New Jersey has its fair share of eateries with breathtaking views and diverse dishes — no arguing there — but one has earned a spot among the best waterfront restaurants in the country, according to a recent ranking on USA TODAY’s 10BEST 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards.

Through flooding and fire damage, this historic, family-owned Jersey Shore restaurant has stood the test of time, dating back three centuries and drawing crowds year-round. Readers of USA TODAY voted to crown the nation’s top 10 best restaurants with exceptional views, whittling down a nomination list crafted by 20 experts who weighed heavily on “outstanding service, meals with high-quality, fresh ingredients and stunning views.”

Here’s what to know about New Jersey’s top waterfront restaurant down the Jersey Shore. Would you recommend it?

The Lobster House, Cape May

There’s nothing like enjoying some freshly caught seafood at the Jersey Shore, and The Lobster House in Cape May is just the place to be, according to readers. The “legendary” eatery was top ranked for its picturesque views of the Cape May Harbor.

The family-owned business is renowned for their whole lobsters and signature seafood pasta, embracing “a casual yet festive vibe, ideal for seafood aficionados of all ages,” according to USA TODAY. Their dockside is usually bustling with its own fleet of fishing boats, serving millions of pounds of fresh catches year-round.

Tourists and locals have dined there for decades; the restaurant was established around the 1950s and its operation includes a dining room, raw bar and a deck, with diners also fond of sipping cocktails aboard The Schooner American, a 130-foot sailing vessel moored alongside the restaurant since 1965. 

Do you need a reservation at The Lobster House in Cape May? Here’s how to eat at The Lobster House

The Lobster House’s main dining room is open for lunch and dinner, and its Raw Bar opened for the season on Friday, April 25. The Lobster House has a coffee shop open early that serves breakfast on the weekends and also has a fish market and take-out. The website indicates the Schooner is closed for the season, so best to check with the restaurant.

Go: 906 Schellengers Landing Road; 609-884-8296, thelobsterhouse.com. They do not take reservations.

Top 10 waterfront restaurants in the U.S.

More a fan of American fare and headed to Florida, or taking in the views of Niagara Falls this summer? Here are the 10BEST waterfront restaurants ranked in the U.S.

1. Beach House Grill: Chatham, Massachusetts
2. Moshulu: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. The Strand House: Manhattan Beach, California
4. Canoe – Atlanta, Georgia
5. Top of the Falls – Niagara Falls, New York
6. The Lobster House – Cape May, New Jersey
7. Six Seven Restaurant – Seattle, Washington
8. Jetty’s Waterfront Restaurant – Jupiter, Florida
9. Angèle Restaurant & Bar – Napa, California
10. Prost Haus – San Antonio, Texas

Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.

TRENTON, N.J. — A Catholic diocese wants to stop New Jersey from trying to empanel a grand jury to investigate allegations of clergy sexual abuse, with arguments before the state’s high court set for Monday.

After a Pennsylvania grand jury report found over 1,000 children had been abused since the 1940s, New Jersey formed a task force in 2018 and intended to empanel its own grand jury to investigate allegations of abuse there. But the Diocese of Camden pushed back in court in 2021, arguing that state law doesn’t permit having a grand jury investigate possible abuse by private church officials.

That legal battle has happened away from public view for years, as courts had sealed the proceedings in New Jersey and the attorney general’s office didn’t share updates. But last month, the state Supreme Court unsealed a handful of documents between the diocese and the attorney general after the Bergen Record obtained records detailing the court battle.

The diocese argues that such grand jury investigations are only for governments and public officials.

In 2023, a trial court judge sided with the diocese, finding that such a grand jury would lack authority because it would be focused on “private conduct,” rather than a government agency’s actions. An appeals court affirmed that judgment last year, and Attorney General Matt Platkin appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The documents that the high court unsealed in March sketch out some of what the state’s task force has found so far but don’t include specific allegations. The papers show that 550 phone calls alleging abuse from the 1940s to the “recent past” came into a hotline the state had set up.

The diocese argues a grand jury isn’t needed in large part because of a 2002 memorandum of understanding between New Jersey Catholic dioceses and prosecutors. The memorandum required church officials to report abuse and said authorities would be provided with all relevant information about the allegations. One of the court documents says abuse had been “effectively eradicated” in the church.

But the Pennsylvania grand jury report in 2018 touched off a reexamination of statute of limitations law in New Jersey, which overhauled its civil statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse claims in 2019. The new law allows child victims to sue until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization that the abuse caused them harm. The previous statute of limitations was age 20 or two years after first realizing the abuse caused harm.

Also in 2019, New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses listed more than 180 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over a span of several decades, joining more than two dozen other states that have named suspects of abuse in the wake of the landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report.

Many priests on the lists were deceased; others were removed from ministry.

The Camden diocese, like others across the country, filed for bankruptcy amid a torrent of lawsuits — up to 55, according to court records — stemming from the relaxed statute of limitations.

Then in 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle claims involving clergy sex abuse with some 300 accusers in one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States.

The agreement by the diocese, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts of Philadelphia, exceeded the nearly $85 million settlement in 2003 in the clergy abuse scandal in Boston, but was less than other settlements in California and Oregon.

Looking for a staycation that pulls out all the stops?

It can be attained right here in the Garden State.

According to Esquire.com’s list The Best New Hotels in the World 2025, Pendry Natirar in Peapack is the best hotel in New Jersey and among the best around the world.

The popular gentlemen’s magazine list only contains 42 properties in which writer’s of the publication reviewed themselves by becoming guests at each entity.

Here is what the popular magazine said about Pendry Natirar:

“Did I expect my favorite hotel stay of the year to be in I-don’t-know-where New Jersey? (Peapack, formally.) Absolutely not. Am I still thinking about it? All the time. Perched on top of a towering hill, the hotel grounds boast a gorgeous wellness spa, a cozy restaurant, and a lobby that looks like it belongs somewhere in the Biltmore. The kicker: Pendry Natirar is fueled by the sprawling farm on the property, which you can tour, and where you can say hi to the chickens and pick up goodies. (I’m still using the honey they gave me.) It all makes for an intimate, Hudson-esque adventure — but without the hike upstate. Rooms from $675.” — Brady Langmann

Pendry Natirar is a stately escape on 500 rolling acres in Somerset County, constructed with 68 guestrooms and 21 suites. The hotel has luxurious and comfortable amenities with a combination of rich traditional and contemporary country influence and style. The location has a winery, afternoon teas and offers pilates classes to guests.

Pendry Natirar is where daily life is laced with inspiration and where nature guides us from season to season in splendor. A haven from the bustling tempo of the city’s pace, and located just an hour outside of New York City, we have reimagined Natirar’s historic grounds into an idyllic retreat layered with luxury, comfort and endless allure, according to Pendry.com.