Let’s be honest: most shore-town pizza is a sad, floppy apology for lunch. Asbury Park, however, refuses that surrender.

Between the salt-crusted boardwalk crowds and the lingering smell of last night’s gig, we’ve built a pie scene with real range, from the cult-like devotion of Capitoline’s masterclass kitchen to a pepperoni “2” that screams birthday at Santino’s. We ranked the slices, the Sicilians, and even that gloriously mutinous brisket cheesesteak.

Scroll on, but manage your expectations.

Capitoline

Highlights
Consistent, incredible food always
Friendly staff, notably Michael
Extensive menu worth exploring
Excellent service and accommodations
Great cocktails and outdoor seating

Capitoline doesn't so much serve pizza as it conducts a masterclass in consistency. Every visit lands with the same resounding thud of excellence, and frankly, it's starting to feel personal. Michael and the crew treat you like a returning champion, not a customer, which is a distinction I deeply appreciate while I shovel their incredible food into my face. The menu is a sprawling epic, and the cocktails arrive with a confidence that suggests they know they're the second-best thing on the table. Outdoor seating extends the pleasure into the open air. It's a reliable cornerstone in a town of fleeting fancies. I left full, impressed, and plotting my return.

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Tramonto's Pizza

Highlights
Red sauce is delicious
Many styles, many winners
Handles crowds without sacrifice
Blackened chicken alfredo shines
Worth the drive, endlessly

Tramonto's is the pizza equivalent of a Swiss Army knife, if that knife were also delicious. The red sauce is a glorious, tangy revelation, and they've somehow mastered a dozen styles without a single dud. I watched them absorb a weekend rush with the serene efficiency of a glacier, and the blackened chicken alfredo emerged from the chaos as a quiet champion. It's a trek to get here, but I'd drive through a hurricane for another slice. Honestly, the journey is part of the ritual now. The crust, the cheese, the sheer audacity of their menu, it all culminates in a pilgrimage I never regret.

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Vic's Italian Restaurant

Highlights
Worth the interminable wait
Thin crust, genuinely flavorful
Cannoli cake pleasantly restrained
Prompt service, shockingly enough

Vic's Italian Restaurant will test your patience like a toddler testing a boundary. The wait is interminable, a gauntlet of rumbling stomachs and idle chatter. But then the thin crust arrives, genuinely flavorful, and all is forgiven. It's a fragile peace, but a delicious one. The cannoli cake is a pleasantly restrained finale, not the sugar bomb I feared. Service, shockingly, is prompt and efficient, as if they know you've suffered enough. This is not a place for the impulsive. It demands commitment. And in return, it offers a pizza that makes the wait almost worth it. Almost. I'd do it again next week.

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Mutiny BBQ Company

Highlights
Brisket cheesesteak is transcendent
Mutiny sauce demands worship
Family-style platter feeds armies
Wings outshine most pizza joints
Staff guides gluttony expertly

Mutiny BBQ Company is a glorious, smoky rebellion against the tyranny of mediocre pizza. The brisket cheesesteak is transcendent, a pile of meat so tender it threatens to collapse under its own glory. Their mutiny sauce deserves its own religion, and I would happily convert. The family-style platter could feed a small army, and the wings outshine most dedicated pizza joints in town, which feels like a personal insult to them and a gift to me. The staff expertly guides your gluttony, suggesting portions with a knowing wink. It's a detour from the pie, but it's a mutiny I wholeheartedly endorse. Bring your appetite and your sense of adventure.

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The Speakeatery

Highlights
Best sandwich shop in NJ
Worth the drive
Excellent service and fresh food
Unique seating and decor
Delicious shrimp po boy

The Speakeatery is, without hyperbole, the best sandwich shop in New Jersey. I know, bold words. It's true. The shrimp po boy is a crunchy, messy, perfect specimen, and everything else I've tried has been aggressively fresh. The unique seating and decor make you feel like you've stumbled into a secret, and the service is excellent, almost suspiciously friendly. Worth the drive? Absolutely. I'd cross state lines for this. It's not pizza, and I forgive it entirely because the bread is a textural masterpiece. If you want a pizza day off, this is your clandestine headquarters. I will return with the fervor of a convert.

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CG Pizza

Highlights
Party-perfect pies
Impeccable customer communication
Punctual and professional crew
Fresh, crowd-pleasing slices
Worth a repeat invitation

CG Pizza makes party-perfect pies, which is a compliment I do not hand out lightly. Most party pizza is a sad, greasy compromise. Not this. The slices are fresh, crowd-pleasing, and mysteriously devoid of the usual cafeteria sadness. Their customer communication is impeccable, and the crew is punctual and professional, arriving with the precision of a SWAT team, if that team delivered cheese. I've already been invited back to two gatherings solely because of them. That's not a coincidence. That's a strategy. If you need to feed a horde without sacrificing quality, this is your answer. I am, frankly, jealous of their efficiency. They make it look easy.

