Rusty Nail

5-Star Vibes at Rusty Nail’s Beach Shack! We had a fantastic time at Rusty Nail’s Beach Shack tonight! We walked in with no reservation and were seated immediately—huge bonus! We chose to dine outside in the beach area, and the atmosphere was absolutely beautiful. The ocean breeze, the lights, the sand—it felt like a little getaway. Our server was new and working solo during training, and while he was friendly and eager to help, the only suggestion we’d make is to check in a bit sooner after meals arrive—just to make sure everything’s good! We also didn’t realize we had to hand the check back to him (we thought we paid up front), which caused a bit of confusion. Next time, a quick heads-up would be helpful. But overall, he did great and held it down under pressure! Great food, amazing vibe, and a memorable night. We’ll definitely be back! 🌅🍴🦀

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Rusty Nail, and I was genuinely impressed with the entire experience. The food was absolutely delicious—each dish was flavorful, fresh, and clearly made with care. Whether you’re in the mood for something hearty or light, there’s something on the menu for everyone. The service was equally impressive. From the moment we walked in, the staff made us feel welcome and comfortable. They were attentive without being overbearing, and always ready to answer questions or offer recommendations. It’s clear they care about their guests and take pride in what they do. The atmosphere of the restaurant was wonderful. It has a cozy yet lively vibe that makes it perfect for both a casual night out or a special occasion. Whether you’re going with friends, family, or on a date, you’ll feel right at home. Overall, Rusty Nail delivered on all fronts—great food, excellent service, and a warm, inviting atmosphere. I’m already looking forward to my next visit!

Excellent place to eat with good service, great food and vegetarian options. The outdoor seating was really nice with a beach like atmosphere; sand, lounge chairs with umbrellas, and a couple of fire pits. Some good relaxing live music in the background was also a nice added bonus.

It's such a fun place for drinks or dining. They have a great outside spot with plenty of seating. The inside even has large doors for fresh air. The veggie item I tried was the grilled tofu tacos. They substituted guacamole for me.

A terrific experience! I recently purchased a house nearby and heard that this restaurant was dog friendly. Definitely not disappointed! Not only as a dog, friendly, but is absolutely human friendly! The atmosphere, the food, the bar, all invite you in. It is my go to place.

The atmosphere is fantastic, laid back, relaxing beachy. The fire pits are so fun to sit by. Service is great. Happy hour specials from 11-4. Live music at night. Nice draft selection of beers. Love it!

We are currently in Cape May and we have dined at The Rusty Nail twice. I have to say my 6 year old asked to go back because her food was so good. The steak wrap was delicious, fried shrimp were huge and very crunchy, fries are perfect and the clam chowder was also very good. I had an orange crush which was good a bit sweet but good. Since I was alone with my daughter when I took her to the bathroom they cleared are table. I was not through with my lunch but the manager came over quickly and made the situation right. Definitely recommend for a lunch or relaxed dinner, plus they have huge windows so you get a nice breeze from the beach. Salads looked amazing at another table.

Kids’ menu only had four items and no vegetable options. Portions were generous, which is a plus, but the food itself wasn’t very good. We only ordered appetizers, yet they took an extremely long time to arrive. The atmosphere and vibe were great, with both indoor and outdoor seating available.

Such a cute spot! My girlfriends and I came for lunch on a Thursday around 3pm for a late lunch. We were greeted nicely, sat right away and the service was very good throughout our dining experience. For an appetizer we ordered the trio dip, we enjoyed the guacamole and cheese, the salsa wasn't not so great. We all ordered the fish tacos. They were a very good portion, very filling and tasted great!! We also had the margarita off the happy hour, those were very good as well and in tall glasses. I do think if we went later in the day when there is a band and some music, it would have definitely been a better vibe later in the day. I will be going back again to check it out for a nighttime experience.

