common farm-raised and prefrozen sole found elsewhere for a third of Il Riccio’s $135 price. That includes a side of spaghetti alla chitarra laced with Cimmarotta’s own olive oil and colatura di Alici (Italian fish sauce), and easily feeds two.
Cured ham aficionados will also find rare treasures here, from the acorn-fed Spanish Ibérico ham Cimmarotta slices from a rolling cart in the dining room to the multiple varieties of Italian culatello available with truffled sottocenere cheese. The lunch menu is slightly more affordable, when you can order that risotto minus the Wagyu for $39. You can also still taste the restaurant’s signature baby octopus, a pom-pom of grilled tentacles posed over spicy broccoli rabe. I’d also suggest the soulfully stewed beef braciole stuffed with pecorino. One dish that should not be missed is Dapi’s amazing gnocchi, ethereal dumpling clouds floated across a pool of a creamy Gorgonzola turned pastel green with blended pistachios.
Nutella gelato affogato at Il Riccio in Cape May, N.J.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
For dessert, ignore the more ubiquitous options and head straight for the affogato. A silky Nutella gelato is topped tableside with dark and roasty Caffé Toraldo espresso from Naples poured from a gorgeous little red moka pot designed by Dolce & Gabbana. Like everything else at Il Riccio, it brings luxury, design, quality, and flavor all together into a special fine-dining experience that actually delivers exactly what you pay for.
Il Riccio, 311 Mansion St., Cape May, N.J. 08204, 609-554-3165; ilricciocapemay.com
Mediterrano
The demise of the Exit Zero Filling Station has left a kraken squid curry-sized hole in Cape May’s funky fusion dining scene. But its unique location — a soaring dining hall fronted by a former gas station pump turned breezy al fresco patio — has been salvaged and retransformed into a vision of Greece. Cue the potted palms, painted faux-cobblestones, and cerulean blue paint job for the old filling station portico that is now a BYOB called Mediterrano. New owner Florian Furxhiu has used his playbook from Santorini, the popular Greek haunt he owns in Wildwood.
Exterior view of Mediterrano in Cape May, N.J.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
A statue of Hebe, the daughter of Zeus, presides over the columned fireplace of this handsomely renovated dining room lined with blooming fake bougainvillea vines, while Santorini’s former co-chef, Caesar Jeromino, and Alban Presheva, newly arrived from Albania, turn out one Greek standard after the next.
Considering their experience, my meal was more inconsistent than I’d hoped for. The Greek meatballs in tomato sauce were unyieldingly dense. The single-serving moussaka built à la minute over a solo eggplant lacked the satisfaction of the traditional large-format casserole.
The big lamb shank, however, was impressively tender, and the butterflied whole branzino, a favorite at Santorini, was as good as ever, its flaky white flesh glazed in lemony butter sauce and capers. I have little doubt Furxhiu’s time-tested team will level up to fine-tune the rest of these dishes as summer progresses. With Ionian-like breezes whistling off the nearby Atlantic through this unique patio and the goddess Hebe casting her magic powers, one can only hope.
The remarkable reinvention of Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino from infamous wiseguy to cheesesteak mogul has been well-documented by my colleague Michael Klein. But the arrival of his popular South Philly sandwich stand at a satellite on the Wildwood boardwalk still begs a clear-eyed review, especially with his partner Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. perpetually hyping the project on social media. It’s a great story, but does that mean it’s also a tasty lunch?
Cheessteak and pizza at Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino’s new Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks during a soft opening of his new location on the boardwalk in Wildwood.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
I admit an initial pause of disappointment that the best sandwich from OG Skinny Joey’s — the roast pork sandwich — did not make it to the beach. But the marquee cheesesteaks are consistent with the original, bountifully portioned and ever-cheesy with molten Cooper Sharp on a seeded roll. It’s overall better than I anticipated given the marketing bluster, but not quite elite (I worked through a clump of gristle amid the otherwise tender chopped meat; the coarse-cut, barely cooked onions also need more love).
The gloriously messy Buffalo chicken is the true steak star here. Skinny Joey’s also does pizza in Wildwood, unlike the original, and while the round pies are average, the strombolis are fantastic. They take extra time to make, because they’re baked to order. They’re also perfectly sized to fit into the slender holster of a cardboard cheesesteak box to go. Or, eat it on-site in Skinny Joey’s pleasantly cool indoor dining room, which has the rare boardwalk perk of a private bathroom, plus the opportunity to buy lots of branded merch.
You can get pierogi and all sorts of other Eastern European treats on the boardwalk at Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, famed for its Slavic community. A notable counterpart to be found at the Jersey Shore is the Pierogie Place, which has two separate stands on the Wildwood boardwalk. It has such a loyal following that a customer who sidled up to the register beside my family swore it was always her first stop when she arrived at the Jersey Shore (“we actually come daily”), not to mention when she visits Lincoln Financial Field, where Pierogie Place founders Liz and Bohdan Kulchyckyj also operate a location of their six-year-old comfort food tribute to Ukraine, where they lived for two decades as expats.
The Pierogie Place has two storefronts on the boardwalk in Wildwood. Pictured behind the counter at the 3116 Boardwalk location are employee Anastasiia Oleska (left) and co-owner Liz Kulchyckyj.Craig LaBan / Staff
The draw are the pierogi (or “vareniki,” as they’re called in Ukraine) offered in a variety of fillings and served with deeply caramelized onions and a dollop of sour cream. I enjoyed the potato and farmer’s cheese filling best, with the jalapeño-cheddar stuffing following close behind — even better crowned with a snappy link of kielbasa. The tortellini-like dumplings filled with pork and veal known as pelmeni are also irresistible. But don’t miss dessert of sweet cheese dumplings topped with strawberries, blueberries, or both and a cloud of whipped cream. Mingling with the aroma of salty sea air, this Slavic carnival in a box tastes particularly sweet.
The Pierogie Place, 3116 Boardwalk and 4302 Boardwalk, Wildwood; thepierogieplace.com
STONE HARBOR
Mother’s Market & Bakery
Mother’s Market & Bakery in Stone Harbor is a family affair, operated by Jennie Mopsik (center), her father, Eugene Mopsik (left) and mother, Helen Mopsik.Courtesy Mother's Market & Bakery / Eugene Mopsik
This charming new prepared foods shop in Stone Harbor checks a longtime bucket list wish for Jennie Mopsik to work alongside her parents in the Shore town where they’ve long summered together, and where she now lives year-round. This storefront market with patio seating was inspired by the home entertaining she saw her parents, Eugene and Helen Mopsik, refine over the years. So, while the shelves are stocked with well-chosen products, from top-notch pasta to Samaki smoked fish and frozen pierogi brought in from Port Richmond’s Czerw’s Polish Kielbasa, the real gems here are the specials cooked daily by her dad, a retired photographer who became known as the “Philly Loxsmith” in his tenure at Biederman’s, where he rediscovered a love of cooking. At Mother’s you’ll find him whipping up homey daily soups (cream of asparagus, gazpacho, matzo ball), fresh quiches, muffins, and excellent grab-and-go salads, including his legendary whitefish salad and a farmer’s cheese spread blended with labneh, shallots, and dill that’s my new favorite bagel schmear (not to mention Helen’s favorite happy hour snack). Jennie Mopsik is involved with the baking, too, but her talent and former business for flower arranging is also on display with custom hand-tied bouquets and orchid arrangements that she says will bloom all summer long.
Mother’s Market & Bakery, 8307 Third Ave., 1st Flr., Stone Harbor, N.J. 08247; on Instagram
Hanging candied bacon served over grits and Gully’s Blooming Potato at Gully’s in Avalon, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
AVALON
Gully’s
When I was little, the notion of a human-size seagull flapping its wings at my table might have scared me right out of my swim trunks. But the team behind Gully’s is betting on the “sassy but good-natured” energy of its friendly weekend-only mascot, Gully, along with competitive Monday minnow races and updated American pub fare to bring some “old-school beachy vibes” to their makeover of the pergola-wrapped al fresco resto-bar in Avalon that was previously Black Cactus. And … it just might work?
Gully’s is more affordable than its predecessor and the diner-plus menu has a lower success bar to clear. But the food is also a notch better than it has to be, with fresh figs scattered over balsamic and a creamy hunk of burrata with prosciutto, a well-built chicken Caesar wrap, plump shrimp for the feta-dusted Mediterranean salad, and “skinny” crushes made with fresh juice and seltzer (not soda) to wash it down.
The Orange Crush and Super Spritz cocktails at Gully’s in Avalon, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
A bland and creamy “peri peri” chicken entree was one disappointment for a sauce that should have been spicy. But stick with the menu’s less challenging top half and you should be fine, especially with a tray of spiralized “blooming potato” chips and a clothesline of candied bacon that dangles over a tasty plate of grits — not an original idea, but delicious. They’re so good, I was thinking Gully’s mascot should actually be a human-size piece of bacon just as our outdoor table was suddenly attacked by a relentless swarm of dune gnats. The service team stepped up when a cheerful manager appeared to offer guests some bug spray. (“BYO-bug spray next time?” he joked.) Of course, seagulls eat bugs, too, so Gully the mascot may, in fact, be just the hero we’ve been waiting for. Go Birds!
