My husband and I chose to dine here for our anniversary as a result of our incredible first dinner…read moreexperience. Yes, it is an experience - from the atmosphere to the selection of beautiful dinner wear to the each element of plating to the awakening of each part of your palate to the personable owners who actually came to the table and talked to us. Wow! We are beyond impressed. As a couple who love dining and are appreciative of good cooking, we were left speechless for the second time. It's our secret spot now! Thank you John and Bruna for the amazing beyond believe dining experience!

Our first visit to Dolce Fantasia, and it will not be the last. My wife and I attended the Beer,…read moreWine and Spirits event in Asbury earlier in the day and decided to stay in town for an early dinner. Even though they only opened at 5pm, there was already a lively crowd at 5:30. We started with Polpettine Di Pollo, organic chicken meatballs with bell pepper, garlic, spinach and pomodoro. The order was large and delicious! Piping hot as well. Carol chose the Pappardelle al Telephono Nostro, house made pasta, mozzarella, tomato-cream sauce and fresh basil. this was a large order and my wife loved it. I chose the Tortelloni alla Bergamasca, veal tortellini with black truffle and rosemary veal reduction. Excellent as well! Dessert consisted. of a shared Pistachio Creme Brulee that was perfect. The restaurant is BYOB and I recommend making a reservation. Our server, Khrystna, was superb

I have a friend who lived in Wall, so she was naturally the go-to for recommendations for our…read morelittle drive down to Asbury Park. She recommended Cardinal Provisions, which had a great menu, so onward we went. It was perhaps major hubris on my end to show up at 11am and not expect a 1.5 hour wait. Well, we put our names down and took a walk to the Boardwalk. We ended up heading back a little before the 1.5 hour mark because the website where I was tracking our progress on the waitlist stopped working. We were seated at an outside table, but it was way too sunny, so I asked to be moved. They were able to accommodate us within 10-15 minutes. My mom and I opted to split two dishes, because neither of us could decide on what to order. We had the Cacio e Pepe Scrambled Eggs with breakfast sausage and garlic toast, and the Blueberry Skillet Cake with blueberry salted honey butter. First of all, our waiter did warn us that the skillet cake was huge, but we still wanted it anyways. It was, indeed, huge. But so good. Like a fluffy cake. The Cacio e Pepe eggs were phenomenal and I need to figure out how to make these at home. Service was attentive without being overbearing and we were never rushed. I think coming after 1pm is definitely the best time, since there were significantly less people waiting.

Was lucky enough to get a table outside for lunch on a rare sunny & warm day of the season…read more Cardinal has always been on my radar after hearing only great things and I can finally now vouch for them as well. We were seated right away on a Thursday afternoon on their front sidewalk patio. I ended up ordering the Green Machine bowl (normally vegan and gluten free) but added grilled chicken to it. It was delicious! A combo of roasted broccoli, warm lentils, parsley pesto, avocado, and marinated kale. Everything was cooked perfectly, and while this is basically something I make on rotation at home, I loved the pesto sauce and will definitely be trying to replicate that on my own. Perfect lunch that left my full and not even a little sluggish. They do have a few drinks on the menu like kombucha, cold brew, and sodas, but if you are looking for anything more than that in the coffee arena, you'll need to pop by a neighboring cafe afterwards. Service was friendly but not too fast. It was a busy day and we were in no rush, so we didn't mind. All in all, a great place for a delicious brunch.

ASBURY PARK: The latest addition to Asbury Park's vibrant scene, The Berkeley Backyard is a stylish…read morenew restaurant located inside the historic Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel--and the best part? Leashed and friendly dogs are welcome both indoors and out! Open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, the space is beautifully designed to bring the outdoors in, with green floral backdrops, hanging string lights, and framed flower displays that create a fresh, modern ambiance. The outdoor patio offers views of Ocean Avenue, Convention Hall, and the iconic Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel--which is also dog friendly! Be sure to check their social media for the latest hours and upcoming events.

Excellent service, very good drinks. I tried the Coco Lychee Martini . This place is also…read moreconnected to a pool area where day passes are available for purchase. Serene ambiance

Wanted to like this spot. Good vibe, cool decor…read more... Pizza was overworked, crumb non-existent. Zero flavor. Also undercooked and gummy. Toppings were ok, but didn't really matter on top of a soggy, bland mess...pizzas shouldn't flop over and drip. Service was friendly but slow.

