Doris & Ed’s

Cant believe they closed, a real shame. My friends family has been going for at least 10 years or more. They always had the freshest fish and oysters were great. I was privileged to go there 5 or 6 times and never a let down

As it should be. Careful and service with a smile. Absolutely the best FRESH. NEVER FROZEN seafood straight from Hunt’s Point FRESH seafood market. EVERY DAY.
This is a class act, folks. Take a trip down to Sandy Hook for the day, then at night, dine at Doris and Ed’s.

We recently visited Doris and Ed’s for our friends 35^th wedding anniversary. It was more than awful. The service was extremely slow (the waiter literaly disappeared for a half hour after we ordered dessert) and servers acted uppity. The crab meat cocktail was tasteless. The food was expensive and nothing great. The dessert was supposed to have chantilly cream but instead we were served ready whip. A large party of very drunk individuals from the bar sat next to us and we could not converse at all. We complained to the management and filled out a card complaining about the entire highly disappointing evening but never heard a word. After taking the time to critique our evening I asked for a manager, handed her the card and told her if it were my restaurant I would want to know how customers were treated. She seemed like I was annoying her. We all assumed the restaurant had changed hands. After telling many friends not to go back to this restaurant, all of them told me with the exception of the large party of drunks sitting next to us that they had bad, expensive food, and slow service at Doris and Ed’s as well and would have told me not to step foot in there if they had only known of our plans

Doris & Ed’s was fantastic, and I don’t even eat seafood! We went for my father-in-law’s, uncle-​in-​law, and aunt-in-law’s joint birthday dinner with a group of 16 and we had a fabulous time. The meal started with fantastic wine, but unfortunately I have no clue what was picked. My fiancé raved about the bloody mary oyster shooters. He gets quite excited about food, but I have never seen him more excited than after he ate the oyster shooters. The table raved about the quality and freshness of the oysters and clams.
I had a mixed green salad to start and the duck as my main. My fiancé had the Doris and Ed’s platter and we split sides of mashed potatoes and broccolini. My fiancé loved his platter, and my duck was absolutely delicious, as were the sides. I don’t think a single bit of food was left on anyone’s plates. We finished with the warm brownie and ice cream, which had the taste of a chocolate soufflé. I can’t believe this was my first trip to Doris & Ed’s after years of summers in Sea Bright. I will definitely be back.

I went down to visit my parents last night and, as for all special occasions, they go to Doris and Ed’s (it was my birthday and they took me to dinner).
If people from Manhattan and Brooklyn don’t know Doris and Ed’s, it is a 3-​star seafood restaurant at the end of the beach in Atlantic Highlands, just across the bridge from Sea Bright, the Jersey shore answer to the Hamptons. For example, last night, there was a table with 2 couples from Staten Island who came down from the city for dinner. To get there from Manhattan, you can either take the NJ transit or the ferry from 34^th or 14^th Streets to Atlantic Highlands and the restaurant is literally around the corner from the ferry ramp.
Anyway, I have been coming to D&E since the current owner, Jim Filip (a friend of my parents) bought the restaurant, but it has been around for about 30 years. Jim is great, he goes into the NY fish market about once a week to personally pick out the freshest fish for the menu. He is also a good person to go to for a wine choice.
Last night, it being my birthday and being that I had a long day, I started my meal with a spiced carrot (and ginger) soup with 3 small Nantucket bay scallop dumplings in it. The soup tasted as if it was spiced with curry, but it turned out to be seasoned pumpkin seed oil which had been infused with cayenne or some other pepper. I also started it off with a glass of the Glenmorangie — 10-​year, neat, with a side of ice and water — as opposed to my usual choice of a Pinot. It was a good deal at $ 11/​glass. The warmth of the spiced soup combined with the whiskey was perfect for the cold, snowy day that yesterday was.
Then for my main course I had the branzino (which is a Mediterranean sea bass for those who don’t know it), prepared with a crisp skin and jamon serano, over braised fennel and madeira. I didn’t eat the jamon serano (I don’t eat red meat or hams), but my Dad enjoyed the serano and I enjoyed the branzino. I also shared a side of asparagus with parmesean with my parents. Usually I end the meal with one of the custards, but this time I had birthday cake waiting, so we decided to forgo dessert.
I rarely give restaurants a 5-​star; my current issue with Doris and Ed’s is that it seems to have gotten away from it’s previous «fine dining» image — many people now seem to show up in sweat pants and jeans — and also I don’t see many couples in their 20’s and 30’s anymore, which is a shame. I think that D&E should think about offering one night a month for a younger crowd — they are just down the lane from one of the clubs in Atlantic Highlands and I have some friends who might be interested in going if it was more their «scene».