The exterior of Johnny Cutlets in Sea Isle City, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
SEA ISLE CITY
Johnny Cutlets
The old Steve’s Grilled Cheese is out. The crispy new swagger of Johnny Cutlets is in. And this smartly revamped Sea Isle City shop is already making a serious bid to join the elite ranks of the Jersey Shore’s sandwich derby. The cutlets are the main event, hand-breaded with two kinds of crumbs, Parmesan and herbes de Provence for a soft herbal note, then fried daily at a lower-than-usual temperature to try to maintain the juicy tenderness of a home-cooked cutlet. I was impressed, especially with its South Philly-style signature served with sharp provolone, broccoli rabe, and a long hot pepper draped over the top of a seeded Aversa’s roll. The Drunken Johnny with vodka sauce and the MJ with fresh mozz and balsamic are also popular cutlet options, but don’t sleep on Johnny’s steaks. They’re more manageably portioned than the overstuffed, overly cheesed steaks currently trending on social media, but I admired the balance of quality ingredients here.
Chef Shawn (no last name given), fries cutlets at Johnny Cutlets in Sea Isle City, NJ.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerThe MJ features a chicken cutlet with mozzarella, arugula, cherry tomatoes, hot honey, and balsamic glaze at Johnny Cutlets in Sea Isle City, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
This project is a collaboration between Steve’s former owners, twins Stephen and Fred Freda, and their new partner, “Johnny Cutlets” Markulics, who concluded that fried chicken and cheesesteaks have more “healthy living” appeal than grilled cheese. That’s probably not a scientific conclusion. But if early sales are an indication — selling up to 400 sandwiches a day — the theory wins a popularity contest. It’s just as likely that rebranding with Markulics front and center was also key. An AI-generated portrait of the vividly tattooed body shop owner, whose look Stephen Freda affectionately characterizes as “a friendly, semiscary face,” became the shop’s logo and sign, along with the bold catch phrase, “famous ‘cause I say so.” It’s a bravado this feisty little sandwich shop might actually live up to.
Johnny Cutlets, 27 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Sea Isle City, N.J. 08243, 609-486-6003; johnnycutletssic.com
Dylan Bear, owner of Alex’s Pizza, at 1214 Boardwalk, Ocean City, N.J.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
OCEAN CITY
Alex’s Pizza
A smash burger with onions and cheese is one of the specialties at the new boardwalk location in Ocean City for Alex’s Pizza from Roxborough.Craig LaBan / Staff
The best part of opening a Jersey Shore branch of a classic Philly pizzeria is that you have a built-in loyal clientele. The bad news is that loyal clientele. They know your pies better than anyone, and if it doesn’t measure up then … well, meet Michele B., a lifelong Roxborough resident seated beside me who grew up eating at Alex’s Pizza, a standby at Pechin and Leverington since the 1960s. She traveled to the Ocean City location specifically to taste a slice of her youth, and while these thin-crusted rounds looked the part, with a signature swirl of red sauce spiraled across the top, there wasn’t nearly enough of it: “It’s too dry!” said Michele bluntly. “Not enough sauce.” To his credit, the manager of this new boardwalk venture was eager for feedback, since he’d never eaten at the Roxborough original himself. An experimental pie with sauerkraut and hot dogs had more pizzazz, albeit a niche audience (me). But Alex’s does one thing especially well: smash burgers. The patties on my double stack were swiftly griddled to an impressively crisp and lacy skirt, then layered with onions and oozy cheese that trapped all of its juices. While Alex’s may indeed one day offer an upgrade to the multitude of boardwalk pizza mediocrity, the local burger competition is considerably more scarce. And this one’s worth the trip.
Alex’s Pizza, 1214 Boardwalk, Ocean City, N.J. 08226; 609-862-0062; alexspizzaocnj.com
Kyma
The Beach Baklava yogurt topped with chunks of the Greek pastry, chocolate sauce, and pistachios is one of the highlights at Kyma, a new Greek yogurt cafe in Ocean City.Craig LaBan / Staff
When it comes to island refreshments, Greece has a historic head start of a few thousand years on the Jersey Shore. So I was excited that the Siganos family behind Ocean City’s classic Greek diner, Yianni’s Cafe, opened a frozen treat destination nearby on Asbury Avenue with something different from the norm. Kyma serves Greek-style frozen yogurt that carries a refreshing tartness absent in most standard soft-serve, but its elaborately composed bowls are what caught my eye, especially the “Beach Baklava,” a swirling tower of frozen yogurt drizzled with chocolate, pistachios, berries, and flaky hunks of baklava pastry. There’s another bowl scattered with crunchy kataifi, almonds, and honey and another trendy Dubai-themed bowl drenched in green pistachio sauce and chocolate. There are some more familiar offerings — smoothies, açaí bowls — for maximum audience appeal. But the other prime bonus for me is the bold punch of one of the world’s original iced coffees: frappé, a Greek specialty invented in 1957 that whips instant Nescafé with sugar, water, and milk into a stiff peak that gets shaken with ice into a powerfully caffeinated foam.
Kyma, 838 B Asbury Ave., Ocean City, N.J. 08226, 609-545-2290; kymaoc.com
Island Grill
Crab imperial is one of the classic standards at Island Grill in Ocean City.Craig LaBan / Staff
The last time I visited Island Grill in 2021, the chowder and coconut shrimp were being delivered by Peanut the robot, on lease by the restaurant’s owners to cope with a severe pandemic labor shortage. Peanut is gone from Island Grill now, even if food service robots are now everywhere else. But this standby on the island’s northern end is once again humming full steam ahead for walk-in crowds that pack the nautical-themed space, now in its 30th year cooking fresh seafood from its retail market. The vast menu offers classics like fried or broiled fish platters from its extensive fresh catch board, fish tacos, and a broiled crab imperial glazed in zesty sauce that showcased the bounty of sweet meat. What’s also laudable about Island Grill is an extensive selection of gluten-free offerings that are carefully made to avoid cross contamination, from the pecan-crusted salmon to a gf key lime pie and twin crab cakes that were so good my celiac daughter questioned whether she’d received the wrong order. She had not. The kitchen also offers traditional crab cakes, but the gluten-free variety is convincingly bound with rice.
Island Grill, 100 Atlantic Ave., Ocean City, N.J. 08226, 609-391-9616; ocnjislandgrill.com
I’ve been mesmerized by kibbeh nayyeh since my days as a teenage busboy at Phoenicia, the trailblazing Lebanese fine-dining destination just outside of Detroit in Birmingham, Mich. It was my first encounter with a dish that showcased raw meat — in this case, puréed raw lamb mixed with bulgur wheat and spices. And my determination to eat as much of it as possible while on extra-long breaks in the walk-in (instead of cleaning tables) was likely one reason I wasn’t a very good busboy. It did provide, however, one of the earliest sparks in my career as a curious eater. Now, I order it almost every chance I get.
But no kibbeh nayyeh has stopped me in my tracks and triggered a childhood flashback quite like the incredibly soft and vividly spiced version at Suraya. One of the first recipes taught to executive chef Nick Kennedy by Maude El-Harouny — the Lebanese mother of co-owners Roland Kassis and Nathalie Richan — before Suraya’s 2017 opening, it’s a picture of the classic dish at its best. Lean lamb loin is puréed to a silky smoothness before it’s blended with bulgur, puréed onions, jalapeños, and herbs — basil, marjoram, allspice, mint, and cinnamon — before getting shaped into a dimpled pink puck with deep divots for good olive oil.
The spreadable, pâté-like base itself is flavorful enough, but that peppery olive oil and the garnish piled on top, with sumac-dusted raw onions and basil and mint that deliver a contrast of juicy crunch and herbal freshness, elevates the dish overall to another level. One that’s powerful enough to remind me of my first transporting raw taste of kibbeh nayyeh several decades ago. Suraya, 1528 Frankford Ave., 215-302-1900, surayaphilly.com
— Craig LaBan
Omakase at Kissho House
Omakase experiences in Philadelphia run the boardfrom the $78 tasting at Yuhiro in Fishtown to the $355 extravaganza in the back room of James Beard Award-winning chef Jesse Ito’s Royal Sushi & Izakaya. How about one with ambition and value, priced down the middle?
For that, there’s chef Jeff Chen’s Edomae-style omakase at his 12-seat counter downstairs at Kissho House, which opened last year in a former Rittenhouse law office. Chen, a Hiroki alum, delivers the goods without gimmicks, from the appetizers (octopus, asari clams, and Japanese river crab) through the nigiri sequence, which caps off with a toro hand roll and clam soup, followed by strawberry monaka for dessert. Few $150 omakases include well-sourced ingredients (anago from Tsushima, akami from Spain, uni from Hokkaido), and creative bites like king salmon with dry tomato, truffle sauce, and roe in a spring roll shell, plus Wagyu with sea bream and caviar. Kissho House, 1522 Locust St., 610-332-7387, kisshohouse.com
— Michael Klein
The Bai Cha Sach Mon (chicken fried rice with chinese sausage) at Heng Seng Restaurant, 2217 S. Seventh St.Kiki Aranita / Staff
Chicken fried rice with Chinese sausage (Bai Cha Sach Mon) at Heng Seng Restaurant
I went to Heng Seng Restaurant in South Philly with a craving for Cambodian dry egg noodles. At $15 for a small portion, they hit the spot, bouncy and crinkled yet firm with a side of beef shank bone broth for dipping or sipping. But there was a sleeper hit: the $17 chicken fried rice (called bai cha sach mon in Khmer) with smoky, sweet lap cheong or Chinese sausage.
