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Hooked Cafe

4.4 (126 reviews)

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HOOKED CAFE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Hooked Cafe

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Open sign on at 6:30am, says they open at 6. Very clearly not open. All the stools are up and no one answering the phone.
April N.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what is going on with this restaurant. I was at the beach watching the sunrise and it was too cold so I decided I needed something to warm me up. Used Yelp to find restaurants near by "open now". First to come up was Hooked. I used to love this place so I was excited to visit again. Now, Yelp has them listed as opening at 6am. Google says 7am. The door of the restaurant says 6am. Their website hookedcafe.com is down. I called, no answer (there was no recording or voicemail, just the generic default robot so I can't be 100% that it was even the correct phone number for this business). They have not one, but two Instagram accounts, neither of which have been posted to since 2020. However, one post from December said they opened at 8am. So, I don't know what the story is. I pulled up at 6:30 and the "Open" and "Coffee" signs were on but the parking lot was empty and all the stools inside were up and there were no lights on or people inside. If this business is still open, they need to do better because I shouldn't have to spend 20 minutes just trying to figure out if you're open or not. Please get it together, I used to love your restaurant!

Diana M.

Came here for breakfast today with my girlfriends and we all loved the food. We sat outside and they have these cute little tiki tables. Service was quick and friendly. 3 of us got the egg, cheese, pork roll, rigged (hashbrown), and avocado on a roll.. It was amazing! The bread was nice and soft and all the flavors just came together to make a bangin' sandwich. It hit the spot. The iced coffee was average and the inside of the place is nothing special. However, I recommend coming here and sitting outside on a nice day. There is parking right in the plaza. Its located near the family dollar.

Gerald S.

This small cafe along the tracks in Belmar serves a very good breakfast with strong java and friendly service. Our french toast, corned beef hash and 3 egg omelet were all superior plates beyond the expectation of what is a closet size kitchen with a single grill. Large portions. We took part of the egg dish home. Special mention for the hash side dish which was about the best I've had the pleasure of eating. A light crunch and rich flavors, especially when dosed with a run of the table syrup. A little sweetness to mix with the salt and peppery chunks of meat, potato and onion. Great suggestion! Outside dining under dark blue umbrellas for a warmer morn beckon.

Fish taco with gross old avocado.

Stopped by for fish tacos based on the photos and great reviews. Unfortunately, they were old reviews. The fish is now battered and fried. The itself was pretty good but the taco shells were a flour tortilla that was cut into a triangle and put on the flat top. They were hard and dry and small. Worst part was they were served with old, bad avocado. My wife asked if they had any fresher avocado and the "chef" came out and said the avocado was fine. She argued it was just the brown part near the stem. Didn't offer to do anything.

Kiichi R.

Visiting the infamous Jersey Shore, girlfriend happens to choose here. What an excellent choice! I am a huge supporter of local eateries and boy does this place shine bright like a diamond. Not an overly large place, with room for 20 inside and another 20 outside. Menu has a variety of typical breakfast items as well as specialty sandwiches with an emphasis on seafood. We had the fish tacos and fried clam sandwich - all of which were SUPERB! I am already "hooked" on this place to come back. Also, you MUST have the homemade Key Lime Pie - to dieeeeee for! Additionally, Peggy, who is the co-owner with her husband, was a darling of a server/conversationalist. She seems to be the hub of all the locals as she seemed to know everyone that walked through the door. Have any questions about the town? She can guide you in the right direction! The Shore is a winner! And foodies, make it a point to check it out!

Taylor Ham and cheese with home fries
Gina C.

Amazing Breakfast Spot! Taylor Ham and cheese was crisp and the roll was delicious!!! Corned beef hash was the best I've ever had and my friends enjoyed the hash brown and home fries.

French Toast!
Melinda M.

Always fresh and delicious! Great friendly service! Open early for breakfast, Hooked is a great spot to enjoy breakfast or brunch!

Short stack with egg and bacon
Linda M.

Great breakfast spot in Belmar plaza. Right of the train tracks. I had the buttermilk pancakes with an egg and bacon. Bacon was crisped up nice and pancakes were fluffy with a distinct buttermilk flavor. Coffee was average. Best seating is outside.

Egg cheese pork roll hash brown sandwich
Janelle L.

Came for breakfast with my girlfriends after going out for our one friends bachelorette get-together. My one friend created her own sandwich and I got the same. It was egg, cheese, pork roll, hash brown, and avocado. It was sooooo good and I was so stuffed after eating the whole sandwich, but I could have done without the hash brown. Hash browns have that greasy taste too it and. bait of an after taste for me....but the sandwich was still delicious. The atmosphere was very cute with hut umbrellas on the outside seating. Downfall is the inside. If you need to use the bathroom you have to go to the back of their kitchen area and it smelled so bad walking through that area. They also use the bathroom as storage of soda and such on shelves close to the ceiling. I have watched out particles float through the air when you flush so I found this to be not so clean to store items in here. Other than the bathroom this place is a must try. We all enjoyed our dishes!!

the outside of the restaurant
Sue T.

