Clementine’s Cafe

We go to New Orleans, primarily to eat, every year. Clementines was like being back in Louisiana. The food was wonderful! As we’re eating my husband is planning to go back the next evening for dinner. I agreed with him.

Our wonderful server was Mary, she explained all the specials and was very attentive throughout the meal. All the food was delicious we were a party of four and we had the California dreaming salad which was excellent, I had the Mahi Mahi special, my husband had the pork tenderloin, his sister had the soft shell crabs served over a mushroom risotto and her mother-​in-​law had just the soup and she shared a little off of our plates. Honestly, everything was outstanding!

Clementines in Avon By The Sea, New Jersey, is one of my favorite restaurants. This is the best Cajun food in all of New Jersey. Last night I celebrated my Birthday with a large group of my friends, some eating at Clemetines for the first time, and they loved it. The prices are reasonable for the large amounts of food that you receive, the service is always on point with a extremely friendly staff, and a large selection to choose from. I had the Catfish, delicious! From the appetizers to the main entrées, every dish is unbelievable! I am always beyond satisfied.

Wow! We needed this place in our area! So friendly & warm, great service! Food is spectacular! Loved the kale ceasar & crab bisque! The jumbalaja is to die for! Can’t wait to sample more of the menu! The décor is fun & fab too! I love Clementines!

There are few times in my life where I have been blown away by every aspect of a meal. Off the top of my head I can only think of four. I love spicy food, and I especially love NOLA cuisine. The food is outstanding. Everything from the appetizers to the entrée to dessert was great.
A few things to keep in mind: they are only open for dinner from like 5 – 9 (when they take reservations) so that leaves a pretty small window to accommodate guests.
The owner is always there and he is usually wearing short shorts in the dead of winter but who cares the guy is at his establishment working his ass off and not letting some shmuck run it and skim money off the top.

We were in town visiting some family and came here last night. I thought the food was amazing and the harvest décor added to the experience. I ordered the jambalaya pasta special and my husband had the NY strip special. So good!!! When we visit again, we will definitely come and eat here again. Wish I had taken pics of our entrées.

Excellent. Nice atmosphere. Ate with 4 others who all eat pretty good. 3 appetizers; rib lets and pecan encrusted Brie really good, catfish over potato pancake excellent and about 3 on heat scale. My wife as always ordered 6 deserts for 5 people! Gooey butter cake and Tres Leches cake were #1 and #2, but bread pudding not bad too.

My wife and I got multiple recommendations for where to go on our anniversary for dinner. The overwhelming response was that we should go to Clementines. «You won’t be disappointed!»
And we were not. It’s a small place with less than 20 tables. It’s quiet and really nice inside. We had checked out the menu online before going and were a little skeptical because there didn’t seem to be a huge selection. We were very pleasantly surprised by the special menu. And then on top of that there were specials that the waitress told us about.
Now we took the suggestion of the owner and the waitress and had the pork rib appetizer and the Cajun popcorn (shrimp and crawfish) both appetizers were AMAZING! The shrimp and crawfish were so tender and cooked perfectly. Now the ribs. Oh my. Boneless ribs with a good amount of smoke and a nice little char on the outside melted in our mouths! And the slaw that accompanied was excellent.
On to the main course. My wife had the jambalaya pasta special which was Huge and very tasty. I had the blackened catfish over a potato pancake with Cajun sausage and crawfish. One word. WOW!
The waitress, Christa, was amazing and the owner, Michael, was awesome. Stopping by tables to show diners the different special plates as he ran them to the table. And the waitress was so attentive to each and every table in the restaurant. I couldn’t have been happier. If you’re looking for a great meal in a really cool place, Clementine’s in Avon should be your choice. We will go back, no doubt about it!

Thank you for a fantastic dinner! The Ceasar salad was huge and delicious; we slpit it. There were three of us and we each tried something different, the shrimp etoufee, the jambalaya, and the blackened shrimp… all amazing. we asked for extra plates and no one gave us a problem. So thank you. No one was rushed, but it was during the week. Even the coffee was fantastic. It is top-​notch! The décor fits the restaurant… and I want to buy something…
I’m sorry, is this boring, I’m funnier when I hate and I’m hungry… but I’m full. and happy, so I’m dull and needed to write this. KX out.

Superb! We were a crowd of eight. Each of us had marvelous meals. We ordered ribs, scallops, and salad appetizers. Our entrees included swordfish and Jambalaya. Everybody enjoyed their selections. Our deserts were rich and delicious, as well. Highly recommend. We’ll be back for sure.

I have been debating whether or not to post this review and the longer I think about it the angrier I get.
Service is paramount in the restaurant business. On a 1 – 10 scale if I have an experience at a restaurant where the food is a 10 and the service is a 6 I probably wouldn’t return. On the other hand if the food is a 6 and the service is a 10 I probably will return.
Four of us ate at Clemetines on Saturday night and the food was good. There happen to be a misunderstanding with the server as 2 in our party wanted an appetizer portion as their entrée, not an incredibly uncommon request. But this did not happen, along with getting asparagus that we didn’t order and not getting a pork appy we did order. Be that as it may the server proceeded to argue with us to try and prove us wrong. This review would have been 4 stars easy had she not carried on and on. After the initial argument she then returned a few minutes later to show us her writing and continued to argue that she was right. All we needed to hear was I’m sorry there was a misunderstanding is there anything we can do to make this up to you? Our response would have been No problem don’t worry about it and that would have been the end of it. Instead the 4 of us are telling the story to everyone we know.
What a shame that the good taste of the food was overpowered by the bad taste the server left us with!