I usually think of fried rice as a little silly but also a little clever — an excellent way for a restaurant to use day-old rice, which makes for better fried rice than fresh rice. So when the platter landed in front of me, I was delighted but also a little perplexed. How could these slivers of chicken be so tender and flavorful? How could the individual grains of jasmine rice have such a lovely robust texture? Heng Seng’s dishes are heavily influenced by Teochew cuisine (Chinese Cambodians are primarily Teochew Chinese, originally from the Chaoshan region in eastern Guangdong) with its exceptionally earthy, savory fried rice. With a little bit of egg, scallion, and that sweet lap cheong seeping fat into the rice, this version is certainly worth seeking out. Heng Seng Restaurant, 2217 S. Seventh St., 215-755-5390, hengsengrestaurant.com
— Kiki Aranita
The chicken liver mousse at Royal Boucherie, 52 S. Second St.Beatrice Forman / Staff
Chicken liver mousse at Royal Boucherie
I’ve long considered chicken liver mousse the gateway drug to my beloved chopped liver. Its creamy texture and less polarizing flavor is a good stepping stone to the hard stuff — the chunkier, funkier, and less ritzy mounds of chopped liver behind the counter at most respectable Jewish delis. If it’s your first time eating spreadable liver, the mousse at Old City’s Royal Boucherie is perfect, a textbook example served in a cute little mason jar with crusty bread and cornichons on the side for dipping. Topped with a seasonal berry jam and flecks of flaky salt, the mousse has all the right flavors: a little sweet, a little earthy and rich without feeling heavy. I scraped the jar clean.
If you’re a regular visitor to the Jersey Shore, catching up with your longtime favorite foods, chefs, and restaurants can often tell a wider story about what’s been happening in your favorite beach towns. The economic pressure of rising real estate prices has made the arrival of a sweet little BYOB like Joy & Salt on Long Beach Island a test case for the future of the small operator. The saga of ongoing attempts to revitalize Atlantic City’s Tennessee Avenue development? It just got a fresh boost from the comeback of a talented local chef. A new gem for stellar soul food, a growing audience for deep-crusted pizza, the rise of fancy iced coffee (with everything but the taste of coffee), and sage advice on how to choose the right pasta shape all added a tasty helping of color to this week’s fresh batch of restaurant reports from LBI to Margate.
The burrata with fresh basil and plain cheese pie at Queen City Crust in Beach Haven, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
I also delve into the Ventnorian controversy over a classic sub shop that’s been remade into an artisan sourdough bakery and touched a nerve with locals who fear their community is becoming too bourgeois. Then again, when something is as good as Florida Cuts is, perhaps it’s not simply change for the sake of trends but actual progress.
Next week: new options from Cape May to Ocean City.
The outside of Queen City Crust in Beach Haven, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
LONG BEACH ISLAND
Joy & Salt Cafe
With a temporary sign, and an understated location at an intersection near the ocean where drivers slingshot on and off the causeway to Long Beach Island, you could easily miss Joy & Salt Cafe. But it’s worth a stop at this low-key newcomer to Ship Bottom, a collaboration between two veteran chefs hoping to claim one of the few remaining corners of the island and make what partner Jordan Miller says is “a last-ditch effort for the charm of an old-school BYOB.”
Miller and his business partner and co-chef, Jimi Savianeso, make up for the understated location with genuine hospitality and hands-on scratch cooking. The duo met cooking on the line years ago at local favorite Black-Eyed Susans. With years of fine dining experience behind them, they are opting for a more casual approach to this diner-space and channeling good local ingredients into food they simply like to eat.
James Savianeso, chef and co-owner of Joy & Salt Cafe, working in the kitchen in Ship Bottom, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe grilled ahi tuna sandwich at Joy & Salt Cafe in Ship Bottom, N.J., on June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
That could mean a flavorful chowder made from just-dug whole clams, a slice of locally fished grilled tuna on brioche glossed in house-made Japanese barbecue sauce, or a bountiful chilled shrimp cocktail tossed in a saucy Mexican-style marinade (the secret? fresh tomato juice and orange soda). The duo routinely cook fresh-off-the-boat seafood specials for dinner sourced from the nearby docks, but the menu’s default is a homey Italian touch that comes natural to Savianeso, whose North Jersey upbringing imbues his red sauce and sausage and peppers with a nonna-esque magic. That is especially evident at lunch, where Savianeso’s chicken cutlet parm drenched in super-creamy vodka sauce may well become LBI’s sandwich of the summer.
Joy & Salt Cafe, 816 Long Beach Blvd., Ship Bottom, N.J. 08008; 609-342-0794; joysaltkitchen.com
Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes
Takeout can be tricky when determined diners are waiting in lines up to two hours for a seat at one of the Tide Table Group’s roster of popular restaurants on Long Beach Island (Parker’s Garage, Bird & Betty’s, Black Whale, Ship Bottom Shellfish) and in Manahawkin (Mud City Crab House, the Old Causeway Steak & Oyster House). They’ve addressed that conundrum with the creation of Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes, a convenient destination for some of their greatest hits, collected in the fast-casual confines of a crisply rehabbed former antiques shop in Beach Haven that doubles as a boardinghouse for many of the company’s summer workers.
The name offers a good clue as to the specialties: the fried chicken is the same crackle-crusted, buttermilk fried bird from Parker’s Garage. The crab cakes comes in two styles, the somewhat bready OG cakes from Mud City or the baked variation from Parker’s which I far preferred, not only because they’re gluten-free, with tapioca starch for binding, but because they’re made from sweet lump crab bound with a béarnaise sauce flavored with tarragon and Old Bay. The super-plump peel-and-eat shrimp offer a worthy, non-fried option. But this kitchen’s best assets are all about the crisp. Don’t leave without a side of deep-fried green tomato tots covered in creamy drizzles of zesty pimento cheese.
Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes, 208 N. Bay Ave., Beach Haven, N.J. 08008; 609-342-1100; ellislbi.com
Queen City Crust
Jersey Shore pizza has been trending toward thicker crusts in recent years, rising from the cardboard-thin rounds that have long been the boardwalk prototype to heartier, pan-baked pies with flavorful slow-fermented doughs and borders that snap with crispy cheese edges. Bakeria 1010 and Squares & Fare are two outstanding examples I’ve enjoyed in Ocean City and Somers Point, respectively. Long Beach Island has also gotten into the Detroit-style pie action with Queen City Crust, a former pop-up sensation that is now in its third year as a standalone storefront in Beach Haven.
Hot honey pepperoni pie Queen City Crust in Beach Haven, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Owner Troy Sambalino, who spends his offseason running the service pass at Jean-Georges in Manhattan, says the Detroit style, which involves a slower, lower-temp prebake followed by a hot flash to finish pies to order, is ideal for beach locations with the technical limitations of a standard oven. But he still manages to crank out 200 pies on a busy Friday night, good enough to earn him the No. 1 spot in a 2025 ranking of 55 Shore pizzerias by NJ.com.
Sambalino has a patient approach to his dough, which, after a two-day cold ferment, has both an impressively airy interior and a bottom that forms a delicate crisp against the olive oil-lined pan. Mozzarella and tangy cheddar are his cheese combo of choice, with the cheddar tucked near the edges forming a toasty crisp. One 10-by-13-inch pan can easily feed two to four people, but I appreciate that Queen City also sells its pies by the slice so you can taste a variety of toppings. From the cup-and-char pepperoni drizzled with hot honey to sausage with crunchy banana peppers, basil-topped puddles of milky burrata laced with bright tomato sauce, or a fusion pie of breaded chicken bits streaked with spicy Asian barbecue sauce, these pies offer hearty satisfaction when your teeth sink into their crusts.
Queen City Crust, 13504 Long Beach Blvd., Beach Haven, N.J. 08008; 609-661-7769; queencitycrust.com
Guapo’s Coffee House
As I steadily caffeinated during my restaurant research missions up-and-down the Jersey Shore, my encounters with confectionary-sounding coffee drinks that included “dulce de leche, “dot cake,” and “banana bread” in the titles made it clear that running a cafe in 2026 is as much about thinking like a pastry chef as a barista.
The Salty Dog iced coffee at Guapo’s Coffee House in Beach Haven blends salted caramel-sweetend espresso with whipped cream turned blue with spirulina. It’s become a viral hit.Craig LaBan / Staff
In general, I’m not a dessert coffee fan. But the reason I returned multiple times to Guapo’s in Long Beach Island is because their specialty drinks still taste like they also actually include coffee. Even owner Sammy Jo Alvarez’s most viral and colorful drink, the Salty Dog (named for her pup Guapo), still delivers a toasty undertow of the house blend of Ethiopian and Colombian beans, roasted to a medium hue by Yellow Dog Roasters in nearby Manahawkin. The secret to making creatively flavored drinks that still have coffee integrity, says Alvarez, a longtime local bartender before launching her roof deck-topped cafe in Beach Haven four years ago, is balance and focusing on natural ingredients. All the add-in ingredients here are made in-house, from the sea salted caramel syrup to the top layer of fresh whipped cream (aka “cold foam”) that she turns sky blue with organic spirulina. “Basically, it looks like a day at the beach inside a cup — and people love it.”
