The steak taco had good flavor and was cooked well, the mango shrimp taco had a nice sweet touch that balanced the shrimp, and the chicken tender taco was simple but satisfying. Everything tasted fresh and the portions were fair. If you're in the area and craving tacos, it's definitely a decent spot to check out. I'd stop in again when I'm in the mood. read more

See all

My favorite Surf Taco because they give you a bowl of chips with a combo platter instead of just a few chips on the platter like other Surf Tacos'. Love the crunchy beef tacos. They are to die for. The Baja salsa is delicious. read more

Surf Taco - Combo platter with 2 crunchy beef tacos. I ate a little before remembering to take a pocture. - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

Surf Taco is a New Jersey shore based local chain. (Shore is NJ for beach.) It's a rainy day at the end of September, so it was pretty empty and clean. Service was friendly and prompt. The tacos are tasteless. Not sure how they do this, but they are. While large, they are filled with cabbage or shredded vegetables and whatever protein - meat, chicken, chicken fingers, etc - and most importantly, seasonings. I emphasize seasonings. Somehow they really weren't any. Chicken finger taco was tastier than the shrimp taco, but it was faint praise. The salsa bar tasted like they just opened up some jars of salsa from the supermarket. The freshness and vibrancy of tacos just was missing. Totally serviceable, I know there are better unless expensive places to get tacos at the shore. read more

The food was fantastic!!! My only complaint is that it's (1) very overpriced and (2) the salsa promised was similar to the tostitos salsa you could buy. I was definitely expecting some pico de gallo type salsa. Service is super quick, we ordered on site and got our food within 5 minutes. read more

Surf Taco - Classic Krunch Pocket - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

I had the Baja Style Surf Burrito today. I've been going to Surf Taco for years, and I have to say this particular location seems to be the best one. I've got burritos or tacos in the past at other locations in which it looked like they skimped a bit on the protein, but that hasn't been the case so far at the Manasquan location. The person who packed the bag even put the limes in little plastic ramekin. Usually they are just tossed in the bottom of the bag. read more

Stopped by after a day of kayak fishing. Seems to be a popular place. I had a fried beef taco and a shrimp taco. They were ok. The staff and service was nice enough. The dining space is nice and clean. The bathrooms are tiny but clean. read more

Surf Taco - Post fishing snack - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

AMAZING, I LOVED EVERYTHING. the cashier is a little weird but I'll let it slide they didn't take off the lime sauce but still the place is very clean and nice environmentally friendly. please consider coming here. my sisters shifts are 10:30 to 4 on saturdays and sundays. she's blonde read more

Surf Taco - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

Absolutely amazing food! I love how it's beach. Themed inside the staff is wonderful. The food is delicious, reasonably priced. It's clean and very quick service. Everyone has very chill vibes, which is great, especially for being by the beach. read more

Seems like Surf Taco locations are closing left and right. The hype has faded and all we are left with is bad taco's. I feel bad but this past experience was rough. The recent Yelp reviews don't look great either. The chicken tender taco may have been the only serviceable one and that is a stretch. The teriyaki taco was inedible. The steak one was ok and the traditional surf taco tasted very fishy. Chips with salsa weren't bad either. There was no flavor and the tacos seemed to be haphazardly thrown together. I wish them the best but don't think I will be back. read more

See all

I recently came back to Jersey and surf taco was on my list of musts, but it was disappointing, watery and bland. I'm not sure what's changed but that Baja burrito definitely did not live up to the ones I used to get and based on some of these other reviews, that seems to be on par. read more

i have only had Surf Taco once in my life a few years back and it left a lasting impression on me. When in Rome.. how could i not stop in? I got the steak taco and my girlfriend got the chicken tender taco. Once again, Surf Taco, you NEVER disappoint. My steak taco was fantastic! I'm so happy to see that the quality of the food has not changed and it's absolutely delicious. All tacos come with free chips and salsa which are great. The staff was friendly, the place was clean. Really all i could ask for. I wish there was one closer to my house! But maybe that adds to the greatness that i can only have it when i hit the Jersey shore. Awesome spot i highly recommend read more

