Baker’s Water Street Bar and Grille

BAKER’S WATER STREET BAR AND GRILLE
4 Robbins Parkway, Toms River
732-240-4800
bakerswaterstreet.com

Hours: Seven days, 11:30 am–2 am

Price: $$

Style: Once known for catering to the early-bird crowd, Water Street is now a hip sports bar with a younger clientele. Expect quiet tables of seniors, booths with young families or cozy couples or, later in the evening, singles. Many late nights morph into dance parties with live music.

Don’t Miss: Start with tuna teriyaki bites ($12) cooked rare. Other appetizers good for sharing include crispy calamari or nachos and wings, available in four different sauces. For the main course, you can’t go wrong with a hearty burger ($8) served with a generous side of fries. Wood-fired brick-oven pizzas are also a favorite. Try the crowd-pleasing Margherita ($10), a crispy 12-inch pie with whole leaves of fresh basil. Salads are substantial; order Buffalo calamari salad ($11) and you’ll have enough for lunch the next day. Try the Cajun mahi mahi ($19), served with a salad and choice of potato or rice. There are 10-plus beers on tap and more than a dozen in bottles. Water Street offers happy-hour specials on weekdays, 4 to 7 pm, and weekends, 1 to 5 pm, so be sure to ask.

Heads Up: Baker’s Water Street is part of the Chef’s International restaurant group, which also includes the popular spots Wharfside and Jack Baker’s Lobster Shanty, both in Point Pleasant Beach.

The Scoop: Twenty-one large screen TVs guarantee a view of whatever game is on, whether you’re in the bar or the dining room. Football Sundays are the busiest days this time of year. Arrive by boat in the summer (the restaurant is located at the western-most point of the Toms River) and enjoy the expansive outdoor deck.