Newark dining fixture named best seafood restaurant in NJ

NEWARK — A beloved staple of this city’s culture since 1969 has just been named the best seafood restaurant in New Jersey.

Sol Mar Restaurant, a locally and family-owned Portuguese and Mediterranean-style seafood restaurant located at 267 Ferry St. in the Ironbound section, is the top seafood eatery in the state, according to 24/7 Tempo.

Sol Mar draws in crowds from around the world thanks in part to its proximity to Newark International Airport and Newark Penn Station.

Owner Tony Nobre, who is from Portugal, where he owned a seafood restaurant in Lisbon, brought his unique style to New Jersey and has been serving up delightful dishes for decades.

Some of the most popular main dishes on the menu include Grilled Sardines, Portuguese-style cod grilled octopus, grilled halibut, and Chilean sea bass.

According to the restaurant, it serves 15,000 dine-in and takeout meals each month. That’s equal to about 5,000 pounds of seafood and fish each month.

Much of Sol Mar’s seafood comes from Portugal’s cold, deep waters, where the fish are more flavorful, and some varieties of octopus, sardines, and giant crabs called “sapateiras” cannot be found in the U.S.

More information about Sol Mar can be found here.

Jen Ursillo is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at jennifer.ursillo@townsquaremedia.com

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