Surf taco a staple in the jersey shore area. It's a nice stop to grab some tacos either to go or sit down and enjoy your meal. They have plenty of options. I had the chicken and fish taco. My favorite was the fish taco, it was fried ans crispy with a nice slaw on top. Both were stuffed and pretty filling. And the inside was pretty room with a nice little outdoor seating area. read more

Surf Taco - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

Food is always killer. Fish tacos, guacamole, quesadillas etc all great. (Chicken tenders are surprisingly good for taco place too). Orders are reasonably speedy. Team super helpful and friendly. Only downside is DoorDash does their delivery. (Only problems we ever had was caused by DoorDash). read more

Today's meal at Surf Taco was excellent. Service was good too. It's a reliable fast casual restaurant. Not heavy on atmosphere but the prices are still excellent so that's not much of a negative. The famous salsas are meh and occasionally the food isn't spot on but more times than not it's a great bang for your buck. Crazy during the summer but well worth the wait. read more

Tacos are exceptional, fresh and very tasty. My poor review is that the place is an absolute sh*t hole. I had to clean my table prior to eating, trash cans overflowing covered in dried food and grime, floor sticky! Salsa bar absolutely unsanitary and the bathroom, forget it. read more

The service was just okay. In the last couple years their food use to be a staple but now all you get is an $8 watery taco or a burrito for about $10.00 more. A freaking $18 burrito. This place use to be a staple. No longer and if you're to order take out they give you an abundance of stale tortilla chips with no substitutions like rice and beans. It is amazing how little the help will do to ACTUALLY help you or do absolutely nothing - their job. I think they prefer doing absolutely nothing. What's happened to actual customer service these days!? Wait until you get the bill. I'll take my business elsewhere. read more

this place was dirty. When I say dirty I mean dirty. There was water coming out of the trashcan on the floor and chips floor next to the water.Two employees walked by it twice and didn't clean it up. You walk into the bathroom and it's super tiny and dirty. The bathroom had dirt on the floor, the trashcan wasn't emptied, the walls were grimy and there was unused toilet paper on the floor. The person who took my order was super sweet. But when the people delivered the food to the table they did not wear gloves . I thought that was kind of weird considering that food handlers should have gloves and there's still Covid around. The food was OK. I won't be back, however. read more

Their food is ok, the service is too slow for a fast food restaurant. There's indoor & outdoor seating available, no waiter service available read more

You can't go wrong with hitting Surf Taco up for a quick, cheap, and tasty shore meal. Kids love it, with the big screens showing stuff, well, kids like. Adults are happy because the liquor store across the street has a huge selection of beer-even if you get the 'shore gouge factor' added to their prices. Quick service-order at the counter, they give you a stand with your order number, grab a table, load up on their sauces at the bar in front, and wait for your food. You'll likely not wait long. My fave is the tempura shrimp taco-tasty little nuggets of shrimp in a tempura batter, mixed in with shredded cabbage and a few healthy streaks of crema. Their guacamole is well above average. Seafood product is generally done well here. I was an early adopter when they first opened, and they've maintained their standards since then, which doesn't always happen with a successful NJ shore joint. read more

Ambiance; none. Food; basic, Service; terrible & understaffed I ordered on the phone, it was to be ready in 15 mins, the restaurant had just opened, no customers, it was not ready, the staff that greeted me had a stained sloppy t-shirt, and a dull stoned look. I tipped him in jar that was on counter & he didn't say thank you. General lack of customer service & knowledge of food on menu. In the past I have had better service, now Surf Taco has the "D" team working the shop ..... hard pass on this crummy behavior & basic food. read more

I don't know what has happened here. I paid $50 for ONE taco, 2 sides of queso, a side of guac, and 2 orders of chips with salsa w/an extra bag of chips. The chips were stale. The (only) one table inside was dirty, but the place was dead. There was one employee sitting on her phone. I don't care about that if it's slow, but the place looked neglected. If that's how it is in the front, I worry what the back is like. The taco was so-so. Nothing like the other Surf Tacos. Such a shame because it used to be my favorite quick stop in the area. It just felt dirty & something has gone wrong. Sad. read more

