Lovely town, very quiet Beautiful beaches…read more Quaint downtown area with a handful of restaurants, shops and galleries. The Italian festival was the reason for my most recent visit. Nice way to spend a few hours.

Completely by accident I drove by this town and was compelled to stop and take a look around. This…read moredoes not feel like New Jersey. It is more of a resort beach town similar to Bar Harbor Maine or even Santa Barbara California. The first thing I noticed as people were walking by, and this was not an exception but the rule, they happily greeted me with a "good morning." Where in this State do you see this happen? And no wonder they were so happy. The beauty of the town along with its charm simply can not avoid but put you in a better mood. The variety of small shops, restaurants and even a couple of coffee places gives you enough of a selection to easily spend the morning. And if walking around and food is not enough, just walk down the block to a gorgeous beach with a beautiful boardwalk. By the time you leave expect to have a grin from ear to ear.

Wow. I LOVE IT HERE. I'm a gal who prefers a more quiet, peaceful beach experience. I spent the…read moreday at Avon By the Sea on a weekday in September and it was perfect. All parking is FREE. Can't complain about that! There's plenty of street parking right in front of the boardwalk as well as residential parking nearby. Since I visited after the summer season ended, I had no problem finding a spot at 12pm. If you're going during the season, I would suggest coming much earlier if you want to get a good spot closer to the beach. During the summer season (Memorial Day through Labor Day), beach badges are required from 9am-5pm on weekdays and 9am-5:30pm on weekends/holidays. It's $13 per person. Children ages 11 and under + active military and their dependents are free of charge. They don't accept credit/debit cards, so remember to bring CASH. The beach is beautiful - clear, blue water and clean, soft sand. The crowd is more mature and family-oriented. They do have a lot of rules (no alcohol/smoking/cannabis/canopies/tents/sound systems), but I don't mind. It's not rowdy here, so you'll have a peaceful experience. There are bathrooms, a playground area for children, and a boardwalk. The boardwalk is small, but charming. There are benches for you to sit, relax, and enjoy the ocean view. There aren't many restaurants, bars, games, or entertainment around. They have a snack/food pavilion, but I'd suggest driving a few miles away to Asbury Park or Long Branch for a better dining and night life scene. Seeeeee yaaaaaaaa at the shore!

Avon-by-the-Sea is perfect if you're looking for a quiet, peaceful beach day. It's way more low-key…read morethan Belmar -- not much going on, mostly retirees and families, which honestly makes it super relaxing. Don't come here expecting to walk to a bunch of restaurants or bars -- it's more of a bring your own vibes kind of place. But they do have a snack shack, bathrooms, and the beach itself is really clean with clear water. Daily entry is $13, and there's lots of street parking, which is rare and amazing for beach towns. If you just want to chill, read, and enjoy the ocean without the crowds, this is the spot

Food was very good. Waitress very nice. Best broccoli I…read moreever had, really! An enjoyable lunch.

I had the most upsetting and disappointing experience at Pete & Elda's last night. I ordered a…read moredouble extra large pepperoni & onion pizza to be delivered on DoorDash. When I received the order, the pizza was a plain pizza with no toppings. However, the ticket inside the box had my name and what I ordered. So clearly, this was not the Doordasher's mistake, it was the restaurants. I called the restaurant and explained what happened & the manager on the phone Brandon said that in order for me to receive a refund, I'd have to contact DoorDash. I explained I didn't want a refund, I just wanted the pizza that I ordered. He then said I'd have to pick up the new pizza (which I was fine with doing) in 25-30 minutes. When I drove to the restaurant to pick up the new pizza, I'm then told by Brandon that I'd have to pay for the new pizza (which he never stated over the phone) & contact DoorDash for a refund. I explain ONCE AGAIN, that I'm not looking for a refund, I just want the pizza that I ordered. He then explains that it's just their policy & I'd have to pay for the new pie (even though it was their fault I got the wrong order.) Any decent manager or business would give the new pie for free because it was a mistake on their end. I obviously refused to pay for a second pizza & asked to speak to someone else. Then another manager named Joe comes out & basically says the same thing that Brandon says. At this point, I'm very upset because I'm being asked to pay for a mistake that I didn't make. I call my dad & let him know what's happening, & then he drives over with the pizza that was received and the ticket in the box. We then proceed to go back & forth with the managers for around 10 minutes. They completely avoided accountability for their mistake, & instead tried to blame the mistake on the dasher. The manager Joe was saying that "dashers pick up multiple orders at once & could've mixed the pizzas up." Clearly, that's not what happened in this situation, so it felt like they were trying to insult our intelligence. I ONCE AGAIN tell him that the dasher received the correct pizza from the restaurant because the ticket in the box was correct, one of their staff just gave the wrong pizza. I worked in the food industry for many years so I understand how DoorDash works. It's not the Dashers's responsibility to check the box and make sure the pizza is correct as that would be very unsanitary. The responsibility is on the restaurant to give the Dasher the correct order. After me having to drive to their restaurant when I wanted the order delivered initially, then my dad having to drive there to back me up, & us going back & forth with them, they finally decide to give me the pizza without me having to pay a second time (which they should've done in the first place.) Then the manager Joe tries to offer us a credit the next time we decide to go to the restaurant but I told him there was no need for that because we will never go to Pete & Elda's ever again! This whole situation has left such a bad taste in my mouth. I've had an issue before where I received the wrong pizza from Pete & Elda's & they simply remade my order and gave me a new pizza, so I don't understand why they expected me to pay again for food I already paid for through DoorDash! I have lived in Neptune all of my life and my parents have been living here for over 30+ years, & we were frequent customers at Pete & Elda's. We are so upset & disappointed that we can't even bring ourselves to set foot in that restaurant ever again. If they simply gave me the new remade pizza without demanding a second payment, this situation would've never happened. The managers were completely unprofessional and handled this situation HORRIBLY. You guys have lost loyal customers over a pizza that probably cost you $10 to make.