Guapo’s Coffee House, 106 N. Bay Ave., Beach Haven, N.J. 08008, 609-661-3504; guaposcoffee.com
The gochujang carbonara and Oaxacan meatballs at the Iron Room in Atlantic City, N.J. The Iron Room is hidden behind a door at Bar 32.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
ATLANTIC CITY
Nana’s Good Eats
If there’s a 20 minute-plus wait for your food at Nana’s Good Eats, it’s for a good reason: nothing hits the fryer before you order from this cheerful soul food hub, located on the pedestrian pavilion of Atlantic City’s Tanger Outlet mall. The wait is absolutely worth it, because Nana’s serves up some of the most delicious fried whiting I’ve had in recent memory, a huge portion of plump and lemon-scented fresh fillets sealed inside a delicate cornmeal crust, just as owner Samantha Prescott’s grandpa Dennis McDowell, a professional chef, taught her as a little girl. (“Most parents lead with how to tie your shoe, but my grandpa started by teaching me how to stir a pot of grits so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.”) Prescott’s cooking chops are also evident in her succulent fried jumbo shrimp, as well as every side I sampled. The mac and cheese retained the almost fluffy texture of perfectly cooked cavatappi while a balanced five-cheese sauce remained creamy, not broken or greasy. The tender braised collards were infused with the whiff of smoked turkey wings and a perky finishing tang.
The OG banana pudding at Nana’s Good Eats in Atlantic City, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerOwners Rahman and Samantha Prescott at Nana’s Good Eats in Atlantic City, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Prescott’s talent as an entrepreneur, meanwhile, answers all that savory goodness with the sweet indulgence of her first endeavor, Nana’s Good Puddin’. Prescott brought the customization concept of Cold Stone ice cream to the world of pudding in a popular dessert business she opened in 2020 in the Hamilton Mall, which she has since closed and merged into the Atlantic City Good Eats location. The build-your-own options here are vast, with 30 different base puddings (from classic flavors to white chocolate, pistachio, or Oreo cream), crunchy cookie add-ins and various different crumbles. I chose the OG banana pudding and was impressed by its banana-flavored intensity, but also by the meticulous manner in which it was constructed to order, with multiple layers of creamy pudding, crunch and vanilla wafer cookies being patiently added until, at last, it was finally handed over and I dove in spoon first.
Nana’s Good Eats, 122 N. Michigan Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. 08401; on Facebook
The Iron Room
Do you believe in do-overs? The reboot of chef Kevin Cronin’s Iron Room, Atlantic City’s favorite hidden gastropub — now in its third incarnation and second location — might be the spark that finally gives the Tennessee Avenue development some momentum. First, you have to find it. True to its speakeasy roots (the original Iron Room was located behind a liquor store) this restaurant is tucked into an enclosed back alley patio accessed through the rear door of another establishment, Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails. A tall green wall on one side of the 50-seat al fresco space faces an awning-covered bar where some of the best cocktails I sipped this summer — a smooth but potent Manhattan; the mezcal-washed Storm Queen — are served in antique crystal coupes inherited from Cronin’s grandmother while a retro acoustic soundtrack sets a mellow mood.
The Oaxacan meatballs at the Iron Room on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Atlantic City, NJ. The Iron Room is hidden behind a door at Bar 32.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The small plates emerging from the shipping container kitchen are pure fusion fun, with bold flavors that resurrect some established Iron Room hits, including a thick-cut hunk of candied Nueski’s bacon, truffled udon mac and cheese, and a tamari-charred hanger steak fanned over brussels sprouts. Cronin’s new creations are equally bold. The spicy Oaxacan chorizo meatballs glazed in red salsa and shavings of Bar 32 chocolate were a favorite, along with the barbecue sauced boneless Korean-fried chicken and a rich pasta carbonara blushing with Korean gochujang spice. I would have loved the shrimp toast had the top layer of crustacean paste not been turned an unappetizing gray by the addition of black garlic. Next time, I’d consider preordering one of the menu’s large-format specials: a spatchcocked whole barbecue chicken with sides; a “big ass whole snapper” with tostones, or the Ron Swanson special (a rib eye, deviled eggs, and a flight of Lagavulin) that was also an old Iron Room “iykyk” draw. Hopefully, this time it will take.
The Iron Room, 121 S. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City (enter through Bar32 Chocolate, and head to back alley through back door); instagram.com/ironroom_ac
Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails
There’s no dessert served at the Iron Room by design. The separate and independent bar that fronts it has that course covered. Nicole Callazzo’s revamp of the project formerly known as Made Atlantic City Chocolate Bar has kept the original concept’s ambitious bean-to-bar chocolate production in place as the anchor for the chocolate-themed sweets menu. While there are more sophisticated chocolatiers in the region, the quality of Callazzo’s small batch chocolates made from ethically sourced cacao, which can take up to five days to make, is satisfying in a straightforward way. You can sample a little bit of several specialties on a tiered platter, which brings multiple shades of chocolate bars, double fudge brownies, chocolate mousse, and various bonbons. Try it while sipping a martini infused with the bar’s own 60% cocoa chocolate. The baked-to-order brown butter cookie skillet is also a popular choice here, if you have an extra 15 minutes to wait. But I’d return especially for one of the Bar 32 whiskey flights, which pair three different pours of Michter’s (or Whistle Pig) whiskey with different chocolates for $40. Considering the quality of the spirits, it’s a fair deal.
Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails, 121 S. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. 08401, 609-248-6960; bar32chocolate.com
“A little bit of everything” at Bar 32 on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Atlantic City, NJ. Bar 32 offers bean-to-bar chocolate, handmade desserts, and craft cocktails.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Moments at Scannicchio’s
Some places are all about the food. Others revel in quirky ambiance. You can get a bit of both at this Atlantic City sibling to Scannicchio’s, one of my favorite old-school Italian haunts in South Philly. The AC experience offers the split personality of two adjoined spaces: the charming intimacy of a dark corner barroom lit with Christmas lights, and a bright sports bar lounge next door where a DJ spins retro hits for a handful of dancers while spillover dinner crowds sup at high-tops in the glow of large TVs.
The corner dining room of Moments at Scanniccho’s in Atlantic City is darker and more intimate than the neighboring lounge.Craig LaBan / Staff
A tender and massive double-cut pork chop Siciliana buried beneath a zesty gravy of cherry peppers, onions, olives, and mushrooms was the hands-down highlight of our meal. The big menu also showcases several familiar favorites from the South Philly original (clams casino, a stuffed artichoke, the sausage and figs app), although it was not cooked with the same consistency and finesse. Even so, we enjoyed the experience. And I’ll especially treasure the moment our larger-than-life server (who had a bear hug for every one of the restaurant’s many regulars) offered a memorable logic for his general preference of pasta shape with entrees: “Why should I waste calories twirling spaghetti when I can just get straight to it with penne? Stab and eat! Stab and eat!” Such wisdom alone is worth the visit.
Moments at Scannicchio’s, 2647 Fairmount Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. 08401, 609-344-5338; momentsatscannicchios.com
The halibut entree at Rustico in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
VENTNOR
Rustico
Few restaurant couples have been able to create evocative dining experiences in small BYOB spaces through DIY design as deftly as Tanya and Petar Petrov. A veritable lemon grove on the ceiling of their debut Italian hit last year, Martina’s, conjured a glimpse of the Amalfi Coast on Atlantic Avenue. This year, they’ve turned to a closer source of marine inspiration — the bay beside their Ventnor home — for the makeover of Petar’s former Cafe Velo into Rustico, a naturalistic dinner cove that wraps diners in plastered wall montages of foraged driftwood, sea moss, and rocks. The menu is still decidedly Italian. While some Ventnorians have complained to me about menu overlap between the two restaurants, the fact that waiting lists can exceed 300 names for those hoping to get into 48-seat Martina’s means there is a legitimate demand for 80 more seats at Rustico (plus 28 more outside), where devotees can order the tried-and-true arancini, linguine with vongole, and chicken Parm.
The octopus dish at Rustico in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe inside of Rustico in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The chicken Parm was the least compelling thing we ate at Rustico. An unconventional starter of grilled octopus curled over a platform of sweet potato turned out to be delicious, the potato’s soft sweetness contrasting the texture of the meat while balancing the savory tomato sauce. That dish is a legacy of Cafe Velo’s early days, when the tiny kitchen would cross-utilize ingredients between the popular breakfast and dinner menus. Rustico, which expanded both its dining rooms and kitchen, has capacity now to undertake ambitious specials like broiled lobster and linguine feasts for two (very limited nightly). A soulful short rib and shiitake ragù was a hearty winner over fresh pappardelle made by Haddon Township’s Severino, whose owner is the Petrovs’ neighbor.
Fresh seafood also remains a strength, with entrees like blackened ahi tuna with red bliss potato hash and hollandaise. A moist and meaty halibut set over two-toned purees of cauliflower and carrot was also fantastic, a special-turned-standby from chef de cuisine Lorenzo Hernandez. Of course, I ordered at the very moment this kitchen ran out of halibut. Luckily, Petar had a spare portion in the fridge at nearby Martina’s, and he retrieved it just in time for this busy kitchen not to miss a beat: “That’s the beauty of having two restaurants so close,” says Petar. “Stuff happens!”
