Everyone loves food. In my quest to find the best local breakfast and brunch spot, I’ve picked out five of my favorites I’ve recently visited, and will be rating them all on a five different scales, averaging the scores of the five (and making any adjustments to the final score that I see fit) to rank the restaurants. The five different criteria are atmosphere, menu, service, price, and my personal score out of 10 for the restaurant, based on my personal feelings and other objective criteria that may not be properly accounted for in other categories. The five restaurants are Hatch 44 Cafe, MeeMom’s, Mariner’s Cove, Taylor Sam’s, and Jersey Shore BBQ (yes, they do serve breakfast).
Firstly, we have Hatch 44 Cafe, located in Bradley Beach, open from 8 am to 3 pm every day of the week. I went on a Sunday at about 12 pm, and had to wait about 30 minutes to be seated, but in the meantime, I was able to walk down to the beach to kill some time. One thing I will note is that Hatch 44 seems a tad out of place, as a cozy breakfast spot on the corner where there is otherwise not very much going on, it could have just been the time of day, but I figure it is worth noting. After being seated, the inside was very cozy and a homely feel, with an assortment of fun comfortable furniture and places to sit. I rate the atmosphere a 9/10. I got the French birria omelette, and my friend got the avocado toast, which they described to me as the best they’ve ever had. With a respectable selection and portions, I would give the menu a 9/10, with a large enough selection to where anyone could find something they would like, but not too large to make any dish the best they possibly could. For value, I think it was a very averagely priced spot, my bill for the avocado toast and omelette plus a coffee came to about $45. 6/10 on price. Service wasn’t bad by any means, but for the most part, we were fairly ignored, for better or for worse. It took our food a little bit of time to come out, which including the wait to be seated, could have you waiting for almost an hour if not more at some points. I’d give service another 6/10. I would personally rate Hatch 44 an 8.5/10 because I thoroughly enjoyed my food and the atmosphere, from the fun water glasses and bottle we got at our table to the little flower wreath around the door frame outside. It was quite a nice spot. Averaging the 5 ratings, Hatch 44 Cafe gets a score of 7.7 that I want to bring up to an 8 flat, because I had no gripes with this restaurant, it was a fantastic spot.
Next, we have MeeMom’s. For atmosphere, MeeMom’s is in the Brick plaza, and it has a nice interior, but it falls victim to a bit of modernization and simplicity that makes it a tad boring. It is nice, but not cozy like your grandma’s house. 5/10 for atmosphere. The menu is like any more corporate breakfast place, a solid selection, but nothing ridiculous, quite average. 5/10. The service was good, we had a fairly large group with us, however the service was frankly fantastic, as we were checked on and taken care of within a moment’s notice. I would honestly give the service a 10/10, there was nothing that could’ve been done better. Price is again, fairly average with most full meals falling around the 12-15 dollar price range, which if anything, is a little cheaper than a specialty place like hatch 44. 7/10. For my personal rating, I would give it a 6/10. They had unlimited flavored cold brew for $5 which I took full advantage of, and the place is solid. There isn’t a ton of personality in MeeMom’s, just some solid food. You know what you’re going to get every time, and there is no problem with that. Between the 5 ratings, it averaged a 6.3, which I will leave as it is, because MeeMom’s is a good spot.
Next up is Mariner’s Cove, tucked away right over the Brielle bridge on Route 34, it’s in a bit of a weird spot, but it is a great local spot with good prices and a crazy menu. Atmosphere is great, it feels lively and you are comfortable, it feels cozy and it has a lot of personality. I’m not the biggest fan of the booths, they are a little awkward and the table height can be wonky, but I’d still give it an 8/10 on atmosphere. The menu is frankly the biggest I’ve ever seen, and it is quite excessive, but they have anything you could ever want. It gets a 10, I don’t believe in too many options. Service is great, the waiters are kind and help you with your every need, and I’ve never had a bad experience. The service has never been like the pinnacle and the greatest I’ve ever seen, but I’ve never had any reason to ever complain, 8/10. Pricewise, this place is pretty fairly priced, I’d argue cheap for a majority of dishes excluding specials. I don’t remember the price of the bill the last few times I’ve went, but it was quite fair, 7/10. My score, 8/10, a classic spot in Manasquan, if you’ve never been to Mariners Cove, you’re missing out. I grew up here going to Church with my family. That averages out to 8.2 which I would keep. Mariner’s Cove is a fantastic spot for some breakfast and brunch food, with endless options and great food.
Taylor Sam’s is next. I went mid morning and the atmosphere was solid, it was full, we were seated quickly, but it wasn’t extremely cozy and homey feeling. It was more modern and open with lots of natural light, which I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of, so I would give the atmosphere a 6/10. Menu wise, their menu was fairly extensive with breakfast and brunch foods, but nothing crazy. 7/10. Service was fine, I have nothing of note to really say. We weren’t visited very often, just your typical once or twice for our orders and maybe once to check on us. It was fine, 5/10. The price was one of the highlights of my trip in all honesty, because it was much cheaper than I was initially expecting. For the quality of the food and restaurant, I was genuinely surprised when my bill including tip (for two people) was only $37. With this, we both got great food, and a good amount of it as well. A very easy 9/10 for price. For my personal rating, I’d give it a 6/10, I had absolutely no issues with Taylor Sam’s. It was good food, a fairly cheap price point, which is saying something because I’m a broke high school student, good service and a good time. It just wasn’t my personal favorite, and that’s okay. It averages out to a 6.6 which I would keep there. Taylor Sam’s is a nice local brunch option that gets the job done. It has good food, good service, and a great menu and price.
Lastly we have Jersey Shore BBQ. If you didn’t know they had breakfast, you know now! I went with my family three different times, and each time I got something different, it was interesting, but the food was quite good. For the atmosphere, just about no one knows they have breakfast, so the restaurant was empty and quiet. Downtown Point beach itself is quite a nice area, and I like the inside of the restaurant as well. I’d give it a 5/10. Menu wise, it was fairly small, but it had all the staples as well as some unique twists that only a BBQ restaurant could pull off. There were fun items like churro pancakes, and the home fries were delectable. 8/10. Service was good, again, I have nothing to really say about it. 6/10, not bad, not over the top, it was good. Price wise was a little more on the expensive side for the portions in my opinion, but the food was most definitely a higher quality. 7/10. For my personal rating, I’d give it a good 8. I had absolutely no issue with the smaller menu or emptier restaurant in the morning. These scores average out to 6.8/10 which I would personally bump to a 7.5/10, because at the end of the day, what matters is the food quality, and I loved mine.
According to my perfect ranking system, Mariner’s cove is the best of the 5 spots that I have rated, which I would honestly agree with. Hatch 44 is a close second for me, which is reflected by the scores. Following this we have a good 7.5 by JSBBQ and 6.6 and 6.3 by Taylor Sam’s and MeeMom’s. I feel this was a very fair rating, but at the end of the day, they all have good food, and that’s all that matters.