What a shame to see this place has completely unraveled since the last time we were here. Been about a year or so since we got food from this location. Last time I thought the food had dropped off a bit, but today it was clear how far the quality has descended. They've removed the "smothered" option on the burritos which was a major disappointment. How hard is it to cover with cheese and enchilada sauce and bake a bit more??? Food was as bland as it could be...literally zero flavor. Salsa bar looked rough. The "hot" was nearly empty and getting crusty. Floor was sticky in places, tables were dirty, and bathrooms were gross. All these things in a busy time could be overlooked to an extent but this place was empty...completely empty. Three kids working there and not one of them lifted a finger beyond taking our order and dropping it off to the table. This area has many awesome places to eat and I'm so disappointed we chose to eat here today. Won't make that mistake twice... read more

Tacos are just okay, nothing special. Went to bathroom to wash my hands, and bathroom was very dirty. Always a huge turn off to see a dirty bathroom at a restaurant. Guacamole was good. read more

It had been a long time since I had surf taco but remembering it fondly I was excited to go back! I got my old go to-taco salad but instead of chicken I decided to give the beef a try. The taco salad looked just like I remembered it but unfortunately I thought the beef was pretty bland. As I got to the bottom of the bowl I also found that a lot of the lettuce used was browned. The shell was delicious but I ended up tossing most of the filling and ending up with a stomach ache. read more

Surf Taco - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

At one point years ago this place was pretty good. The last several times I've been here, I kept thinking, well maybe it's just a bad day. But after this time I've finally given up. In summary- -Canned, mushy pineapple on everything like you're in a hospital cafeteria. Yuck. Fresh pineapples are big and inexpensive. Or just don't use it. There is no excuse. -Chicken teriyaki taco- precooked. Cold and slimy. -Mahi- it was completely unrecognizable, cold, obviously pre-cooked and then half heated up, stiff and chewy. It was like fish jerky. Straight into the garbage. Honestly shocking they would even serve this. The lime wedges were completely dried up and who knows how long they had been sitting out. -Garlic shrimp taco- actually halfway decent. Come on guys, you have one job. read more

I used to love Surf Taco, but it is very safe to say they have stopped caring. Their "charred chicken" was basically raw rubber in my tacos, those of which were all FREEZING cold, which was weird because I ordered them and was there within 5 minutes. When I called to say something, they were very dismissive, which really disappoints me - I feel that they just pre-make all their tacos now and store them in the fridge. read more

I like this Surf Taco location a lot! It has a great location and awesome outdoor seating area. The food here is exactly what you expect from Surf Taco. The burrito I had was huge, and very satisfying. Of course you can't go wrong with the Salsa bar. Was kind of disappointed that my favorite salsa, the Baja one, was all out on this particular visit. It's dog friendly outside, and they actually encourage you to post pictures of your dog at surf taco on social media. There's an Instagram devoted to it. read more

I walked in skeptical which I mostly try not to do. however walking into the store i immediately see the cashier with his Arian A10 blue hunter eyes stare me down. I got this weird feeling in my stomach, something as a food reviewer I could never contemplate. the food was delicious. the Cashier even gave me his special white sauce. Delicious! read more

Every single time I walk into a Mexican joint, I look for something on the menu that resembles the Buffalo Soldier and no one seems to have it. I consider Surf Taco to be the reference standard of fast Mexican places. Their menu, while varied, is laid out in a very straight forward fashion, making selection fast and easy. Food is prepared to order and is fresh and delicious. I used to date someone from Manasquan. Under ordinary circumstances I would have given the relationship 2 dates before torpedoing it due to geographic undesirability. It persisted, however, for several months due in no small part to her proximity to Surf Taco. You see, sex and compatibility can go far sometimes but not as far as a really good burrito. In retrospect, she must have thought I was a cheapskate due, in no small part, to my affinity for Surf Taco. In reality, however, it was the food, not the price and certainly not the proximity that allowed the relationship to persist. Start heading north, my friends. We're more than ready for you! read more

