New Jerseys Not So Bad: Surfside Beach Bar

As part of my grand plan to convince the world (and myself) that living in New Jersey isn’t so bad, I am exploring restaurants, coffee shops, and other places that make the Garden State great.

Located right on the beach at Pier Village in Long Branch, the Surfside Beach Bar makes living in New Jersey not so bad. 

The Surfside Beach Bar is an extension of Avenue, an upscale restaurant with an ocean view. The beach bar is pretty self-explanatory, a bar on the beach. There are high-top tables, bar stools, and beach chairs available for patrons. You can also set up personal beach chairs or towels, which is exactly what we did. 

We set up our beach towels in a sunny spot on the sand, sipped our drinks, and played a few card games. There is no cover or free to get into the beach bar, so feel free to leave the area to take a dip and come back for another drink. This is a great way to get around the “no alcohol” on the beach law. 

Since it’s Surfside’s beach bar, it offers a variety of flavored Surfside cans. They also have beers, cocktails, and crushes. My bestie Emma and I split a mermaid bucket, which was served in - yup, you guessed it - a bucket. The mermaid bucket is made up of Bacardi mango chile and Bacardi pineapple rums, blue curaçao, pineapple, and orange juice.

Don’t worry, they serve food to go with the alcohol. They offer shareables like guacamole and truffle fries and more filling items like a cheeseburger, turkey club, or lobster roll. 

Be sure to check out happy hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday which includes $4 domestic beer, $6 orange crush, and $8 Surfside cans.