Cafe Loren in Avalon

Hands down, the best dining experience in South Jersey! The lobster appetizer, halibut entrée, and blueberry cobbler are my personal favorites, but you really can’t go wrong at Café Loren… The hostess and owner, Patty Rutledge, is eager to make the ambiance relaxing for her guests; our server, Sally, was friendly and knowledgeable on all the dishes, and she delivered our food with perfect timing. What a fantastic staff and a great night out in Avalon!

We gave this restaurant a very scant three stars and upon reflection, it probably deserved only two. While the atmosphere is inviting and the servers quite pleasant, the foot was most disappointing. Caesar salad was half a huge head of romaine with globs of a thick, bland mayonnaise-​y dressing. The beet and goat cheese salad was the best part of the meal. Entrees at almost $ 40 were most disappointing. The Veal Loren was prepared with fresh ingredients but had a very bland thick cream sauce. Veal medallions were supposedly «pan seared» but were unevely cooked and some had a thick hard fried crust. Potato slices were over-​cooked. Glad we tried it, but won’t go back.

I have been coming to Avalon for 21 years. This is the first time we have dined at Café Loren. I can honestly say perhaps the best meal I’ve had at the jersey shore.
The perfect setup 1) Go to the liquor store and get a nice bottle of wine (we drank champagne) 2) Sit down at Café Loren for a relaxing sumptuous experience.
I had the rack of lamb with a house salad.
The salad was more than ample with a tangy house dressing. Served with a home made crusty roll and butter.
The lamb was cooked to order and tender. The lamb was accompanied with a mix of potatoes and vegetables including almonds in the sautee.
Service was awesome without being overbearing. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed.
My wife had the scallops cooked to perfection, sweet and tender.
I thought it reasonably priced for Avalon. Oh and when we were done we had delicious hot coffee. We didn’t consider desert as Avalon freeze is out the front door.
Great meal great service we will be back.

Pros: Atmosphere, servers, presentation, BYOB.
Cons: Nothing to note that really stood out. Food was all a bit on the sweeter side.
My wife and I dined here and brought a bottle of wine with us. We had a reservation and were quickly seated when we got there. Sally was our server for the night and did a great job making sure we felt at home and made sure our wine was put on ice. She was able to tell us about the specials and explain what came with each dish. The water boy came around and filled my glass first not my wife’s (ladies first!!!), a small detail missed. As for the food, we ordered an appetizer and two entrees. The appetizer was amazing, we had the tuna tartar and the tuna was fresh as was everything else it came with (sweet potato, avocado, radish). My wife ordered the scallops served with a garlic and edamame purée and an edamame succotash. The truffle red onion marmalade placed on top of the scallops was nice and sweet and went very good with the rest of the dish. I was able to try some of her dish and was extremely impressed. As for my dish however, I was a bit disappointed. I ordered the Baramundi fish that came with a cucumber and watermelon salad placed in a honeydew ‘broth’. The fish was seared perfectly, the best sear I have ever had. The cucumber and watermelon salad was great. However, the salad and fish did not mix well at all. I couldn’t escape the sweetness from the salad and actually enjoy the flavored of the fish. Disappointing, especially because I’ve never had Baramundi before. Overall, the meal was nice and quaint and a real gem in the Avalon area. I would love to return and give the place a second shot and I know my wife wants to go back for the scallops.

Café Loren was amazing. Service was just right– attentive, not suffocating. Every dish we had was beautifully presented and most importantly, was delicious. Only criticism was a bit too salty for a few dishes. I usually am annoyed by the lack of salt at most restaurants in our salt paranoid world. In this case, just be aware. The mussels (salty from chorizo), the grilled lobster tail and the short ribs were heavily salted for example. I still recommend and the salt explains the 4 star rating.

I highly recommend Café Loren for anyone staying in Stone Harbor or Avalon. It is convenient and the food and service were outstanding. Its been about 20 years since I have been to this area so I was not familiar with the restaurants in the area and the rating for this place on Unilocal were near perfect so I chose it for an anniversary dinner for my wife and I. They definitely lived up to my expectations. They do not take advantage of their customers since they are not making money on alcohol so prices are fair and the BYOB is actually quite nice. Have the duck, its amazing!

One of my favorite places in Avalon. The dishes are amazing and very unique. Great ambience and the staff is fantastic. 5 stars!

The food was very tasty and fresh. I had the salmon curry special and my girlfriend had the halibut. I took away a star because my salmon was slightly under cooked based on my request.
HOWEVER, you do not get a lot of food. If you are a big eater and want something that will fill your stomach this is not the place for you. Both entrees were very pricey and very small.

Awesome coconut curry and carrot soup. Amazing scallop appetizer. For dinner we had the Veal Loren and Penne Bolognese which was very tasty and well prepared. The women who greeted us when we got there seemed to be the owner and was very nice. Our waitress was extremely friendly and gave us a great recommendation for dessert. We went with a chocolate banana mousse cake. I would definitely recommend this place and would go back again.

Yep — 5 stars it shall be.
Took my lady here for dinner on a busy Friday summer night — the entire experience was SOLID.
We had the following:
Spinach and Arugula salad — very good
seafood bisque — very good
Halibut — excellent
Scallops — excellent
We will definitely go back — excellent BYOB in Avalon, as of this entry our favorite meal at shore of summer of 2013!

