There are plenty of good reasons to choose a restaurant.
Sometimes it’s the food.
Sometimes it’s the company.
And around Barnegat Bay, sometimes it’s because you want to sit down for dinner and still feel like you’re at the Jersey Shore.
The waterfront dining scene around the bay isn’t limited to one town or one type of experience. You can have brunch overlooking the water in Bayville, pull up by boat in Forked River, watch the sun drop behind the bay in Beach Haven, or even eat dinner while cruising from the Toms River into Barnegat Bay.
So this isn’t meant to be a rigid ranking from first place to seventh.
Think of it instead as a guide to waterfront restaurants around Barnegat Bay worth knowing, depending on the kind of afternoon or evening you’re after.
If you’re exploring beyond the dining scene, our Best Things to Do in Ocean County, NJ guide is a good starting point for the bigger picture.
Now let’s find somewhere with a view.
B2 Bistro + Bar: For Dinner Right on Barnegat Bay
125 Bayview Avenue, Bayville
If the goal is to actually look out across Barnegat Bay while you eat, B2 Bistro + Bar in Bayville is an obvious place to begin.
The restaurant sits directly at the water’s edge and offers both an expansive outdoor deck and an indoor second-story dining room overlooking the bay. It also offers dock-and-dine access, while the warmer months bring its Bayside Pool + Bar and live Jersey Shore bands.
The menu leans American and Mediterranean with seafood, sushi and other options, and weekend brunch is currently served Saturdays and Sundays.
What makes B2 particularly useful for this list is that it can be several different experiences.
You can come for brunch.
You can dress up dinner a little.
You can sit outside when the weather cooperates.
Or you can arrive from the water.
It’s also a natural stop if you’re spending more time in the area. Our Bayville local guide explores the quieter side of the town, from Barnegat Bay to Cedar Creek and Double Trouble State Park.
Best for: Bay views, brunch, date night, groups and dock-and-dine.
Captain’s Inn & Tiki Bar: For Classic Forked River Waterfront Atmosphere
304 E. Lacey Road, Forked River
Some waterfront restaurants feel new.
Captain’s Inn feels tied to the place.
The building has been sitting along the bend of Forked River since the early 1950s, when the property was connected to the Riverside Hotel. Today, Captain’s Inn combines traditional restaurant dining with its seasonal Tiki Bar right along the river.
The restaurant focuses on seafood and classic comfort food, while the Tiki Bar brings a more casual atmosphere with drinks and live music beside the docks.
And yes, you can arrive by boat.
As of October 2026, Captain’s is still running a busy schedule of Tiki Bar and indoor live music performances throughout the month, so the waterfront experience doesn’t necessarily disappear the moment summer ends.
This is one of those places where the setting is inseparable from the meal.
You aren’t just near the water.
You’re on the river in a town where boating is a major part of the local personality.
We go deeper into that side of the community in our Forked River, NJ local guide.
Best for: Casual waterfront dinners, seafood, live music and arriving by boat.
The Waterfront: For a More Polished Forked River Night Out
361 East Lacey Road, Forked River
Drive a little farther along the river and you get a different take on waterfront dining.
The Waterfront describes itself as a year-round escape on the Forked River, with restaurant dining, events and multiple spaces overlooking the water. Unlike some Shore destinations that essentially shut down once summer ends, its current calendar continues well into fall and the holiday season.
That makes it particularly useful if you’re searching for waterfront dining outside July and August.
The atmosphere can also change depending on why you’re visiting. It works for a regular dinner, a night out, a special event, or one of the restaurant’s seasonal happenings.
Forked River gives us two waterfront restaurants close together, but they don’t really duplicate one another.
Captain’s Inn carries more of that longtime riverfront/Tiki Bar personality.
The Waterfront offers a different, more polished experience.
Best for: Dinner with a view, occasions, year-round waterfront dining and groups.
Water Street Bar & Grille: For Downtown Toms River With a Waterfront Finish
4 Robbins Parkway, Toms River
Water Street is a good reminder that waterfront dining around Barnegat Bay doesn’t always mean sitting directly on the open bay.
This restaurant overlooks the Toms River near Huddy Park in Downtown Toms River, combining waterfront views with a heated patio, sports bar atmosphere and a regular live-music lineup.
That makes it particularly easy to work into a bigger day.
Spend the morning downtown.
Explore Huddy Park.
Head out toward Cattus Island.
Then come back for dinner beside the river.
That’s actually the route we suggest in our How to Spend a Day in Toms River, NJ guide.
And because the restaurant continues hosting live music well into October 2026, this isn’t strictly a summer recommendation either.
Best for: Downtown dinner, drinks, live music and casual waterfront views.
Sun Harbor Seafood & Grill: For a True Barnegat Bay View
451 East Bay Avenue, Barnegat
Sometimes you don’t want a glimpse of the water.
You want the bay right there.
Sun Harbor Seafood & Grill overlooks Barnegat Bay from East Bay Avenue in Barnegat and offers dock-and-dine slips, a Tiki Bar and live entertainment. Its second-story dining room also looks directly across the water.
The restaurant is currently open daily beginning at noon, making it an option for either lunch or dinner rather than only an evening stop.
If you’re trying to build a classic Jersey Shore afternoon without heading to an oceanfront boardwalk, this is the kind of setting that works.
Get near the bay.
Order something to eat.
Stay through sunset.
Not every Shore day needs to be more complicated than that.
Best for: Barnegat Bay scenery, seafood, casual afternoons and dock-and-dine.
Parker’s Garage: For Sunset and a Little Beach Haven History
116 Northwest Avenue, Beach Haven
Once you get onto Long Beach Island, the waterfront dining experience changes again.
