Mexican food, pizza, ice cream and more served at the Shore's newest restaurants

Sarah Griesemer, Asbury Park Press

Updated May 30, 2024 at 4:07 AM·8 min read

New restaurants open every day at the Shore, and the most recent are just in time for summer,

Monmouth and Ocean counties have seen the addition of new spots for Mexican food, Greek food, ice cream, cookies, pastries and more in the past few months, with more on the way.

Here's a look at 20 new restaurants, including some opening soon.

Callie's Creamery, Neptune City

Ice cream flights are on the menu at Callie's Creamery in Neptune City.

Biscoff cookie butter, Nutella graham, Key lime pie, mango, and raspberry white chocolate are among the dozens of small-batch flavors at Callie's Creamery, which opened Memorial Day weekend.

Tiffany and Jay Vigilante, who also own OMG! Frozen Yogurt in Sea Girt, opened Callie's in the former The Ice Cream Shoppe location.

"This ice cream idea has been floating around between us for a year or two," Jay Vigilante said. " I just wanted to dive into some ice cream."

The shop has 32 flavors of hard ice cream, three vegan ice creams (vanilla, chocolate brownie peanut butter, and coconut), sugar-free ice cream and Italian ice.

More flavors on the way.

"We're going to have Dole Whip [another vegan option] then we'll have the standard chocolate, vanilla and strawberry soft serve ... and snickerdoodle," Jay Vigilante said.

Go: 100 Route 35; 732-361-0002, instagram.com/calliescreamery.

Tiffany and Jay Vigilante and their daughter, Callie, outside the family's new Neptune City ice cream shop, Callie's Creamery.

Dining at The Majestic, Ocean Grove

Summer is the time for dining by the beach, and the recently revamped Majestic Hotel, with a new restaurant and chef, is a block from the ocean.

Currently open for brunch and dinner, the restaurant — previously Bia European Bistro, which closed during the pandemic — is under the direction of Chef Andrew Irvin. Most recently of B2 Bistro + Bar in Point Pleasant Beach, he describes the menu as "cosmopolitan, New American bistro," meaning elevated flavors and spices in simple, fairly priced dishes.

The brunch menu includes classic dishes like French toast, eggs Benedict, a Monte Cristo, and shrimp and grits. Irvin said the brunch menu at the restaurant, which opened in mid-May, will grow to include salads and sandwiches.

Dinner dishes include Creole crab cakes, tamarind shrimp, chicken flavored with berbere, an Ethiopian spice; grilled swordfish with tabouleh salad; and mushrooms and pappardelle.

Go: 19 Main Ave.; 848-318-7077, majesticoceangrove.com.

El Rinconcito De Mexico, Stafford

The menu at El Rinconcito de Mexico in Stafford includes (clockwise from left) asada nachos, al pastor tacos, empandas, guacamole and aguachile sinaloense.

Rene and Justino Bautista's Mexican restaurant, which opened earlier this month, serves all the dishes you might expect: tacos, fajitas, burritos, tamales, quesadillas and tortas.

But in the kitchen, the brothers' family members also make agucahile sinaloense, a spicy dish of shrimp and scallops; and siete mares, a seafood soup of crab legs, shrimp, scallops, fish, clams and octopus.

The seafood dishes reflect the family's roots in Veracruz, a coastal state on the Gulf of Mexico.

The platters on the menu — including grilled skirt steak with housemade chorizo, chicken, shrimp, rice beans and housemade tortillas, and chilaquiles with carne asada — also tell a story.

"In our Mexican cuisine, we have a lot of platters that say who we are and where we're from," said restaurant manager Teresa Bravo, whose favorite dish is the aquachile. Customers, she said, tell her that dish reminds them of home.

Aguachile sinaloense at El Rinconcito de Mexico in Stafford is a spicy dish of shrimp and scallops, cooled by mango, avocado and cucumber.

The BYOB restaurant is the first for Rene and Justino, who also own the Stafford-based Light House Landscaping and Pavers.

Rene has loved to cook since he was a child, Bravo said.

"We put a lot of work into (the restaurant)," Justino Bautista said. "We're trying to make something different."

El Rinconcito de Mexico, located in the space previously occupied by Pinto's Porch, is open for lunch and dinner, with breakfast service on the way.

Go: 657 E. Bay Ave. in the Manahawkin Mart Shoppes plaza, Manahawkin section of Stafford; 609-242-5418, instagram.com/elrinconcitodemexiconj.

Manachoux, Manalapan

Manachoux bakery in Manalapan offers scratch-made Georgian and French-inspired pastries including honey-infused roulette cakes, choux à la crème, opium, milka and Napoleons,

When Pikria Basaria moved from Brooklyn to New Jersey, she missed the beautiful, sophisticated bakeries of New York City. Last month, she opened one.

At Manachoux, the former restaurant owner and self-taught baker (who uses baking to de-stress from her career as a mortgage broker) offers a dozen varieties of ?-pound cookies in flavors like pistachio, triple chocolate caramel, and NYC walnut chocolate chip, in addition to stuffed flavors like red velvet Nutella and lemon cheesecake.

A few flavors rotate in and out weekly, and the cookies can be shipped nationwide.

On weekends, the bakery serves the Instagram-famous swirled suprême croissants, injected with fillings like mango raspberry, mixed berry and chocolate.

Manachoux bakery in Manalapan offers scratch-made cookies and Georgian and French-inspired pastries.