On Saturday my husband and I were saying we hadnt been out for a great seafood dinner in a long time. It had been a couple of years since we’ve been to Doris and Eds and decided to give a call and see if they had any reservations available. They did!!! And the food was definitely as good as I remembered!
We arrived for a 7:30 reservation but had to wait for a seat by the window — the hostess took our drink order and sat us at the bar. She came to give us updates frequently on our table but we were more than happy to relax and have a drink.
The bartenders are very knowledgable — we wanted a chardonnay that wasnt oaky. He produced two samples for us to try. We got to chatting and he shared with us the dinner menu to look at and recommended some wines.
We ordered a couple of salads as appetizers. The croutons in the ceasar salad were so light and garlicky — the mixed green salad was delicious as well.
For dinner we had the halibut and the mahi — both were cooked perfectly and absolutely to die for. The halibut came with exotic mushrooms, fava bean pasta and a lobster saffron sauce — the mahi was grilled over mascarpone grits and an andouille sauce. We took the bartenders and our waiters suggestion for a nice Pinot Noir to compliment both fishes. And that it did.
Desserts here are very good. My husband had the warm chocolate brownie. I was hoping to get berries and cream but they had run out :(I had the housemade orange sorbet instead. Very refreshing after a wonderful meal.
The dining room was quite loud — There was a party of 12 — of which the majority or all were drunk and I was a little disappointed that so many people were there in jeans. Doris and Eds used to be a little more «white table cloth» and dressier — but they seem to have relaxed that a bit. Which is kind of a shame. But then again it was the Highlands St. Patricks Day parade that day — so that could be why.
But yes, we’d absolutely go back and hopefully soon!

Doris & Ed’s is a Jersey shore icon. I’ve been going for over 30 years and have always had a top notch meal. Their lobster is fresh and the menu has something for everyone. A large dining room room provides a view of Sandy Hook Bay. This is elegant dining at the Jersey shore. The staff is courteous and professional. They do need to upgrade their electrical system as the lights are know to flicker often. Doris & Ed’s is a must do.

I had not been here in around 5 years and had almost forgotten what a gem this place is. Quite simply the best seafood restaurant I have yet been to. Great service, an excellent selection of oysters — not as many varieties as The Oyster Bar but enough — absolutely outstanding entrees and excellent desserts. It is just a tad off the beaten path if you are at the usual shore destinations but definitely worth the trip.

I was really looking forward to a wonderful meal here, yet ultimately left feeling I missed something. It was my mothers birthday and she wanted a lobster tail from Doris and Ed’s. Four family members and myself, took her to get what she wanted. Our meals were split king crab legs, poached lobster in butter sauce, soft shell crabs over creamed corn and two 12 ounce broiled lobster tails. I tasted all meals and can honestly say all of them were underwhelming at best. Both lobster tails were past their prime and tasted like iodine and smelt like ammonia. The king crab legs were not very succulent, maybe because they looked like they were bought already split and then frozen. To really keep the best product one gets the legs whole and then splits them after cooking. The poached lobster in butter was nice but minuscule in portion for the money. The soft-​shell crabs were turning from true softies into semi hards. Both lobster tails were sent back and apologies were made by the staff. New replacement entrees were the semi soft-​shell crabs and two African lobster tails. Those tails were fine but no better than anywhere else. We made reservations days in advance and had the worst table in the entire place. The staff was very attentive and well mannered. I just feel let down. When you walk in you see all these James Beard awards it really makes you wonder if there is something wrong with yourself, but all members of our party were equally dissatisfied. Coffee and desert were complimentary which was a very classy touch, because of the over age lobster tails. If it wasn’t for the way the front of house handled themselves I would have given this place two stars. I’m sorry but the standards are not there and the chef should take a vacation and figure out why he would buy, prepare and serve average at best seafood. Kudos to the dessert chef he or she is the only one that is on their game in that kitchen. Goodbye Doris and Ed’s, you won’t ever get me back there again.