I heard a lot about this place and drove two hours to come here. I love the area and was looking…read morefor a good food spot. I know they have great pizza, but I wanted to find brunch in the area. We sat at the bar because there were plenty of seats. It looked like there were two bartenders working. The restaurant was only half full, but we thought we'd have good service at the bar. Our server seemed new; she didn't write down our order. She repeated it back incorrectly, still didn't write it down, and then entered it into the POS system. She kept asking if it was correct as she shouted it back to us. We thought this was weird because she could've just written it down. We ordered ricotta toast and a breakfast sandwich with bacon. It took 40 minutes for the food to come out and when it did they forgot the bacon. And my toast was cold. We asked the other bartender about the bacon and the long wait time, and he was very rude. We said, we ordered 40 minutes ago and no one came back to check on us. The girl who waited on us was standing behind the bar, staring at us, writing in a notebook and never acknowledged us after that. The other male bartender was rude when we asked how much longer our order would take he said "You did not order 40 minutes ago!!" I said, we did. Upon walking into the restaurant, we took several pictures and they were time stamped. The male bartender went over to the POS system to check our order. We stated that we did order bacon 40 minutes prior. It had never been put in so he added it to our order. We waited for the bacon; it didn't come out for several minutes. While we were waiting, I asked for the manager and the male bartender snapped back at me and said "Why?" He didn't want to get her, and I insisted I speak to her because I wanted to let someone about this experience. He walked away from the bar, threw his hands up and was yelling. After that he didn't speak to us either. I find it shocking that there are people like this who don't care about food, service or helping customers at all. I wouldn't go back here because it was very strange, and I've never had an experience with two servers who were so rude and aloof.

This place was GOOOOOD. Honestly blown away by this establishment…read more Was in town for work & everyone from the area to told me to come down to this area for dinner. Walked around & landed on this place. Such a swanky cool kind of new age hipster but also vintage vibe? Lol No idea! But I sure was digging it! The bartender was super sweet in helping me make a decision for dinner, because I wanted to try it ALL. I folded on the Lemony Shrimp & Bean stew (absolutely spectacular and this is coming from someone that doesn't like being or vegetable type soups) the leeks were so yummy but the shrimp was the star, just look at how huge they were. Sliced Flat Iron - SO JUICY. Such flavor! Literally haven't had any steak til this day that could replicate that flavor of the scallion chimichurri and celery root purée. It has been over a year now since I've been here, and I still CRAVE, I'm talking I have full on dreams about having this place again. Can confirm, I AM Homesick.

Had brunch here this past weekend with a group of girls. Our server was so sweet and attentive and…read moregot everything right. Inside is clean and cute and nicely decorated. The food was excellent. I highly recommend the burger, and the drinks were perfectly created. Not too strong, but not too weak. Would definitely come back.

ASBURY PARK: after all these years hanging out in town, we finally visited Toast, a breakfast,…read morebrunch, and lunch destination right downtown. They have tables out front that are friendly to leashed dogs while enjoying the buzz of Cookman Avenue. The menu is full of omelettes, pancakes, toasts, burgers, bowls, salads, and more! BYOB and enjoy a summer day with excellent food!

Okay experience. Upon arriving we were met with a friendly but a bit frantic hostess. The place was…read moreby no means busy and she was acting as though they were swamped. Once we sat down our server arrived who seemed less than pleased to be serving us, he was nice enough but barley spoke with us and seemed to not want to be there. For food I had the Mediterranean omelette which truthfully was not very good, it was borderline flavorless. Additionally our server barley checked in with us. Ambiance is fine, its your typical casual brunch spot - don't expect anyone dressed well or an elevated experience. I definitely don't think this was the best showcase of Toast as I have heard great things so they may have just been having an off day. I would definitely give it another shot.

Wonderful place for breakfast. Quaint and tidy the choices don't disappoint and the service is very…read moregood. Huevos rancheros seems to be the favorite so it's was ordered and it was very good.the gooey chocolate chip pancakes were also a hit.