In the pastry case, Basaria's Georgian heritage shines in sweets like roulette, a honey-infused cake rolled around mascarpone cream and in flavors like Snickers, mango, caramel walnut, and pistachio; almond-flavored mousse cakes; layer cakes called milka; vanilla, chocolate, raspberry pistachio, and mixed berry choux à la crème; and opium, a layered pastry with diplomat cream, mixed berry filling and a merengue whose flavor Basaria describes as "a whole adventure."

"None of these desserts are simple," Basaria said. "There are so many layers of flavor."

Go: 311 Route 9 in Alexander Plaza; manachoux.com.

Other new additions:

Aby's Mexican Restaurant, Matawan: After a fire closed the restaurant in 2022, Aby's has reopened at 32 Main St. in Matawan; instagram.com/abysmexicanrestaurant.

The Barn Grill, Long Beach Township: Breakfast sandwiches, burgers, chicken sandwiches, cheesesteaks and fries are on the menu at this new food truck, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at Bayview Park. 6805 Long Beach Blvd.; search "The Barn Grill LBI" on Facebook.

Mini buttermilk pancakes with assorted toppings are the specialty at Buttermee Pancakes on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Buttermee Pancakes, Asbury Park: This boardwalk spot serves mini buttermilk pancakes topped with bacon, cinnamon sugar, Nutella, bananas and flambéed rum sauce, peanut butter sauce and more. 1100 Ocean Ave.; buttermeepancakes.com.

A freshly made pepperoni pizza at CatBird in Asbury Park.

CatBird, Asbury Park: Aimée McElroy returned to the Asbury Park culinary scene earlier this month, two years after the 2022 closure of her Medusa Stone Fired Kitchen in the city. CatBird, built in the renovated lakefront space previously home to Sunset Landing Luncheonette, serves McElroy's wood-fired pizzas, salads, sides and botanical nonalcoholic cocktails. The restaurant is currently open for dinner, with breakfast and lunch to come. 1215 Sunset Ave.; catbirdap.com.

Dippers Ice Cream, Brant Beach: This newly opened sister location to Big Dipper in Surf City serves ice cream, shakes and ice cream cakes. 61st Street; instagram.com/bigdipperlbi.

A banana split from Big Dipper in Surf City, which has opened a second ice cream shop in Brant Beach.

The Blonde Shallot, Sea Girt: Jessica Rogers brought the salads, sandwiches and prepared meals from her popular Little Silver market to the Shore with the opening of a second Blonde Shallot. Her new shop took the place of Joe Leone's Gastronomia. 527 Washington Blvd.; 848-469-8002, theblondeshallot.com.

Five Dimes Brewery, Red Bank: IPAs, Belgian-style Witbiers, German Kolschbier and ales await at this new brewery, which replaces Red Tank Brewing. The brewery, which also has a location in Bergen County's Westwood, opened Memorial Day weekend. 77 Monmouth St.; 732-865-9500, fivedimesbrewery.com.

Gyro Kingdom, Brick: The menu at this Greek restaurant has souvlaki, gyro pitas and platters, mousaka, avgolemono, whipped feta with pita, keftedes, lamb skewers and more. 760 Mantoloking Road; 833-497-6546, gyrokingdom.com.

Hadaka, Asbury Park: The city's first omakase restaurant will open this summer on Bangs Avenue. Unlike other sushi restaurants, omakase is based upon a one-on-one dining experience curated by the chef. Reservations will be required for the small BYOB, which will seat around 12 people per hour. 527 Bangs Ave.; instagram.com/hadakaasbury.

Harry's Smokin' BBQ will open at 213 Route 37 in Toms River.

Harry's Smokin' BBQ, Toms River: Harry Clayton is expanding his five-year-old food trailer business into a brick and mortar. He plans to open in the former Mi Mexico Lindo space in July. 213 Route 37; harryssmokinbarbecue.com.

Jive's Cafe, Howell: A coffee shop serving waffles, pancakes, sandwiches, desserts and drinks like butterscotch and birthday cake lattes at 2212 Route 9 South; 732-410-0015, jivescafe.com.

Old Farm Butcher, West Long Branch: In addition to meat, this two-month-old butcher shop sells fresh vegetables, milk, eggs and other market items. 10 Route 36, West Long Branch; 732-795-3010, oldfarmbutchers.com.

PaciDough's Pizza Joint, South Toms River: This '90s-themed pizzeria specializes in sourdough pies and sandwiches on house-baked bread, plus a menu of themed dishes including the Mighty Morphin Mortadella sandwich and Livin' La Vida Vodka dinner. 312 Atlantic City Blvd., Toms River (the restaurant is physically in South Toms River); 732-966-9881, instagram.com/pacidoughspizzajoint.

Anthony Pacitto of the Bayville section of Berkeley Township opened PaciDough's Pizza Joint in South Toms River in early May.

Salty's Inlet Ice Cream, Point Pleasant Beach: This ice cream shop, which replaced The Lighthouse Strollo's Homemade Italian Ice, is scooping hard ice cream, soft ice cream, Dole Whip, vegan soft serve, shakes, slushies, Italian ice, gelati and specialty sundaes. 101 Ocean Ave.; 908-420-8954, search "Salty's Inlet Ice Cream" on Instagram.

Strollo's Lighthouse, Ocean Township: The ice cream shop, with stores in Red Bank, Long Branch and Middletown, added a new location this month at 1607 Route 35; strolloslighthouse.com.

Zinnia's Too, Millstone Township: Previously called Z Taco, this year-old restaurant has incorporated Italian dishes from sister restaurant Zinnia's Bistro in Cranford into its taco menu. 514 Route 33; 732-490-5690, eatztaco.com.