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Del Ponte's Bakery

Highlights
Cannoli worthy of Saint Peter
Three carrot cake temptations
Cheesecake crumb steals the show
Staff answers with saintly patience
Italian heritage, baked into legend

Del Ponte's Bakery is hallowed ground. The cannoli is worthy of Saint Peter's approval, a crisp shell filled with a ricotta that tastes like it was churned by angels. Their three carrot cake temptations are a devilish choice, each one a moist, spiced revelation. But the cheesecake crumb is the true thief of the show, a texture so perfect it feels illegal. The staff answers my endless, boring questions with saintly patience. This is Italian heritage baked into legend, and it makes my pizza adventures seem quaint by comparison. I come for the carbs, but I stay for the sugar. It's a dangerous, delicious loop. I accept my fate.

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DJ’s Delights Deli & Catering

Highlights
Fifteen years of consistency
Friendly, familiar neighborhood service
Reliable takeout and catering staple
Feels like home, tastes like it too

DJ's Delights Deli & Catering is the dependable old friend you sometimes forget about until you need them. Fifteen years of consistency is not an accident. It's a discipline. The service is friendly, familiar, and neighborhood-correct, like a warm handshake from a guy who remembers your name. Their takeout is reliable, and the catering has saved more than one of my obligations. It feels like home, and it tastes like it too, which is either a compliment or a warning. For a slice of dependable comfort in a town of flashy newcomers, this is it. I trust them. That's the highest praise I can offer.

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Tim McLoone's Supper Club

Highlights
Wedding-perfect venue and team
Fresh, delicious American fare
Warm, friendly service always
Ocean-view boardwalk dining

Tim McLoone's Supper Club is where you go to pretend you have your life together. The ocean-view boardwalk dining is a gorgeous setting for their fresh, delicious American fare. The venue is wedding-perfect, and the team runs it with a warmth that borders on suspicious. It's not pizza, and I miss it, but the views and the service make up for it. I felt like a guest at an expensive, well-managed event that I crashed. The food is solid, the vibes are impeccable, and the salt air adds a seasoning you can't bottle. If you want a classy evening that doesn't involve cheese pulls, this is the spot. I left feeling sophisticated.

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Purple Glaze Donuts etc.

Highlights
Scratch-made, never mass produced
Coconut donut worth returning for
Four creative flavors, sixteen dollars
Free samples seal the deal
Quick, friendly, repeatable service

Purple Glaze Donuts etc. is a sugar-fueled conspiracy I fully support. Their scratch-made donuts are a direct rebellion against the mass-produced mediocrity of the world, and the coconut donut is a crispy, sweet revelation I've already dreamed about. Four creative flavors for sixteen dollars is a fair deal, but the free samples are what seal the conversion. It's a quick, friendly, repeatable service that turns a simple donut run into a small ceremony. It's not pizza, but after a heavy slice, this is the perfect palatal reset. I walked in skeptical and walked out a disciple. The glaze is a religion. I'm a member now.

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Local 130 Seafood

Highlights
Best sustainable fresh fish
Tuna toro sushi perfection
Fantastic team, perfect filets
Go-to for poke bowls
Quality seafood, never disappoints

Local 130 Seafood is where I go to feel guilty about every other slice of pizza I've ever eaten. The tuna toro sushi is so fresh it might swim away, and the poke bowls are a vibrant, messy joy. The team handles a perfect filet with the precision of a surgeon and the warmth of a friend. It's not pizza, sure, but its sheer quality makes it an essential counterpoint in Asbury Park's edible landscape. If you crave a break from dough and cheese, this is your sanctuary. The fish is always impeccable. I never leave disappointed, only satiated and slightly spoiled.

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Santino's Pizza

Highlights
Birthday pizzas with pepperoni "2"
Grandma slice is exceptional
First-time visit, instant favorite
Great Sicilian and Grandma slices
Reliable for parties and takeout

Santino's understands the sacred geometry of a birthday pizza. The pepperoni '2' arranged on top is a masterstroke of edible communication, and the grandma slice is so exceptional it nearly made me forget my own name. My first visit was an instant infatuation, the kind of immediate connection that usually ends in a bad tattoo. Their Sicilian is a hefty, satisfying brick of dough and cheese, and they handle party orders with the calm of a seasoned diplomat. For takeout reliability and crowd-pleasing slices, this is my go-to. The crust is right. The sauce sings. I am a devotee now.

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