We are here for a brief vacation at asbury park breach and we are with dog so found chat and…read morenibble in our search for pet friendly dining. Don't sleep on this spot. It's not in the typical boardwalk or Cookman location. It's about .8 miles in the opposite direction from the board walk but we enjoyed our stroll with the pup.. the food was fantastic. My daughter got the asbury special which was two eggs, toast and a choice of potato and I got the Mediterranean omelet with feta, spinach, onions and tomato, toast and home fries.. and of course a pancake order for the table.. service was fantastic and the outdoor seating was nice.. they might benefit from some shade or umbrellas, but at 8 am it was not an issue.. if you're looking for a fantastic breakfast, dog friendly is a plus, but I'd recommend even without a dog.. very glad it came up in our search

Saw a 1 star review saying "one and done" , "dessert was good", "all atmosphere", "just okay"…read more As much as I disagree with that assessment and personally feel that Pascal and Sabine is way better than "just okay"... that review should not equal 1 star. You're only review, you've only been once and decide to go onto a public forum and give 1 star. Anyway off my soapbox. Pascal and Sabine not only has some of the best cocktails and bartenders in Asbury but possibly NJ. I have been countless times with my wife, my kids, large groups you name it. My favorite way to experience Pascal is to sit at the bar get a couple cocktails (The Jackal is a staple), the Madame Smith Burger (my wife gets the Mr Smith) the fries are amazing, and maybe the escargot and just enjoy. It's up there with some of the most perfect nights out in Asbury you can have. Hope this 5 star review balance out a ridiculous 1 star review. - YH

This place is a standout…read more I came with my mom during happy hour and everything from beginning to end was excellent. Lovely hostess, great round bar seating with huge windows for people watching, and a genuinely charming and attentive bartender (Mike). We started with oysters from Newfoundland and cheese off the happy hour menu -- both great. My mom loved her lavender French 75 (a drink special), and my white wine was perfect (the name escapes me at the moment). The garlic soup deserves awards. I first had it two summers ago and still think about it -- I made my mom try it and she immediately understood my rave reviews. For entrées, her burger was cooked perfectly medium-rare, and my fish & chips absolutely hit the spot. Both came with generous portions of house-made fries and an unexpectedly addictive house honey-mustard. We had enough fries for leftovers, and I even asked for extra mustard to take home. Food, service, atmosphere, lighting, noise level -- all dialed in. A 10/10 experience!

Loved our first visit to Black Swan! The staff were so attentive and food was wonderful. The chef…read moreeven made an accommodation to make a vegan pasta as there were not many vegan friendly options on the menu. I really appreciated the offer and it was delicious. The ambiance was great as well (lots of space, cool decor and music was perfect). Can't wait to go back!

POOR SERVICE ALL AROUND and NEVER returning here again. Incredibly disappointed and frustrated…read more tonight my partner and I came for a date night at 9pm to kick off our 4th of July weekend and we left on empty stomachs. Host seated us in an area where we weren't asked for our drink order for nearly 20 minutes after arriving, that set the tone for the evening, since the waitress said no one told her that we were there. We then placed our food order at the same time and the waitress said no problem. We proceeded to wait another 30 min with her then saying our food was brought to a different table. She said we could have the bill forgiven or wait for a new order to be prepared we opted to give a chance, however, when she returned nearly 30 more minutes later making it nearly an hour and a half no food other than fries they brought since they thought that would be a concession she comes with only 1 order not 2 at the table when we said we originally ordered 2 Rigatoni dishes....she said she was sorry and proceeded to try to hand us the bill. We asked for the manager at that point since, we were really hungry and the order was wrong and to aggravated to eat then told him we were fed up and wouldn't be paying for this kind of POOR SERVICE and left. They literally had only 5 tables currently at their establishment and all had no food.

Cocktails and share dishes. Excellent service and dog friendly!excellent staff ! Also great outdoor…read morespace

REYLA was an incredible first dinner in Asbury Park and set the bar high. From the moment we walked…read morein, the staff was welcoming, attentive, and genuinely friendly. The service was excellent throughout the entire evening, and every cocktail we ordered was fantastic. We started with a few appetizers, which were the perfect way to kick off the meal before diving into our mains. For dinner, we ordered the Duck Rice, Schnitzel, octopus, and mushroom skewer. While everything was delicious, the Duck Rice and Schnitzel were the clear standouts. Both were packed with flavor, and the Schnitzel was an especially generous portion without feeling over the top. It was perfectly cooked and incredibly satisfying. To top off the night, we headed downstairs to their cocktail bar, Laylow, and had an amazing time. The atmosphere was fun, the cocktails were just as impressive as dinner, and it was the perfect way to end the evening. If you're in Asbury Park, I definitely recommend checking out Reyla and making a stop at Laylow afterward. Great food, outstanding service, amazing drinks, and an all-around memorable experience.