Growing up in Long Branch in the 70’s and 80’s there were many iconic places to grab a bite any time of day. Like weekend breakfast at Max Embers or The Flame, Primavera’s and Ocean View Bakery for lunch and spots like The Continental, Tuzzio's or Jimmy Lu’s Chinese for dinner. The Inkwell was a late-night staple, of course.
Unfortunately, all of those are no longer open today but the good news is that there is a host of newer options and some classics that are still around (think Max’s and The Windmill’s decades-long weenie wars).
Long Branch has become a literal melting pot for dining. With no less than a dozen Mexican restaurants (Acapulco and La Valentina to name a few of the originals in town), at least half a dozen Italian restaurants (Piancones, Trama and Sirena are some local favorites; don’t forget Nunzios and Scala’s for some of the best pizza in the area).
There are many Portuguese/Brazilian/Spanish options (Mar Belo, Por Du Sol and 21A are muy bueno), Chinese (King Chef and Ming Ying have been feeding us for years), Japanese (Izu and Sushi on Fleek are great options), American (you may have heard of The Butcher Block, one of the hottest restaurants in NJ let alone Long Branch -- if you can get a reservation), French (Avenue in Pier Village happens to be one of the most beautiful restaurants in the area), seafood (Rooney’s, McCloones and Charlie’s have some of the best views in town) and there’s a variety of great Kosher options even if you don’t normally eat kosher (Grandma’s Grilled Cheese, Salt Steakhouse, La Riva Pizza and Stingers/656 are some of the best).
And to wash all this food down, Long Branch is also home to many popular bars (The Mix, Jack’s, Nip and Tuck and Zachary’s to name a few) while also being one of the only cities to have a microbrewery (White Chapel Project), distillery (Long Branch Distillery) and meadery (wine made from honey- Beach Bee Meadery).
So no matter what you hunger or thirst for, Long Branch can satisfy every craving.