Café Loren is an establishment that could flourish anywhere in NJ. The service and food are easily some of the best examples of dining in Cape May County. We’ve had roughly everything on the menu and nothing disappoints. Scallop appetizer is a standout while the Veal Loren has been consistently great year in and year out (and the chef has changed the recipe slightly from years past). Fish specials are fresh while even your basic boring filet mignon is equivalent to those served at upscale steakhouses. BYOB and bring something nice, the food here will not be upstaged by anything from a white Burgundy to a To Kalon cabernet.

We have enjoyed coming to Loren for many years but left last night feeling cheated. We ordered the lobster tail entrée which turned out to be two small tails about the size of jumbo shrimps on two mounds of risotto. The price was $ 39.50. The whole dinner with an appetizer was served in less than 40 minutes, cost $ 136 and we left thinking «where can we go for a hamburger». The waitress never asked us if we were satisfied with our meals nor did the woman (owner?) at the front. My wife, who eats far less than I do, resorted to a mound of Utz pretzels when we got home just to satisfy her hunger. Loren is now off our «favorites» list.

Top Choice for a fabulous Meal
The new décor is lovely! Finally! Excellent service and top quality meals, so consistently good. Never disappoints!

To please 8 different diners is hard to do. They completed this task with no problem. From steak to grouper to halibut to scallops, it was hard to pick the best dish of the night. The only appetizer that didn’t hit the target was the calamari with polenta which was overly seasoned and lacking in focus.
Expect to pay around $ 130 per couple with tax and tip.
By far the best restaurant in Avalon.

Very nice BYOB in Avalon. Service was good, food is excellent.
As other reviewers said, the scallops are amazing, some of the best I’ve had. You can have them as an app or entrée. Either way, they are excellent. I also had the Mahi-​Mahi, and I would have that again in a minute.
Definitely will go again.

my wife and I popped in last second to café loren the other night after having not sat down for dinner here in almost 15 years. not only have they done a very nice job with their renovation, but the food was excellent and worthy of 4 stars.
the mahi mahi was an excellent choice, but i was jealous of my wife’s pork chop. perhaps one of the best I have ever eaten. great stuff.
thank you to the kind and attentive staff. it will certainly not be 15 years until I visit again!

After reading all the raving reviews of Café Loren I had to give it a try. I was just there on September 21 and they close for the season on the 23^rd.
As some have noted in earlier reviews the décor is a bit old & plain. The service was fantastic as we had (3) people taking care us. For starters we tried the Calamari & fresh local scallops (2). Both app’s were very good. The scallops get a solid 5 stars. The Calamari was served in a tomato based sauce and it was not fried.
Small dinner rolls and butter were provided free of charge but I believe they might be store bought but i wasn’t 100% sure. The butter was cold and I would have preferred for it to be served at least at room temp if not heated.
For our entrée’s we tried the Veal Loren, Rack of Lamb, Scallops (6), Seafood Bisque & Filet. Each of our meals were fantastic. The flavors, texture & presentation were all top notch. Although the prices are high Café Loren is a BYOB and that really offsets the pricing of the entrees.
I gave Café Loren 4 stars because I didn’t leave feeling like I had to come back the next time I’m in Avalon.

Well deserving of 5 stars. The food is amazing, from taste and flavor to presentation and artistic style, Café Loren does not disappoint.
Our server was a little off putting, but the service was still very good. It is BYOB and sits adjacent to a liquor store, which actually makes the meal more affordable by not getting up-​charged for alcohol.
Definitely my new favorite place for dinner at the shore, I strongly recommend dining at Café Loren.

I don’t give 5-​star reviews away like candy. Café Loren deserves a stellar review for their food /​service. I can’t believe I waited this long to try it… This is by far the best restaurant on the island, and it even gives some of the four star NYC restaurants a run for their money.
You definitely pay for what you get here, but the fact that it’s BYOB makes it all worthwhile. I had the lobster tail appetizer to start — they were generous with the portion and the risotto was awesome. Then had the halibut, which was cooked perfectly over, yet again risotto *yes, I freaking love risotto*.
Everyone at the table shared bites of each other’s plates– The special seafood salad was fresh, filet was cooked perfect, scallops were awesome, lamb was tender and one of the best racks of lamb I’ve had in a long time.
Overall, service was great and the menu has something for everyone. Tip — leave room for dessert. They have a peanut butter pie that is out of this world… also tried the blueberry cobbler and it’s a little piece of heaven.

Put it to bed. Solid. No brainer. Can o’ corn. Epic win. I could go on and on with cliches that describe just how good Café Loren is. A quite, unobtrusive store front location at 23^rd and Dune in Avalon, this byob delivers some of the best food down the shore.
I enjoyed the calamari with olives and capers served piccata style, with a nice blend of lemon and some garlic. The ceasar salad was crisp and flavorful, and my filet, served medium rare over a bed of garlic mashed hit the spot. Dessert was a house made key lime tart, to which I have a mild addiction.
This is the quite, romantic spot for dinner in Avalon. Whereas Diving Horse is great if you want to drink and be loud, like everyone else, CL is the spot for gazing into each others eyes, spouting syrupy cliché’s, some of which you might actually mean.