We have not been this year yet and when we go we will update the review. Doris and Ed’s is one of the best sea food restaurants on the entire east coast.
Doris and Ed’s has received the James beard award of excellence as well as other awards. They are as follows–
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 1985
New Jersey Restaurant Association’s 2004 Restaurateur of the Year
New Jersey Restaurant Association’s Gold Plate Award 1999
New Jersey Monthly Magazine, Best of the Best Seafood, every year since 1986
New Jersey Monthly Magazine, The Front Burner: Restaurant News, April, 2005
Gourmet Magazine America’s Top Tables, 1996 — 1999
The new chef who came after any of the awards were given was trained by Thomas Keller. So we are anxious to go back and try it again since he has taken over.
My husband is not into wine. He is into beer (think Dos Equis guy) and they perfectly matched the wine with the oysters so that he actually enjoyed the wine! The fish is not over done or drown in sauces like so many city sea food restaurants. The fish is fresh and tasty and is perfectly complimented by the wine.
It is far better than any of the sea food restaurants in Manhattan for sure. If you are from New York and think Jersey is just smoke stacks and industry like we used to you are missing out!
We have only had sea food there so we can’t comment on the meat.
Doris and Ed’s is a true foodie heaven for sea food lovers.

My wife is pissed. She ordered a signature dish here of scallops and short ribs and the ribs part weren’t ribs but cheap pieces of beef. My red snapper was good but $ 33 was a bit steep. Also I asked our sever for a meal with local fish and they didn’t have one. This restaurant has hundreds of fishing ships in the area. The ambience was good. The service was ok. But we’re from NYC and this place, although probably the best in the area, was overpriced and underwhelming. We could easily find a better meal in the city for the same price. Basically, this is a good restaurant. I liked my meal but my wife didn’t and the prices seemed a little high and for being a restaurant on the coast they offered no local fish which means you are buying old frozen fish. And you can get that basically anywhere.

If your looking for exceptional seafood and service, then Doris and Ed’s is the place. Doris & Ed’s was the first New Jersey restaurant to receive the coveted James Beard Award of Excellence as an «America’s Regional Classic» winner, boasting countless prestigious awards, reviews, national recognition, and is regularly featured on TV.

Doris & Ed’s is a wonderful restaurant, tucked in the back corner of Highlands, New Jersey. The restaurant looks right over the Atlantic ocean.
You’ll want to dress up for a visit to Doris & Ed’s — at least business casual. I was the only one wearing jeans while I was in the restaurant — and I felt a little out of place when I looked around and saw how everyone else was dressed. I asked the bartender if there was a dress code — he told me to relax and that jeans were fine.
So I sat at the bar and had a Caesar salad, a dozen raw oysters, their freshly baked bread, and a bowl of lobster bisque, and a cold beer. After dinner, I had a dram of The MacAllan — Cask Strength. It was the first time I had seen this new offering by The MacAllan. When I ordered it, the bartender asked me if I wanted it with a splash of water or on the rocks. I told him neither — I wanted it straight. He advised that it was cask strength and that I might not want to do that. I laughed and told him I prefer my single malt strong — not watered down.
I think he did not believe me at first — but I drank it straight, it was very good! Had slight hints of candied oranges and citrus — with the usual MacAllan finish.
The owner of the restaurant came through and made the rounds — he talked with everyone. We talked scotch for a while, amongst other topics. Nice guy!
I’ve only been to Doris & Ed’s once, but highly recommend it — I would love to go back!