Rustico, 6525 Ventnor Ave., Ventnor City, N.J. 08406, 609-727-0499;rusticoventnor.com
The inside of Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Florida Cuts
Cookie Till of Steve & Cookie’s bought the half-century-old Florida Cold Cuts & Liquors deli in 2022 and began to reshape it to her vision. What was a gradual makeover the first few years, most notably upgrading the sandwiches and bottle selection, became a wholesale change this spring when Till removed “cold” from the name and replaced the classic sub shop format with an artisan sourdough bakery turning out a lineup of grab-and-go sandwiches built on two kinds of focaccia and sesame-speckled semolina baguettes. The longtime tuna salad and Italian hoagie crowd is not pleased: “Cookie really took a good thing … and turned it into something nobody needed,” a reader wrote me in a direct message on social media.
The ham and butter baguette at Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
I loved the old corner shop’s house-baked tavern ham sandwiches as much as anyone, but I disagree. What makes a smart restaurateur like Till so invaluable is her willingness and wherewithal to take risks to do things differently. Till has a track record of creating top-notch progressive concepts people simply didn’t realize they needed until she made it happen, from a craft coffee shop in Ventnor No. 7311 to an interactive organic farm with a philanthropic mission at Reed’s Farm. There are plenty of places to get a classic sub on Absecon Island, but there is nothing like the new Florida Cuts, where lead baker Santina Renzi (a longtime key contributor at Her Place Supper Club), consultant Jon Taus, and sourdough specialist Victoria McHugh are working with Till’s partner Kim Richmond to create stellar loaves made from flour milled from local grains that result in bread with integrity and flavor. They’re used for original sandwiches that are largely outstanding, from the minimalist focaccia laced with mortadella, ricotta, and pistachios (all crackly crust and lush stuffing richness), to the freshly house-roasted turkey layered with Steve & Cookie’s signature “ugly tomato salad,” Gorgonzola, and crispy shallots. The tuna salad fragrant with lemon zest and crunchy peperoncini rings is a sleeper hit, while the ham and butter on a sesame semolina loaf can compete with Philly’s best.
Owner Cookie Till at Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe soft-serve sundae with Steve& Cookie’s blueberry pie at Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
My one disappointment was the cutlet sandwich, which didn’t have nearly enough Caesar salad inside. But there were so many consolations: a fridge case stuffed with local farmstead cheeses; focaccia flatbread topped with butter-poached clams; warm rounds of fresh-baked sesame tahini cookies; shelves stocked with quality spirits and affordable natural wines. There’s also soft-serve now, offered as a sundae layered with Cookie’s famous blueberry pie. Now I definitely need that, even if I didn’t know it before I walked in the door.
Florida Cuts, 7301 Ventnor Ave., Ventnor City, N.J. 08406; floridacuts.com
MARGATE
Tideline
The scene at Tideline on the bay behind Margate City, where full restaurant service is offered on deck to 30 moored boats and 12 Jet Skis at a time, could make anyone have yacht envy. But this splashy yearling from the family behind Tomatoes — an unabashed gesture to the city’s ever more ritzy denizens — has room on its multifloor 240-seat bar complex for everyone else to linger, nibble, imbibe, and observe. One of the area’s most spectacular bay perches for sunset views is an undeniable bonus. Given the swanky setting, the food from chef Carlo Marsini’s kitchen is a notch better than it has to be, from the generously stuffed truffled cheesesteaks and chicken Italiano cutlet sandwiches to the shot glasses stuffed with fried soft-shell crab halves dunked into an avocado green crema sparked with poblanos.
The lobster Cobb salad at Tideline in Margate City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
I’d definitely return for the generous lobster Cobb salad and a Dockside cocktail of watermelon juice spiked with Tito’s. But don’t get too ambitious. The items we ordered from the large plate section, chicken kebabs and a $32 coffee-rubbed pork chop, were incinerated by the grill chef. The drink menu has a danger zone, too, with a cocktail called Liquid Asset. It’s made with trendy Clase Azul Gold tequila and a chile pepper but what’s spicy is the price tag of $1.1 million. That’s because this drink comes with a 39-foot speed boat. That may be the stuff yacht club dreams are made of for some, even if there’ve been no takers yet. But unsurprisingly, this land-loving mezcal fan wasn’t even tempted.
Tideline, 9317 Amherst Ave., Margate City, N.J. 08402; 609-350-6717; tidelinemargate.com
The fire pits are ablaze by dusk at Hollow Pines, a sprawling compound with an outdoor bar, bocce courts, and a massive A-frame lodge where craft cocktails, duckpin bowling, and updated comfort food with a Jersey twist have been drawing guests by the hundreds to West Creek.
The vibe at this ambitious newcomer off Route 9 from the Tide Table Group, which opened in February, conjures a funhouse in the woods more than a beachside resort, even if it’s only half a mile from the bay just south of Manahawkin. It’s also part of a larger trend: the biggest new restaurant openings at the Jersey Shore this year are on the mainland rather than the barrier islands, where real estate prices have skyrocketed.
Veronica Smith of Barnegat (left) and Makayla Williams of Absecon enjoy drinks at Hollow Pines in West Creek, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
“There’s only so much land on the islands, and the property value there is higher if you subdivide and put residential on it,” says Hollow Pines co-owner Billy Mehl. “Plus, the short season [on the islands] makes it harder to recoup the cost.”
The logic is similar farther south in Somers Point, where two mega-openings — the 400-seat Pablo and 250-seat Webster’s Tavern — aim to draw the growing year-round population as well as thirsty summer tourists pouring across the bridge from the dry island of Ocean City.
“You should see our after-church crowd! We sell a lot of Bloody Marys and it’s terrific,” says Webster’s owner Chris Webb, noting the construction of hundreds of new homes nearby as a reason for optimism beyond the summer season. “Somers Point is on fire right now.”
Of course, bigger is not necessarily better. New menus up and down the Shore have trended more conservative this summer, toward the safe bets of American tavern classics (wings, chicken Caesar wraps, and burgers), hedging for mainstream tastes at even a taco-themed fusion concept like Pablo. So, while I was sure to check out these large new players — results were mixed — I also explored some flavorful highlights from the international communities that have also settled on the mainland across from Atlantic City, from a stellar new chilaquiles specialist to the kebab combo platter of my dreams.
If you prefer to eat closer to the beach, do not fret. This is just the first part of my annual shore guide. I still have exciting dining dispatches from the barrier island towns coming the following weeks, with reports from more than 20 places from Cape May to LBI. But first, here’s a look at some of the rapidly growing options for food and fun before you even cross a bridge.
Nicholas Bisbee of Tuckerton, lead bartender and head trainer, chats with customers at the upstairs bar at Hollow Pines in West Creek, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
PINELANDS
Hollow Pines
It took eight years and nearly $8 million for the Tide Table Group to finally complete Hollow Pines, a multipurpose destination built on five acres of marshland just beyond the edge of the Pinelands National Reserve. The owners envisioned a place for big groups to linger and play, not just eat and run. And its indoor-outdoor spaces offer a variety of activities to that effect, from cornhole beside a separate outdoor bar serving Spaghett beer cocktails, composed shots, and other drinks, to a lively four-lane duckpin bowling alley on the ground floor of a roomy split-level tavern hall lined with TVs and a more intimate mezzanine dining room tucked upstairs.
The outside bar and outdoor entertainment give patrons a reason to linger and play at Hollow Pines in West Creek, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe inside main seating and bar area at Hollow Pines in West Creek, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
With Tide Table’s track record for good dining experiences at restaurants such as Mud City Crab House in Manahawkin and Parker’s Garage in Beach Haven, it’s no surprise the food and drink programs here are thoughtfully crafted. There’s a wide selection of upscale comfort foods from chef Al Cuff, from a pull-apart hot dog wrapped in a horseshoe of puff pastry to rich crab chowder and tomato bisque and a homey, double-crusted pot pie filled with an herbal chicken velouté.
Some ideas were a bit too cute, like the salad heavily dressed with sour cream-and-onion dressing topped with potato chips. But the pasta is homemade in the pappardelle tossed with a hearty ragù of braised short rib. There’s plenty of lobster bits in the risotto to add some glamour to the salmon, and the oysters broiled in zesty Calabrian chili butter are decidedly local Briny Pinys. Jersey duck for the cassoulet and venison for the lasagna are appealing nods to the state’s sportsman traditions.
The S’more’s doughnut dessert at Hollow Pines in West Creek, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
All this is fueled by a drink program that bubbles with local beers and whimsical cocktails, from an ice-cold tomato water martini (Nona’s Freezer Door) to the smoke bubble-topped rosemary gin drink (the Controlled Burn) appropriately named for a sipper at the edge of a national preserve. For dessert, I’m all about channeling the summer campfire vibe with the S’mores doughnut, a freshly fried fritter topped with molten marshmallow fluff that flows into a chocolate sauce studded with chips. It was both delicious and still on theme. Hollow Pines offers a nice reminder that New Jersey summers can be just as tasty in the forest as at the beach. Hollow Pines, 475 Main St, West Creek, N.J. 08092; 609-891-2558; hollowpinesnj.com
The chilaquiles divorciados dish, paired with a passionfruit drink, rests on a table at Chilaqueria Los Girasoles in Pleasantville, N.J. on Friday, June 19, 2026.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
PLEASANTVILLE
Chilaqueria Los Girasoles
While the Shore has no shortage of Americanized Mexican food, you can find more traditional flavors just six miles north of Somers Point in Pleasantville, which has become a vibrant hub for multiple Latin American communities. At least a dozen Mexican restaurants operate within its city limits, and one of the newest, Chilaqueria Los Girasoles, is already one of my favorites. As the name suggests, chilaquiles is the focal point, with nine varieties of salsa combos used to sauté tortilla chips until they achieve the perfect balance of crunch and softness (they’ll even ask your preference). The traditional choices of salsa roja and salsa verde are so good, I’d recommend Los Girasoles’ unique pairing of the two for side-by-side fields of tangy green and earthy red on one plate, to be topped with protein of your choice. Try a hearty helping of eggs and steak, or salted cecina beef, then plan for a good nap when you’re done. The sweet and spicy mole poblano variation, made from a mole base shipped from Puebla, is also fantastic.
