La Terrazza

Had dinner here the other night for the first time, as I have passed through for only drinks during the summer of 2015. The restaurant was ¾ full on a cold weekend night and it was me and a friend. The interior of the restaurant is really charming and inviting. A lot of detail certainly went into this restaurant. The service was very good as well. We ordered the following food for this meal:
MOZZARELLA CAPRESE: Fresh tomato, homemade mozzarella, basil and prosciutto di Parma
GRILLED POLENTA GORGONZOLA AND MUSHROOMS: Polenta with Gorgonzola cheese and fresh porcini and shiitake mushrooms.
BISTECCA ALLA TERRAZZA:10 oz. filet tenderloin rosemary encrusted, seared, sliced, finished with a garlic black pepper corn cream sauce and served with mashed potatoes and sautéed escarole
PISTACHIO ENCRUSTED SALMON: Served atop saffron risotto and finished with champagne cream sauce, complimented with Shitake mushrooms, pea and onion hash
After having this meal, and deciding to Unilocal about it, I noticed that this place only got 2 stars and thought there has to be some kind of mistake. The reviews of this place seem misleading in the sense that people come here in the summer, and expect to get 5 star treatment when there is an hour wait to be seated at this place for most of the day and night. I probably would not come to this place in the summer because of how crazy and transient the summer crowd is in Belmar. For how crazy Belmar gets in the summer and how over crowded the town is, I really feel like the quality is going to be compromised. It just is.
All I can tell you is, my food was on point. It was very very good. I Will def be back for more. Big sized portions, great value for the money. This Italian meal was far better than any place I’ve been to in Asbury or the immediate Monmouth County area, I am really glad I came here to try it and also glad I came in the winter. THIS IS A FACT.

Would give zero stars if it were an option. La Dolce Vita (same owner — next door) was closed for private party so we gave this place a try. Décor is is crappy pizzeria. Food was ok, but this is why I’d give zero stars:
A) shrimp parm, eggplant parm, one salad, two glasses of house wine $ 70. Service was good so gave 20% tip. $ 84 when done. Given the pizzeria atmosphere, should not have been that much
B) ran into the owner while leaving and expressed my thoughts on paying premium price for an average dinner in a below average atmosphere. His answer was «hey you saw the menu prices when you sat down and you could have eaten somewhere else»
Told him he was right — I should have eaten somewhere else.
No interest from the owner to see what he could have done to make the experience better, no apology, etc. I was not looking for any discount, just wanted to give a business owner some honest feedback. He could not have cared less.
Plenty of great restaurants in the area. This is not one of them.

We had to wait an hour but to be expected on a Saturday night in the summer. It is a tourist trap even though I am a local. The service was quick but I can do without the waitress calling me honey and sweetie… I hate that… The olive oil was served in a plastic cup that came with the bread… a little low class… My margarita was weak but I had a bottle of wine during my lunch outing so I didn’t complain. The calamari was larger than I am used to. The large rice ball was ok and the pizza was good. Overall they are lucky they have that location even though you really cannot see the ocean sitting outside like you do in other restaurants on the beach.

Okay, not super. I think their pizzas are probably their highlight, but my friends and I all ordered pasta dishes, which weren’t exceptional in any way. Not at all bad, but nothing we couldn’t get as good or better anywhere else.
Location, sitting outside in front, was lovely. Not as windy as if we’d been on the ocean side of the street, so that was a plus! Staff very friendly.
Apparently, the place next door is owned by the same folks, and is a notch up from La Terrazza; might be worth trying.

Went recently for a late evening dinner with a large party, did not receive 2 meals, the pizza was haphazardly on waiter tables behind our actual table, with people constantly walking by the pizza, for an Italian place they need the pizza toppers for the table, as far as the not receiving meals when the check came we asked for the manager who the waitress said was unavailable. Not acceptable per our situation, he finally came over and half heartedly listening while slowly starting to walk away, not professional to say the least. All in all food was good, but not good customer service per mgmt.

We were seated quickly at an outdoor table with a view of the ocean and a great breeze. My daughter and I shared zuppa di clams, fried calamari, and the summer salad. Everything was delicious, service was great, and I’ll come here again.

Delicious pizza. Pizza and entrees arrive to table ½ apart. Management not very helpful– never welcomes customers or sees if all is well. I guess the restaurant cannot handle Friday nights in the summer. Beautiful evening– lovely outdoor seating but certainly not a great dining experience.

I thought the service was fantastic. I really liked the girl who served me; Ashley. The food was good. Just good vibes.

Great place to grab a drink and look out at the ocean. Nice happy hour deals. Service could be faster but the food is always delicious. Draft beer selection is limited.

