Outdoor Dining with a Gorgeous View at these 6 Jersey Shore Restaurants

It's another warm late-summer weekend. Check out these wonderful photos of all my favorite places for dining alfresco!

When it comes to a warm summer evening, my absolute favorite thing to do is to head to a restaurant with a fabulous water view. It's one of the great bonuses of living here at the shore. Here are my top picks and photos I took this summer:

1. Avon Pavilion. This is my absolute favorite restaurant and I go there every year for my birthday. It's located right on the Avon boardwalk, with a full view of our beautiful ocean. Chef Ken is my hero and the food is incredible. (Dinner is very fancy with candles on the table, BYOB, but their pancakes in the morning for breakfast are magical, too!!!)

2. The Wharfside in Point Pleasant Beach. Another place I go during my birthday week every year. The view during daylight hours from their outdoor patio is hard to beat, especially when the fishing boats go by. They also have a separate patio bar next door if you just want to drink and hear a band. And their corn fritters, served when you first sit down, SIMPLY CANNOT BE BEAT.

3. Red's Lobster Pot in Point Pleasant Beach. The outside deck isn't fancy but it has the most stunning view, especially if you get there in time to see the sun set. The lobster is delicious (as you can see above in the photo). This is more casual dining, where, instead of a server coming to your table, you order at the window, choose your seat, and then they bring the food over to you.

4. The Robinson Ale House, Asbury Park. If you sit outside on their boardwalk dining patio, you get a view of the beach and ocean, as well as historic Convention Hall. The food is delicious! Plus, the people-watching can't be beat, and sometimes you'll be treated to free entertainment from one of the musicians that sets up along the boardwalk to play. We had a great sax player serenade us during our meal there recently.

5. The Shrimp Box. Also in Point Pleasant Beach (after all, it's the Manasquan Inlet so all of these restaurants take advantage of the view), this is a nice spot if you sit outside on their patio, because you are nestled right in where some of the large fishing vessels dock.

6. Klein's in Belmar. Their outdoor dining is on the Shark River with views of Belmar's biggest bridge, the train bridge, and the drawbridge. So when the boats are going by and the train is also going by, and both bridges are going up, you really get a lot to look at out on the water! And I love their lobster, too!

What's your favorite place for outside dining on the water? Maybe I will try it this weekend!