Raquel Soto, Miguel Cerón, and Sandra Aguilar at Chilaqueria Los Girasoles in.Pleasantville, N.J., on Friday, June 19, 2026.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
As unique as this concept is (even in Mexico such a focus on chilaquiles is rare), this year-old project in a brightly rehabbed former Subway, owned by Sandra Aguilar, her husband, chef Miguel Cerón, and his cousin, co-chef Raquel Soto, is also an evocative tribute to their home state of Hidalgo. Their occasional weekend special of lamb barbacoa is outstanding, and I cannot stop thinking about their Hidalgo-style torta. A soft roll is stuffed with a thin slice of breaded top round beef, tender from its zesty marinade, then layered with stretchy quesillo cheese, creamy avocado slices, and a warm salsa of lightly cooked tomatoes and onions that gives this sandwich the perfect moistness. For dessert, don’t miss the fresh and delicate crêpes Cerón perfected while working in a previous job at a breakfast diner. Chilaqueria Los Girasoles, 310 S New Rd, Pleasantville, N.J. 08232, 609-241-0269; chilaquerialosgirasoles.com
Pollos Asados PLV
Since fire-roasted chicken is in the name, it’s no surprise that the juicy birds turning on a rotisserie spit, seasoned with a Chiapas-style marinade, are the big draw to Pedro Rincon’s restaurant in downtown Pleasantville. It’s been so popular that he’s moving July 1 from his current location (114 N. Main St.) to a larger space next door at 104 N. Main St. Few meals I’ve eaten at the Shore were more satisfying than a whole bird here served simply cut up into pieces in a Styrofoam box with a bundle of fresh-pressed tortillas, two squeeze bottles of vibrant salsas, and belly-filling sides of refried black beans and rice.
Chiapas-style chickens roast on the spit at Pollos Asados PLV in Pleasantville.Courtesy of Pollos Asados PLV / Pedro Rincon
But Rincon’s kitchen has other worthy gems you absolutely should not miss, from the platters of extra-large seven-inch-wide tacos (I loved the juicy al pastor) to the paddle-sized bundles of Chiapanecas quesadillas, whose pliant tortillas are made with a blend of corn and flour. The long envelopes are big enough to share and come stuffed with quesillo cheese and a variety of fillings, from nopales to chicken. But the real quesadilla star here is the deshebrada de res, a stew of tender shredded beef so full of flavor, I just about ate the whole darn thing. Pollos Asados PLV, 104 N. Main St. (after July 1), Pleasantville, N.J. 08232, 609-640-6347; pollosasadosplv.com
Staff serve guests at Ruhani Kitchen in Egg Harbor Township on Friday, June 19, 2026.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP
Ruhani Kitchen
Chef Syed Abbas is best known for The Nizam’s, the well-regarded Indian restaurant in Egg Harbor Township that he owned for 15 years before selling it in 2022. The New Delhi-born chef says he needed a break for health reasons, and over the next three years traveled extensively through the Middle East. He worked for free in several kitchens in Dubai, shadowing chefs in Turkey, and gathering inspiration for a new concept back in New Jersey that would draw on dishes from across the region while also reflecting his family’s Persian roots. Ruhani Kitchen, which opened in December in the same narrow white roadhouse where he’d launched the first version of Nizam’s, is the result — and it is a delight.
The space has been completely rehabbed with vibrant blue walls, imported rugs, and comfortable furniture. The menu offers a greatest-hits list of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes from Lebanon to Afghanistan, and though the range is so broad that some nuances may not always be in perfect register, Abbas’ skill as a chef always shines through in the quality halal ingredients and satisfying flavors. The mixed app platter is a perfect place to start, from smoky baba ghanoush to tangy-sweet muhammara and vibrant green falafel made with fava beans.
Chef Syed Abbas at his restaurant, Ruhani Kitchen, in Egg Harbor Township on Friday, June 19, 2026.Ted Nghiem / For The InquirerThe fasooli baida spicy white bean soup with a side of rice rests on a table Ruhani Kitchen in Egg Harbor Township on Friday, June 19, 2026.Ted Nghiem / For The Inquirer
But the main courses are where Ruhani most impresses, especially with the Sultan’s platter, a generous medley of grilled meats — lamb and chicken kebabs tenderized with yogurt and fragrant seven spice; succulent shell-on shrimp; adana kebabs of both ground chicken and lamb scented with cumin and sumac — that can easily feed a crowd. Abbas’ talent with lamb shanks is also worth noting, served either Afghan-style plain over a pilaf enriched with lamb juices and sweet carrot laces, or Persian-style in creamy saffron sauce. I also couldn’t stop eating Ruhani’s take on the spicy white bean and tomato stew known as fasooli baida. The only thing off-key at Ruhani were the desserts, including a non-traditional knafeh that was strangely soupy. But even the ever-confident Abbas knows his limitations with sweets: “I cannot be good at everything.” Ruhani Kitchen, 6666 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township, N.J. 08234, 609-855-9719;ruhanikitchen.com
General Tso’s chicken is made gluten-free at China Sea of Absecon.Craig LaBan / Staff
ABSECON
China Sea of Absecon
China Sea is a survivor on the Shore’s dining scene, an unassuming standby that has thrived for 31 years in an Absecon strip mall. Founders Lily Lin and her husband, chef Chei Lin, delivered consistently good Cantonese food with a special distinction: an expansive selection of gluten-free options. Chinese food can be tricky for diners with gluten intolerance because of the heavy use of soy sauce and fryers that are commonly contaminated by wheat flour. But once chef Lin discovered his own restrictions with gluten, he developed an entire repertoire of modified dishes that are rarely seen elsewhere, including what my daughter Alice, who has celiac disease, declared as the best gluten-free General Tso’s chicken she’s ever tasted. Tender nuggets of meat are encased in delicate crusts crisped in a dedicated wok and tossed in a vivid orange sauce with a hint of heat that was flavorful without being cloyingly sweet. I consider it one of the best General Tso’s of any sort that I’ve tasted. But that wasn’t all. There were excellent gluten-free versions of plump shrimp in peppery Hunan sauce, perfectly deep-fried chicken “wing dings” in a crackly salt-baked crust, and impressively tender beef with peppers that hummed with a mellow savory balance.
An entirely gluten-free Cantonese feast is served at China Sea of Absecon, including, clockwise from top left, fried rice, beef chow fun, General Tso’s chicken, pepper steak and Hunan shrimp.Craig LaBan / Staff
Such consistently good flavors bode well for continuity at China Sea, which has been in a gentle transition since the Lins retired in September and sold to Lily’s niece, Melissa Xie, and her husband, chef Billy Zheng. The couple, who both previously worked as poker dealers in Atlantic City’s nearby casinos, have plans to introduce more traditional seafood dishes from Zheng’s home province of Fujian, where the former pro chef mastered lobster in ginger-scallion sauce, a spicier rendition of Singapore noodles than what the standard menu currently serves, and whole fish. Xie promises that China Sea’s classics will remain, but I’d definitely return to explore some of this kitchen’s new moves: “My husband [Billy] is very famous for his cooking within our [local Chinese] community,” she says, “but we have to be careful to keep everything else the same because we have customers who come from all over.” China Sea of Absecon, 662 White Horse Pike, Absecon, N.J. 08201; 609-569-1995; chinaseaofabsecon.com
Jersey Cow Ice Cream
Bordeaux cherry chip ice cream is one of the highlight flavors at the Jersey Cow Ice Cream chain.Craig LaBan / Staff
The Jersey Shore has plenty of options for your daily scoop. But here comes Jersey Cow, a fast-growing mini-chain of retro-style takeout windows with modern touch-screen menus that’s expanded over four years from the original location in Northfield, to Absecon, Brigantine, and now Margate, where the frozen treat competition is already fierce. If my visit to the Absecon storefront is any indication, Jersey Cow has come to play, especially in the hand-dipped category, where the ice cream is made from high-fat milk that allows them to achieve more vivid flavors with less sugar. The Chocolate Therapy is fudgy and intense, while the Bordeaux Cherry Chip (so named for the premium variety of dark cherries) has a more fruit-forward punch than the typical maraschino version. I wasn’t a fan of the icy vegan salted caramel, and Jersey Cow is still outsourcing its soft-serve base. But I’ll go back for any of their originals, especially some of the unique Asian flavors featured on the rotating specials — ube, black sesame, mango sticky rice, or red bean served atop a pandan green waffle — inspired by co-owner Maureen Gaw’s upbringing in Myanmar. Jersey Cow Ice Cream, 610 Mill Rd., Absecon, N.J. 08201, 609-796-2525; details on Northfield, Brigantine, and Margate locations noted on website, jerseycow-icecream.com
The exterior of Webster’s on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Somers Point.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
SOMER’S POINT
Webster’s Tavern
Some people come to the Shore to relax on the beach, dig holes in the sand, body surf, and read. For those suffering from screen-time withdrawal, Webster’s Tavern is there for you. “An elite TV program,” as I’ve heard it described, has helped pack the big parking lot of the former Windjammer turned giant sports bar in Somer’s Point. So many customers are willing to wait up to an hour for a chicken wing feast bathed in the pulsing glow of 38 TVs that owner Chris Webb has concluded “we’re going to add more [TVs], including one on the kitchen wall.”