I came on a day that was crazy hectic because of the seafood festival that was going on at the beach, so the restaurant was packed and I waited about 45-​an hour for my table, the service was slow, the waiters dropped and shattered about 3 glasses/​plates, and I had to remind the waiter twice about my table’s complimentary bread. These things I am willing to overlook because of how many customers there were that day.
Other than that, the vegetarian pizza was very good: light buttery crust with a unique blend of cheeses and veggie toppings. The peach martini was refreshing and a nice cocktail to compliment the meal. The pasta and calamari appetizer were both tasty and cooked just right. Another pro is that there is complimentary bread with an olive oil dip: It had just come out of the oven, so it was nice and crusty on the outside, and incredibly fluffy on the inside. The beach view at night was lovely, and the strung up lights outside added to a romantic feel of the restaurant.
CONS:
I am regretful to have to post about this because the experience would have been perfect had these not happened: I found a strand of hair in the calamari dish, and ANOTHER piece of hair in the complimentary bread. I didn’t make a big fuss about it, but only told the waitress to inform the cooks about it and tell them to be more careful.
TLDR: Food was excellent, but I would probably come back on another day that is NOT when a popular NJ seafood festival has the restaurant overcrowded.

I enjoy this place. Pretty Mello. No rush. Good drinks and food. People need to chill out a bit. Relax. A nice time on the water. Peace.

If I could give no stars I would. The service has gone terribly down which I did not think was possible but their prices have gone quite up. We were there and ordered pizza, sandwiches and French fries. I can only assume it was the owner’s daughter walking around the kitchen since she was not cooking and just asking for stuff. my daughter’s fries were ready but the owner’s daughter needed fries for her kids. She came in after us I should add. She was just taking other people’s orders. Then the owner decides to get up and pretend she cares that we waited so long for French fries. I am over this place. I was hoping to give them another chance because I love their pizza. But we are done. Do not waste your time. They are money hungry and provide the crappiest service.

Nice restaurant right on Ocean Ave with very reasonable prices. The place had a decent crowd at the bar, but plenty of outdoor seating available. They didn’t have many gluten free options, but they were accommodating.

Great atmosphere right on ocean ave. I highly recommend the calamari. Service was very attentive. A must visit in Belmar.

Excellent atmosphere. Highly attentive wait staff. Calamari is highly recommended. Not cheap but overall great quality food.

I really enjoyed my experience at La Terrazza. Our waitress, Margo was excellent. Owners please take note. We dine out very often and good servers are not as abundant as we hope. Margo is the exception. She knew the menu well, and was very attentive to is. SI had the baked clams — on special– delicious, though they could have used another two minutes under the broiler. The breadcrumbs were perfect, clam was juicy and delicious. So many restaurants could learn a thing about making baked clams from the chef here!
My entrée was a special, spiral pasta with broccoli rabe, shrimp and sausage.
Fiancé had not salad which is tasty and huge. Main he had a chicken dish with fresh tomatoes, not sure of the name. Also very tasty. If we are in belmar, we will be back.

Terrible service from beginning to end. From the hostess to the waitress to the cooks to the manager. Waited FOREVER to sit. Waited FOREVER to get waitress to table. Waited FOREVER for wine. Waited FOREVER for 2 PIZZAS (one came out late after I had to ask for it and the other showed up 20 minutes later after I told them to forget it.)
Manager KNEW we were pissed about the service, but NEVER came over to care. He sent the waitress back to our table to see if we still wanted to take the 2^nd pizza home with us «on the house.» NO THANKS. Kicker: We ordered a $ 36 bottle of wine and the food runner brought us out paper plates for our dinner because the kitchen «ran out of dishes.» NEVER AGAIN!

Questionable service. Long waits between taking your order, getting the drinks, putting your food in and getting your food out. And this was in late September!
Paying the bill, however happened very quickly. I’ve never been to an Italian restaurant that offered littleneck clams in the raw bar section of the menu that would not steam a dozen clams for you.
The pizza was not remarkable. The rigatoni with eggplant, sausage sans the basil that was advertised was meh.
I asked for bread basket after waiting twenty minutes for out appetizers.
I do have to say the peel and eat shrimp were delicious the cocktail sauce was underwhelming land tasteless.
The only thing going for this place is location which is Ocean Avenue however with cars everywhere, it was very difficult to see the ocean and smokers standing at the curb smoking with the ocean breeze was most distressing.

I went to La Terrazza earlier in the summer with my family and it was horrible. The service was beyond bad.
When we sat down we ordered a pitcher of Sangria. This is where things started to go south. It took a good 15 – 20 minutes to get us our drinks. From there we ordered two appetizers Fried calamari and a cheese board. The fried calamari came out pretty quickly, but they decided not to bring us any plates. We couldn’t locate our waitress to ask for any and she never returned with them. About 15 minutes after the fried calamari came out our cheese board comes out. Not really sure why the cheese board would come out 15 minutes after the calamari since it requires no cooking at all but it did. When this came out we asked our waitress for plates and her response was they ran out of them… Hmm OK, It was a pretty bad experience eating fried calamari with no plates.
The service was not much better with our entrees. 2 of the 5 entrees came out and the other 3 came out literally 30 minutes later. 2 people finished their meals before the other 3 even came out. That is unacceptable! When we spoke to a manager he gave us a terrible excuse, saying that the food is made at different stations so sometimes things come out at different times. Excuse me, your run a restaurant your kitchen should be communicating so all meals come out at the same time. You have been operating La Dolce Vita next door for 9 years you should be able to run a kitchen.
This was a horrible experience and I will not be returning or recommending La Terrazza to anyone.

Newest patio dining in Belmar with nice bar. Jim serves up some good cocktails and conversation. I have not had the opportunity to dine here yet but it a good oasis from the Belmar sun. In other words a great place to hydrate!