Food, service, and the restaurant are all incredible. The seafood is always cooked to absolute…read moreperfection and every meal could be shared family style as their portions are so generous. Being right on the beach makes for such a beautiful view. They have the best calamari, we get it every time and it's always cooked perfectly and perfectly seasoned.

We came in and sat at the bar on the left…read more A cockroach climbed up from behind the bar and was was on our plate, we quietly grabbed it and notified the bartender. They didn't bring us a new dish. We got our check and they didn't even buy us one drink or the dish that cockroach climbed in.. We could've made the cockroach issue a big deal and decided to be good humans and not ruin everyone's else's experience. Will not be coming back. Overpriced and the service does not take care of customers.

Granted it's a nice place to visit in the summer, most people can tell you that. But it's also nice…read moreto visit in the winter, walking and taking in the views, the breeze, and the scent of the sea in the air makes for a pleasant afternoon. It's underrated and you miss out on a valuable life experience.

The eggplant rolintini was delicious light and flavorful. Both entrées were well prepare and…read moreflavorful. Service was prompt with a smile in a charming jersey shore decor setting. We plan on returning to try other delights on the menu.

Amazing fresh and innovative food! Love the seasonal menus as well as the "staples". Never had a…read morebad meal here. Portions are quite generous. Special shout out to the pastry chef. The boos orange Olive oil cake was to DIE for. With ginger snap ice cream - *chefs kiss* Top that off with our amazing waitress we had a fabulous night!

Honestly, I was blown away by this humble little restaurant. It truly is a warm and inviting…read moreatmosphere with standout dishes and excellent service. It was so good that I would have returned back the very next day. We walked in and we're seated immediately with our reservation, and the experience only went up from there. There are plenty of staff around to make sure that you have everything you need without seeming to be too much. It's a cozy space, nothing super fancy, but really that's all you need sometimes in a neighborhood Italian joint. Everyone at my table raved about their food from the pasta Arrabiata, to the veal special to what I had which was the crab pasta. There was so much crab and the sauce was so light. I can't get over it. I ate my leftovers that same night. Looking forward to visiting soon again

Awful experience. We left after an hour and twenty minutes after not getting our food. I kept…read moreasking how much longer was it going to take and they never came back with an answer. Having kitchen experience myself as well as being human being I know things can happen. I just wanted to know. After the host came in from hanging out with his friends outside he bought us over a salad swimming in dressing as an apology . I told him we don't want that, all we want is an answer as to how much longer our food will be. Again, no answer. By the time we wanted to leave our waitress and servers were no where to be found so we were kind of stuck as I was not going to walk in back to look for someone. Now, nobody wants to walk out of a restaurant ( except the owner in this case) but over an hour with no explanation is a little much. We finally caught a server who got our waitress as we waited by the door. Her only excuse for us was " I don't know what to tell you"

Love my town, the residents, the administrators, the whole thing. Several diverse neighborhoods…read morewith varying price ranges. good schools and roads and transportation. close to NYC and AC as well. the ocean is at our fingertips, the beach is ours. The parks are great. The mayor is even better. A place everyone would want to live in, if they only could. OK, you can all envy me!