The early days of Webster’s operations have exhibited some predictable hiccups as the tavern’s traffic rocketed to 750 customers a day within a couple weeks of opening in early June. The rushed pacing resulted in a multi-course meal that lasted barely as long as our 45-minute wait. The margarita was oversalted and sloppily mixed. (The pineapple-tinis, crushes, espresso martinis, and mud slides are apparently the safer move here). I appreciated the inclusion of local beers from Slack Tide and Somers Point Brewing on a list otherwise heavy with national brands and hard seltzers.
The something-for-everyone menu typical of the corporate restaurant world Webb comes from (he was a vice president at P.J. Whelihan’s) was uneven to say the least. The French onion soup and sheet pan nachos were solid, as was the classic tavern burger, which landed with a perfect medium rare on a branded brioche bun (a fair quality value for $17). But the house-breaded chicken wings were dry and chewy. The seafood mac ’n’ cheese was skimpy on the seafood. The chicken lettuce wraps were tepid and drowned in too much sweet soy marinade. The fried shrimp were oddly mealy. I take heart in hearing that Webb has already made some smart early corrections, switching to house-breaded shrimp since my visit. It’s a good sign to know that this personable and veteran restaurant executive is ever-present on the ground of his first solo project and that he is paying as much attention to the food as he is the number of TVs. Webster’s Tavern, 18 MacArthur Blvd., Somers Point, N.J. 08244, 609-657-3470;websterstavernsp.com
Pablo
Who is Pablo? That name was atop the list of every local I surveyed before my visit to the beach. It’s easy to see the curiosity factor at play: cars are often spilling out of the lot and parked on both sides of East Maryland Avenue beside the massive black hacienda of a restaurant and night spot called Pablo in Somers Point. The Zest Restaurant Group opened Pablo this summer after pouring $2 million into a renovation of the short-lived former Mexiquila. The Zest group, known for its stylish Cape May restaurants Port, Fish House, and Tacos Caballito Tequileria, has similarly transformed this rambling property (originally Clancy’s By the Bay) into a multi-room, four-bar, 400-seat extravaganza. There’s a moody lounge at the rear anchored by a DJ spinning house music, boosted by live musicians and pyrotechnics, an airy greenhouse dining room on the other side with skylights and garage doors that roll-up to a patio bar where they’ve re-created a beach. Fresh-juice cocktails fuel this fiesta, accounting for about 75% of the sales from the 1,200 or so guests that come through on a busy evening, says co-owner Ross Hammer, who concedes Pablo is a made-up name for the restaurant’s cheetah logo. (“Sorry, I’m Miguel,” said a passing server when I asked him for Pablo’s whereabouts.)
The exterior of Pablo on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Somers Point.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Pablo’s menu is a more affordable than its upscale-yet-underwhelming predecessor and conscientious to accommodate dietary restrictions. I only wish the kitchen put as much energy into making better-tasting food. Our meal was full of tepid overcooked meats, dry rice, stadium-grade nachos welded together with cheap cheese, and a parade of fusion tacos so disappointing that it was an all-out Taco-pocolypse, whose brightest bite was a tortilla topped with a cheeseburger. By that point, I realized that the wait — Hammer says it averages two to three hours for a seat in this no reservations dining room — is not worth it. Go to Pleasantville (see above) or pretty much anywhere else for your tacos, then return to Pablo for a tequila-spiked espresso martini, if you’re so determined, and boogie the night away on its ersatz beach. Pablo, 101 E. Maryland Ave., Somers Point, N.J. 08244, 609-469-6991; pablosomerspoint.com
“Tu Rinconcito” is Spanish for “your little corner.” The tiny 22-seater that bears this name in Old City is tucked into a sunny, brick-lined corner space on Third Street just north of Market, and could so easily be missed. That would be a mistake, especially if you love tacos.
The menu is fairly straightforward at this casual counter-service collaboration between chef Eugenio Guevara and his daughter, Elena. But the recipes — a blend of flavors from Eugenio’s native Puebla and his wife Ernestina Martinez’s hometown of San Luis Potosí — benefit from an unmistakable handmade touch. The tacos al pastor are a perfect example. The ribbons of pork are cooked on the plancha rather than a usual trompo spit, but remain incredibly juicy and tender. Ernestina’s vivid orange al pastor marinade is bright and zesty, with pineapple juice and guajillo chiles that spark against the micro crunch of minced raw onions and cilantro.
And as always with great tacos, details make all the difference. The succulent meat comes wrapped inside three house-pressed tortillas that are dainty but pliant and warm. Add a splash of the excellent and tangy salsa verde cruda or the earthy and herbaceous salsa rojo from the self-serve salsa bar, and the combo hits yet another level of magnetic force that is all this little corner needs to draw me back for more. Next time? Carnitas and a breakfast burrito. Tu Rinconcito, 17 N. Third St., 445-223-2733, turinconcitophilly.com
— Craig LaBan
The bibingka waffle at Manaong, 1833 Fairmount Ave.Kiki Aranita / Staff
Bibingka Waffle at Manong
Manong’s $11 bibingka waffle, available only on their newish brunch menu, is startlingly straightforward. You have a crispy, delicate waffle with a delightful chew — pulling it apart with your hands is particularly fun — topped with an enormous cloud of whipped cream. But just as the simplicity of the waffle’s appearance doesn’t prepare you for its eggy, rice flour texture, neither does gazing upon its accoutrements prepare you for their flavors. That cream cloud has salted egg yolk whipped into it, adding a lovely, savory balance to inherently sweet cream. The tiny pitcher of maple syrup is also spiked with spicy ginger for a sneaky kick. All the components come together beautifully. Manong, 1833 Fairmount Ave., 445-223-2141, manongphilly.com
— Kiki Aranita
Soft-shell crab at My Loup, 2005 Walnut St.Evan S. Benn / Staff
Soft-shell crab at My Loup
When the season turns from spring to summer, there’s a good chance that chef Alex Kemp will have a soft-shell crab dish on My Loup’s menu. In recent years, Kemp’s crab setup has included a highbrow riff on a BLT with roasted tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and bacon bits, and a supersimple version with Hollandaise sauce and caviar. The current plating puts a crispy crab under gem lettuce, spears of fresh asparagus, and a lemony-herby sauce. It’s a delight of contrasting textures and temperatures, and my annual reminder that summer is indeed here. My Loup, 2005 Walnut St., 267-239-5925, myloupphl.com
— Evan S. Benn
The patacón pintón at Puyero Venezuelan Flavors, which has locations on South Street and in University City.Beatrice Forman / Staff
Patacón Pintón at Puyero Venezuelan Flavors
If you’re not venturing beyond the arepas at Puyero Venezuelan Flavors, you’re doing it wrong. The casual Venezuelan restaurant with locations on South Street and in University City overstuffs the doughy cornmeal pocket tender beef and juicy roast pork, but the real magic is in everything else on the menu: buttery tequeños with cheese pulls that put even the best mozzarella sticks to shame, crispy tostones, and the patacón pintón, a sandwich that brings one of my favorite intrusive thoughts: What if maduros were bread?
The patacón pintón comes served on two giant pieces of caramelized sweet plantains piled high with shredded beef, black beans, and white cheese with a creamy green mayo. The maduros are surprisingly sturdy and add an extra dimension to an otherwise very salty — and heavy — sandwich. I think more sandwiches should come like this. Puyero Venezuelan Flavors, 524 S. Fourth St., 267-928-4584, puyeroflavor.com
We were led to a table lost in the shadows in the farthest corner of La Famiglia. The tall white candle waiting for us was lit and its flickering wick filled the space with a bright warm glow that revealed a posh little nook — the lavishly muraled walls wrapped around a table padded with silken napkins and not one, but two layers of linen tablecloths. Our view of the room revealed a world that still hummed with fine-dining trappings that, outside this venerable Old City space, have nearly disappeared.
Crisply suited servers rolled guéridons across polished pink marble floors to decant grand old wines from La Famiglia’s legendary cellar. Other carts bearing whole branzinos entombed in salt crusts paused tableside, where the fish were deftly deboned into a bloom of fillets, then glossed with olive oil, tomatoes, and capers. I haven’t seen so many men eating in blazers in years.
The branzino at La Famiglia in Philadelphia. The fish is baked whole in salt before it is filleted tableside.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe branzino at La Famiglia.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
“Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, people used to come here really really dressed!” says co-owner Giuseppe Sena, 73, recalling the era shortly after he and his brothers founded La Famiglia in 1976 with their parents, and his father Carlo “Papa” Sena’s classic Neapolitan cooking drew the city’s most well-heeled gourmands. “The women would come in chinchilla furs and so many diamonds the restaurant would be sparkling!”