Fabulous, delicious food food, great service ! A favorite of all restaurants… we had the bourbon street salad, Cajun popcorn, specials of steak empanadas, pork rib … Mains were Tina, catfish, grouper, pork tenderloin. All delicious ! Service was excellent! Will go back …

The décor is a great introduction to the restaurant. The portions are huge and the food is made from the best ingredients and always fresh.
Service is outstanding. This place is the best find on the shore.

I was not satisfied with what I ordered. The clams were full of sand-​yuk. The décor leaves something to be desired. You want GREAT cajun — turn around and head to Drew’s Bistro in Keyport.

We’ve been here about 2 dozen times over the last few years & the quality of their dishes never disappoints. N’Orleans styled menu with the «expected» Cajun staples like Jambalaya & Étouffée and the less-​expected (& my favourite dish:) Blackened Shrimp over lemon/​garlic Angel Hair (with the «added» Crawfish you can heap onto any meal here!) I’ve also enjoyed a special simpler to this dish but with the addition of a layer of Eggplant in there for bonus yum-​factor! Their basic Caesar salad is always a good «starter,» however tonight’s special salad of Grilled Shrimp atop Kale with Caesar dressing was out-​of-​this-​world delish! bravo! Don’t miss out on their yummy Treś Lechès Cake for dessert either! A Gem of a find in downtown Avon-​by-​the-​Sea NJ!!!

After 2 delicious dinners here, we wish it were closer to our home. New Orleans style places are a rare treat in NJ and Clementine’s offers:
Delicious scallops Clementine; shrimp étouffée and grilled shrimp
Excellent service, an extensive menu; large portions and a very cozy, uniquely decorated space filled with pictures; jewelry and knick knacks
Apps are $ 10 – 17; entrees $ 25 – 35; desserts $ 7 – 10 (have not tried any, but they looked large and very tempting) – and it is BYO, which reduces the bill considerably.
The calamari was better the first time than the second and I was irked that a switch from a pasta side to spinach was $ 1.50, but I can’t wait to return.
The beach at Avon is lovely and this is about a half mile from it.

Wow, never had NOLA style food before but this place is SO good! I don’t think there’s anything like this around the area, def a gem. Service is great, everyone is so friendly. My bf and I did the Brie appetizer with fruits, blackened catfish, crab cake entrée, and Manhattan truffle. All were so good!!! The restaurant itself too is very unique and festive. You get the interesting New Orleans vibe. Would definitely come back and recommend!!!

My wife & I braved the cold last night to finally give Clementine’s a try. The only disappointment was finding out what we’ve been missing for so long.
The décor, the staff, everything — a perfect mix of nice, cool, and kooky. It’s BYOB, so be sure to bring you’re own adult beverages with you.
To start, we had a cheesy shrimp bread appetizer. It was quite tasty and the portion would easily take care of a party of four.
My wife had the crab cakes with hush puppies. Pretty sure she enjoyed it. I was too distracted by my own meal. On second thought, she started rattling off the names of all the people we need to bring back there, so I guess she was just as happy as I was.
I had the Veal Clementine. Felt a little guilty ordering it, as there seemed to be many more adventurous choices available. I couldn’t decide & our server mentioned the veal was one of the more popular dishes, so off we went.
A quick word on the portions — at 6’2″ and 200+lbs, I don’t abandoned too many meals (often eating mine and sampling whatever my wife ordered). As much as I enjoyed my dinner, I still have half of it wrapped up in my fridge (can’t WAIT to have it for lunch).
I won’t do a description of the Veal Clementine justice, so I’ll just say it was awesome (veal, shrimp, sausage, cheese, and spices over bow tie pasta).
The staff was great. From the super-​friendly dude at the door (big, bald guy), to the pleasant & efficient servers — simply terrific.
We saw the desserts some of our neighbor had & they looked great. We looked at the menu & considered ordering, then realized we were already too full.
I can’t think of too many times when we left a restaurant perfectly satisfied — zero complaints or wants left unattended. Can’t wait to go back. Go check it out yourself. You’re welcome.

This is a top-​notch place from food to service… and you can even do a little shopping after your meal. Plus it is BYOB, so you cannot beat that.
For starters, we tried the Fried Brie, the Crab Cake, and Cajun Popcorn (shrimp and crawfish).
For entrees, we had Shrimp n Tasso pasta, blackened catfish special, blackened tuna, salmon, and the jumbalaya. The favorite at the table was the Shrimp Tasso, which is also the House favorite. A huge portion, rich and creamy sauce, and nice size shrimp. The runner up was the blackened catfish special, served with andouille sausage and crawfish with a tangy remoulade. All the dishes were cooked and prepared well, and gave you a large portion for your money.
They had a dessert (can’t remember the name) but it is out of this world. Ask for the crowd favorite, they won’t steer you wrong.

My mother and I enjoyed a beautiful dinner at Clementine’s a few months back. The service was friendly and we brought our own wine. The nut crust-​brie coated with walnuts, pecans and almonds was to die for; complete with honey and apples. I enjoyed the tilapia with sauteed spinach and my mother had a pasta dish that she loved. The menu is quite pricey however the quality of the food is fantastic and the portion sizes are huge; we both took our food home for lunch the following day.