Parker’s Garage sits in Beach Haven’s Maritime District directly on Barnegat Bay. The restaurant was designed as a throwback to the area’s old bayfront culture, drawing inspiration from the original Parker family’s restaurant, houseboat-rental and boat-engine business dating back to the early 1900s.
Today, the restaurant combines that maritime history with seafood, oysters, local ingredients and boat slips for diners arriving from the bay.
There’s also an especially interesting local connection here.
Parker’s participates in an oyster co-op just west of its docks and cultivates its own signature oysters while supporting efforts connected with Barnegat Bay’s shellfish ecosystem.
So yes, come for the sunset.
But there’s more going on here than the view.
Best for: Sunset dinners, seafood, oysters, date night and a more distinctly LBI experience.
Bird & Betty’s: For Waterfront Dinner That Turns Into a Night Out
529 Dock Road, Beach Haven
Not every waterfront dinner has to end when dessert arrives.
Bird & Betty’s sits on the bay in Beach Haven and combines seafood, wood-fired pizza and cocktails with live music and a late-night scene. Its own description is pretty straightforward: waterfront lunch, dinner, sunset, live music and late nights.
The location has its own history, too.
Bird & Betty’s takes its name from Betty and Bird Clutter, who bought the former Acme Hotel in the late 1950s. The property became part of Beach Haven’s live-music culture long before the current restaurant brought that spirit back.
As of October 2026, the venue remains open Thursday through Sunday and continues hosting live events into the fall.
This isn’t where I’d send someone looking for a quiet early dinner and nothing else.
It’s where I’d send someone who wants the sunset to turn into the evening.
Best for: Sunset, cocktails, groups, live music and staying out after dinner.
Bonus: What If You Want the Restaurant View to Actually Move?
Here’s one option that technically isn’t a restaurant at all.
The River Lady departs from Robbins Parkway in Toms River and offers sightseeing, lunch and dinner cruises along the Toms River and Barnegat Bay.
The 85-foot paddle-wheel riverboat has been operating cruises since 1989 and offers several dining options during its public cruise season, including Captain’s Dinner and sunset dinner cruises.
On its Captain’s Dinner Cruise, for example, guests spend roughly two and a half hours dining while traveling along the Toms River and Barnegat Bay.
It’s obviously a different experience from booking a table.
But if we’re talking about memorable ways to eat near Barnegat Bay, it deserves a mention.
Best for: Date night, celebrations, visitors and something completely different.
Which Barnegat Bay Waterfront Restaurant Should You Choose?
It depends on the kind of day you’re trying to have.
If you want wide-open Barnegat Bay views, start with B2 Bistro + Bar or Sun Harbor.
For classic Forked River atmosphere, Captain’s Inn is hard to separate from the experience of the river itself.
For something a little more polished in Forked River, try The Waterfront.
If you’re already exploring Downtown Toms River, Water Street makes an easy waterfront ending.
And if you’re heading onto Long Beach Island, Parker’s Garage and Bird & Betty’s give you two very different Beach Haven evenings.
One is more dinner-and-sunset.
The other can turn into dinner-and-a-night-out.
That’s the good thing about dining around the bay.
You don’t have to pick the same experience every time.
Can You Dock and Dine Around Barnegat Bay?
Yes.
Several waterfront restaurants around Barnegat Bay accommodate guests arriving by boat.
B2 Bistro + Bar specifically advertises dock-and-dine access in Bayville.
Captain’s Inn welcomes diners arriving at its waterfront docks in Forked River.
Sun Harbor also provides dock-and-dine slips in Barnegat.
And both Parker’s Garage and Bird & Betty’s offer waterfront access for boaters in Beach Haven.
Conditions, docking procedures and availability can change, so contact the restaurant before assuming a slip will be available when you arrive.
Are Waterfront Restaurants Around Barnegat Bay Open Year-Round?
Some are. Some aren’t.
That’s an important distinction around the Jersey Shore.
Restaurants such as The Waterfront, B2 Bistro + Bar and Water Street currently operate beyond the traditional summer season.
Others may reduce hours, close certain outdoor areas, or operate on a seasonal schedule.
If you’re making a special trip during fall, winter or early spring, always check the restaurant’s current website or call before heading out.
A waterfront view in October can be fantastic.
It’s less fantastic if the restaurant closed two weeks earlier.
The Best Seat at the Jersey Shore Isn’t Always on the Ocean
That’s probably the biggest takeaway.
You don’t need an Atlantic Ocean view to have a great waterfront meal at the Jersey Shore.
Barnegat Bay, the Toms River and the Forked River create their own version of waterfront dining: boats instead of breaking waves, marinas instead of boardwalks and sunsets that can make you forget you were originally there for dinner.
It’s quieter in some places.
Livelier in others.
But it feels distinctly local.
And maybe that’s why these are the restaurants people keep coming back to.
Keep Exploring the Jersey Shore
Want to turn dinner into a full day?
Explore our Bayville, NJ guide, spend a few hours following our Toms River one-day itinerary, or head south with our Forked River local guide.
For even more ideas, start with Best Things to Do in Ocean County, NJ.
We’ll keep adding restaurants, towns, local history and places worth knowing throughout Ocean and Monmouth Counties.
About Michael Tumminelli
Michael Tumminelli is a Broker Associate serving Ocean and Monmouth Counties and regularly shares local restaurants, places, history and things worth knowing about communities throughout the Jersey Shore.
Michael Tumminelli | Broker Associate
📞 848-333-3420
📞 732-473-1700
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