Many longtime customers are still regulars. I ran into my retired rabbi here the same night that I ran into the retired poll judge from my local voting ward, both discerning eaters. The hushed tones and formal hospitality, as well as this menu’s fondness for center-cut meats, porcinis, and hard-to-find old wines, still appeals to a certain generation. The yet-to-retire and under 60 set? They are far rarer in the gilded confines of 8 S. Front Street, a Colonial-era building that was once a tea warehouse.
Diners at La Famiglia in Philadelphia.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe outside of La Famiglia.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
It’s been over two decades since I last reviewed La Famiglia, and even then I considered it old-fashioned, not to mention too expensive. But revisiting this classic 23 years later, I view it now through a different and fonder lens, not only because the cooking was more consistent, but because the context has shifted.
La Famiglia is among the last of a generation of continental-style restaurants with European-born chefs and well-starched dining rooms that ruled Philly’s fancy Italian scene in the late 20th century, including long-gone destinations such as Gaetano’s, Monte Carlo Living Room, and the original La Buca. But it has earned its status as a survivor. After two absolutely delicious recent visits, I can attest it’s clearly more than just a museum piece.
Set against the diverse riches of Philadelphia’s current Italian dining scene, from the stalwart red gravy icons of Italian American cooking (Villa di Roma, Dante & Luigi’s) to the alta cucina of Vetri, regionalists such as Le Virtù or Irwin’s, the nostalgia revivals of Palizzi Social Club and Bomb Bomb Bar, along with fresh contemporary takes from Emilia, La Famiglia’s retro experience still occupies a unique and worthy place to dine. With check averages for a complete meal between $90 and $100, it’s still a big night out but nowhere near the top of Philly’s current price range.
Upstairs event space and large dining area at La Famiglia.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerCo-owner Giuseppe Sena shares a laugh with Dawn and Luca Sena, of Society Hill, regulars and relatives, at the restaurant in Philadelphia.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The menu isn’t exactly innovative, but has been updated multiple times over the years. An overall delicacy remains to the cooking, now under the care of current chef de cuisine Luis Yauri, that, guided by Giuseppe Sena and his nephew, Carlo, follows a direct lineage to the recipes and techniques Papa Sena had perfected at Zi Teresa in Naples before coming to Philadelphia in 1967.
You can taste some of those original dishes on a throwback menu for the month of June in honor of La Famiglia’s 50th anniversary, including snails in spicy red sauce and gnocchi Sorrentina. But the signature pasta, penne alla Famiglia, is the only original dish that still lingers on the current menu — and for good reason. The quill-shaped tubes are glazed in a buttery sauce tinted pink with fresh tomatoes, lightly sweetened with caramelized onions and dotted with savory nubs of rendered prosciutto, the epitome of patient cooking.
The founder’s elegant approach is also still evident in fried appetizers that employ only the finest grain of housemade breadcrumbs and an insistence on using only egg whites, rather than the more typical and heavier method of whole eggs with a flour dredge. The resulting wafer-thin snap on the crocchette just barely contains the whipped potato centers laced with three kinds of cheese. The rounds of eggplant are so sheer and deftly fried they form a fork-tender stack, along with truffled porcinis, fresh tomato sauce, and mozzarella, of a dreamy Parm-like starter called a tortino.
Carlo Sena, general manager and co-owner of La Famiglia, in the back of the kitchen checking orders in Philadelphia.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerTriangolo ravioli stuffed with burrata in eggplant cream sauce at La Famiglia.Craig LaBan / Staff
Some of my favorite dishes here are unfashionably drab but deliver vivid flavors, like the vitello tonnato that dabbed silken-soft pads of veal tenderloin with a tonnato sauce that zinged with the briny umami of pureed tuna, capers, and anchovies. I could also taste Neapolitan sunshine in the eggplant cream that glazed the burrata-stuffed triangolo ravioli that arrived lightly broiled to a cheesy crisp.
For the most part, these plates have largely been updated with splashes of flavorful herb oils that add colorful halos to the refined sauces that are always in service of La Famiglia’s sweet spot: luxury proteins.
The pork chop at La Famiglia.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
A ruby-rare hunk of grilled ahi tuna comes sliced on the bias atop a sun spot of pureed tomatoes and olive oil, a Mediterranean tableau framed dramatically by a crispy ring of baked pappardelle. An incredibly tender veal chop arrives standing upright against a crisp frico of a Parmesan cheese over porcini cream sauce dotted with carrot mousse.
An amazingly juicy pork chop channels South Philly swagger with zesty banana peppers added to its white wine sauce, alongside plump caper berries. Filet mignon, a plush cut I almost never order over less tender but more flavorful steaks, rises here on a rich Barolo wine sauce infused with juniper and rosemary. The veal Milanese, meanwhile, whose breadcrumbs are pounded directly into the meat, is superbly crisped before it’s topped with a juicy fresh salad of tomatoes and red onions. A pappardelle special was all about showcasing fresh burrata chunks that wept a lush milkiness into the juices of lightly roasted cherry tomatoes to form their own kind of tangy orange sauce.
The pappardelle with burrata and roasted tomatoes at La Famiglia in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, May 28, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerA veal chop is served with porcini sauce at La Famiglia Ristorante.Craig LaBan / Staff
If there was one savory disappointment, it was the puny nuggets of lump crab that came with scallops for the linguine, an uncharacteristic dip in quality for a restaurant that prides itself on luxury.
One other gold-plated aspect of La Famiglia that remains steadfastly exceptional is the wine cellar, whose 12,000-plus bottles and 912 selections are kept in the dank chill of temperature- and humidity-controlled cages in the basement. A trip to this subterranean treasure cave is essential, not only since it’s the corridor to the restrooms, but because you can also view illuminated holes in the ground where colonial-era privies were excavated during La Famiglia’s construction in the mid-1970s, a reminder that this address occupies one of the oldest corners of the city.
The downstairs wine cellar at La Famiglia.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerCellar at La Famiglia, 8 S. Front St.MICHAEL KLEIN / Philly.com
Decades of collecting and careful preservation have resulted in what is still one of the city’s greatest assemblages of vino, largely Italian but international in scope, from a 1945 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva that had been walled off for protection during WWII, to 19th-century Madeiras, as well as verticals of late-’70s and early-’80s California cabs from Heitz Cellar and Beaulieu Vineyard. The restaurant has increasingly begun offering premium wines by the glass — Barolo and Amarone — as a nod to current drinking trends. (An iPad has also replaced the massive old “wine bible.”)
We decided to go all in and indulge in a bottle of Barbaresco. The sky’s the limit there, including the last $4,000 bottle from 1961 that was Angelo Gaja’s first vintage. We didn’t have the time for anything so old to be opened far enough in advance (not to mention the budget), we took maître d’ Jesus “Gaetano” Maldonado’s spot-on suggestion of a 2019 Famiglia Rivetti for $195.
Maître d’ Jesus “Gaetano” Maldonado decants a bottle of Famiglia Rivetti Barbaresco at La Famiglia.Craig LaBan / Staff
After a careful tableside decanting over a flickering candelabra to scout for sediment, the wine was luminous within 15 minutes of touching air, a gorgeously supple red with notes of black cherries, tobacco, rose petals, and spice that boosted the flavors of every dish on our table with a shine of glamour.
When it comes time for dessert, La Famiglia unfortunately settles for the tiramisu, cheesecake, and cannoli clichés, which were fine but unexciting, and mostly not made in-house. But the ristorante’s alcoholic assets, not surprisingly, offer a beguiling alternative: a collection of nearly three dozen rare grappa bottles beckon from a marble fireplace mantel. I sipped a little snifter of the clear and fruity brandy, an aged Rossi d’Asiago Dal Toso Elegance made from five different grapes, and it warmed my gullet and flooded my mind with a glow of contentment that felt like a forgotten pleasure. Decadent. Out of fashion. But undoubtedly still beautiful, not unlike eating at La Famiglia itself.
More than two dozen grappas line the fireplace mantel at La Famiglia Ristorante.Craig LaBan / Staff
La Famiglia Ristorante
8 S. Front St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19106, 215-922-2803;lafamiglia.com
Dinner Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.
Entrees, $25-$75. Gluten-free pasta available.
The dining room is not wheelchair accessible, except with the assistance “of two strong guys.” The bathrooms, however, are located downstairs and completely inaccessible to wheelchairs.
Menu Highlights Arancini; crocchette di patate; vitello tonnato; tortino di melanzane; penne alla Famiglia; ravioli with burrata in eggplant cream; tuna with heirloom tomato sauce; veal chop with porcini sauce; pork chop with banana pepper-caper berry sauce; whole branzino in salt crust.
Drinks Italian-themed cocktails are a solid start to the meal, but the legendary wine cellar is the main attraction, a 12,000-bottle collection offering some of the world’s most famous Italian, French, and American producers. While the bottles (priced with generous mark-ups) tend to suit big spenders, La Famiglia’s much improved collection of wines by the glass, with choices under $20 along with more premium options hovering below $30, keep quality sipping within reach.
A painting of Giuseppe Sena’s great-grandmother Rachele Labbiento, seen upstairs in the event space and large dining area at La Famiglia.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