Had a wonderful breakfast here with my daughter. It is located at the train station in Belmar. The place is small with 4 picnic tables outside under umbrellas. I looked inside & received a very warm greeting from the gentlemen behind the counter. I noted a few stools at a counter with several editions of the Daily Times sitting on the counter, presumably for patrons to read. It was a glorious day so we opted to sit outside. We were greeted by a very personable young woman almost immediately who took our drink orders. She came out several times to take our orders but we were taking our time & just enjoying the company. She was not pushy in the least & had no problem with our procrastinating. I finally decided on pork roll, egg & cheese on a roll with hash browns (my guilty pleasure). The sandwich came out quickly & hot & was quite tasty. My only negative was that the hash browns came out on the sandwich, which I did not expect. I would have preferred them on the side. My daughter however loved the hash browns on her sandwich. I will definitely return to this little breakfast nook.

Seafood chowder

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Peggy R.

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4 years ago

Best pork roll egg and cheese I've had in ages. Incredible hash browns. 5 stars for sure. Loved it.

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5 years ago

Delicious, fresh fruit salad and avocado toast w two eggs. Very accommodating service. I recommend and will return.

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Best corn beef hash breakfast. Their key lime pie is a taste sensation. Great cordial staff that go out of their way to please

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Ask the Community - Hooked Cafe

I know this use to be called the Express Station a few years ago. Are there new owners or is this just a new name?

Hi Kirsten. We purchased the Express Station from our friend, Richard, 3 years ago when he was ready to retire.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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Modern looking place, our server was very helpful and made solid recommendations. I got the lox…read morebenedict, and my husband got the scramble fiesta bowl with chorizo. Both were extremely tasty and very filling. Would definitely come back again (and next time I'm getting the fiesta bowl!)

Heard great things about this place so came on a Sunday around 11:30 am to see if it was worth the…read morehype. When I walked into the restaurant, there were 6 people standing ahead of us at the hostess stand. Tables were emptying out but no one even acknowledged our existence for - no exaggeration- 15 minutes. We made conversation with the people around us that it was almost comical that no one even said they'd be with us in a moment. It was odd and we almost left and walked to The Buttered Biscuit down the street, but we stuck it out. Once we were seated we were given a tiny placard to scan the menu with our phones. Service after being seated was surprisingly consistent after our long wait time to be seated with no acknowledgment from staff. I have a gluten allergy and the online menu did not have specific information showing what was GF or GFA. When I asked the sever about it she rattled off some GF options but of course I couldn't remember all of them, having them marked on the menu would be so helpful. I ordered the Birria Omelette but chose to have the tortilla strips on the side since they were in a shared fryer. The dressing for the side salad was light and tangy. The omelette was supposed to be French style but wasn't creamy in the middle. Birria meat was tender and kind of overwhelmed the overall taste of the omelette. I also had an iced decaf mocha latte and it was good, not too sweet and pretty much coffee flavored chocolate milk. My dining companion had the classic French toast, which looked delicious and he really enjoyed it but I didn't taste it because "gluten." Ambiance is really nice, tables are well spaced and the restaurant is well decorated. Not sure if I'll be back but glad I tried it!

Photos
Inside
Inside
Perfect pair
Perfect pair
Oat milk latte

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Oat milk latte
Mr Shrimp

Mr Shrimp

3.6
(399 reviews)
0.5 mi
$$

We don't get to Mr Shrimp that often but when we do it's always a fine meal. This visit was more…read moreenjoyable then most as we caught them on a night they were not packed with people. They were barely half full and the noise was not extremely loud. I had the New England clam chowder and as usual it was a great start to the meal. Plenty of clams and potatos in a creamy white sauce. To start the meal they also provided bread sticks with sesame seeds which is a real nice alternative to dinner rolls. With the sticks they also providing a dipping sauce that really tasted great. This the only place I can remember having breadsticks during dinner and loved it. For dinner I had stuffed flounder with rice and vegetables. The fish was prepared real well and came with plenty of crabmeat and stuffing. Inside it was real moist and tasted great. Along with that was rice and mixed vegetables. In the restaraunt the vegetables were a bit harder then I would prefer but when I reheated the meal at home they were perfect. But if you you are an al dente vegetable they would be fine for you. My wife picked something off the specials of the day. Shrimp, Mahi, broccoli, mushrooms, pine nuts all over rice. She felt this was a great meal and would definitely get it again. It was a nice blend of a bunch of tastes and textures, and the pine nuts are always a great addition to a meal. With less people to deal with the service was right on point, with several returns to our table to make sure everything was well. I feel you will always have a great meal here. But at times there will be a wait to get a table and it will be a bit loud... But in my mind you will always walk out smiling

Local spot that caters to older local crowd. Hold tables for special customers vs new customers…read more Food is good but service seems overwhelmed when busy. Reservations don't always matter.

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Mr Shrimp
Oysters
Oysters
Inside

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Inside

Hooked Cafe - cafes - Updated June 2026

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