Chips were stale. Steak fajitas were dry. Also ordered Baja salsa and was given mild. Overall terrible meal. Surf Taco in Pt. Beach has much better quality control. Won't go to Squan location again. read more

Great eatery. One of the better surf tacos I've been in. Food good as expected but service excelled here. Wait staff was very attentive and prompt. Only negative thing I could say about this place is that parking can be tight. There are only about 5-6 parking spots out front of the restaurant. Street parking is scattered around. read more

Surf Taco - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

Have been coming to this Surf Taco since I was in middle school and my love for their food has not changed. Maverick burrito, teriyaki chicken taco, coconut shrimp taco (summer only) are all delicious. The hot salsa/sauce is my favorite and goes great with the chips, tacos and burritos. This location is pretty small but there is some outdoor seating to help as it usually gets crowded during the summer months. I must say at this point there isn't much of the menu I haven't tried and I never really had a bad meal here. Recently tried the garlic shrimp taco just to have something new and that was pretty good as well. Will be back hopefully soon. The bathrooms are really small and get a little dirty in the summer time because of the large crowds, could use a little more attention. read more

See all

A cute taco shop by the shore. Service was very fast. Price fair. Clean atmosphere, and free salsa bar. The food I wasn't so thrilled about. I like to support cool less common shops like this but to be honest for better quality food I'd rather walk another half mile to chipotle. I've been to Mexico, I eat Mexican food all the time and some of ingredients in my burrito were pretty weak, it wasn't bad but the flavors didn't impress me. They don't have a clear display of all the ingredients you can add onto your selection, They do everything in the back room which is a big disadvantage for them and for customers customizing orders. read more

We often go to this location but tonight's order was a disaster. The kids chicken tender tacos had fistfuls of cheese to the point that I could have made a six more tacos with the excess cheese. Watch your portion costs. My tacos looked sloppy. I specifically asked for no lettuce and it too had fistfuls of lettuce. I couldn't even eat it because it just looked awful. We ordered 5 meals and they included two small cups of salsa (total) when each meals comes with a side of salsa according to the menu. I hope that the staff can just take a little more time to be sure the meals look presentable and are accurate. We have frequented this location many times but maybe another location will be a little more careful. read more

For the price and speed, this is as five star as it gets! We almost went back the next day but were not yet hungry after breakfast. The vegetables and preparations are very fresh and the combinations of flavors are not unheard of yet creative for fast food and perfectly balanced. The baja surf taco and garlic shrimp taco were both delicious. Presentation was surprisingly great for fast food. The fresh guacamole side order was a nice touch, but not entirely necessary because the baja medium salsa on the free salsa bar was a great fresh compliment to the tacos. I don't eat tortillas, and three tacos without the shells filles me up. They have the newest fountain machine with all possible soda flavors. I'll be back each time I am at the shore. I am excited that there are a few locations. read more

I've reviewed Surf Taco before (the Belmar location) . Quality is fairly consistent from location to location. As a family we prefer the Belmar location but Manasquan is our second choice. Parking can be a bit tricky. Love the Jersey Bowl or the Teriyaki Bowl. My adult daughters crave the #2 tacos and this is a must do whenever they visit from Maine or Boston! read more

What's not to like? It's a very casual mini chain featuring a variety of awesomely prepared fish tacos using the freshest fish around. All you can eat tortilla chips, along with four different salsas (hot, medium, Baja, Verde) and inexpensive prices make Surf Taco a winner. Now featuring a variety of taco bowls, burritos and other mex-seafood. read more

This place is much better in the off season, plenty of seats but still a 35-40 min wait? You could at least comp us some chips while we wait. read more

First I can't say anything good, I got a quesadilla with chicken and a taco with chips. In the taco bag there were maybe 10 chips and same with the quesadilla. The quesadilla had no flavor. But the kicker is how I received my quesadilla, seriously that's acceptable? I want a refund this was terrible read more

Surf Taco - Chicken Quesadilla - Mexican Near Me - Manasquan, New Jersey

Not my favorite place for Mexican. A bit sloppy in their offerings and presentation and the place itself is kind of dumpy. Kids always enjoy it read more