Strawberry wings. Absolutely f'n gross. Like, inedible... wiped the sauce off just to eat some chicken which was soggy and atrocious. Hubby got garlic parm wings which were equally soggy and gnarly, yuk yuk yuk Do yourself a favor and ONLY order beer here and listen to music

No star! Big fail! The FraDiavlo was so much cayenne it destroyed beautiful scallops and shrimp who gave their lives for seafood enjoyment. It was inedible and the waiter refused to go taste it and apparently the manager thought we were joking. I am a lover of spice and chili paste and more. I put samba Badjak (Indonesian Chili paste on my eggs daily). The shrimp I tried - It was pure cayenne and I spit it out. I can eat two pounds of shrimp and have never spit one out. We were with a special friend and didn't want to cause trouble but, normally I would have demanded the food be taken off the bill and returned. One person dipped the shrimp in her water glass to get the sauce off not to waste the scallops and it was still inedible. I ordered flounder that was dry and thin and awful - no flavor. The best thing I tried was a baked potato. Do not eat here and do not order anything fradiavlo. No chef or manager or waiter is tasting this food!!!! Shame on them for destroying scallops and shrimp at the great expense of must be a ton of cayene. Not sure what else to say! Pathetic excuse for a spicy dish! They need to 1) taste this dish, 2) get a real recipe, and 3) taste test it! Hot and spicy can be unenjoyable and it should be cooked to be adjustable by the person eating the food.

Just an overpriced, touristy, mediocre "restaurant". Drinks are over priced, food was subpar at best and felt shunned by everyone except our nice server (which still felt he had a script to read, not his fault and was a nice kid) Just skip this place

CAPE MAY: The Beach Shack & Rusty Nail Rusty Nail is a must see while visiting the area! Well-known since the 1970's as a locals favorite where lifeguards and beachgoers would enjoy a meal and great vibes at the end of the day, leashed dogs are allowed to join you at the outdoor space. The outdoor space is unique as there is outdoor bar seating and also seating in the sand in adirondack chairs, tables with umbrellas, firepits, and an ocean breeze. You can order anything from the bar for self service or choose to be waited on. In addition to American food, there is also a doggie menu with treats, chicken/veggies, burger, and a hot dog! The adjoining hotel, Beach Shack, also has dog friendly rooms!

It'd been a minute since I'd been to the Nail and it was nice to be back. We dined for dinner in June, pretty late in the evening. It's a super casual beach shack (fitting) vibe with cute colorful decor & plenty of different seating options. We got there late but they still had food & live music happening & we enjoyed ourselves. Our server was a friendly young kid & he did a nice job. When my Crab Soup came out it didn't look that great to me, I'm a pickier eater than I'd like to admit & was expecting a bisque but ig was a red soup with veggies. I gave it a shot and it was actually DELISH! Similar to the soup, the Lobster Roll tasted better than it looked. I was thrown off by the tuna-salad like look & the toppings, but it was lobster...& it was pretty dang good. My strawberry bourbon smash was really delicious & the musician was wonderful! We moved to the bar after to listen to music and they did last call pretty early, right as he was ending. All in all a great little dinner out in Cape May though.

If you're looking to be in the beach vibe and have a good time, this is a place to do that. Lots of fun and music.

My husband and I went here to have breakfast around 9 AM. There were some customers, mostly were sitting outside. Our waitress was nice and attentive. The Bloody Mary was pretty good and spicy. I had a bowl of fruit. The bowl was not big, mostly melons and cantaloupes. There were some pineapple, blueberries, and thin slices of strawberries. It was $9. Breakfast burrito was bland.

Very disappointed with the bacon scallops wrapped. I feel like I ate a bar of soap. I will buy a bottle of pure vodka to get this nasty taste out my mouth

Outside sand pit area is a great place to hang out with a group of family or friends. Service is quick and friendly. Cocktails aren't half bad either.

Loaded fries look smaller. The Mac and cheese is very cheesy, but lacks the actual macaroni. Mozzarella balls look like they came from a box and the sauce it comes with tasted very much like Ragu. Every time we go here it gets worse. Service is still somewhat slow. The ambience is interesting. The drinks are always cold, so I guess that's one star. Don't waste your money here.

Convenient and inviting location right off the beach. Staff was on the ball getting us seated and making sure we were good. Menu left a little to be desired. Ordered an orange crush and Im not sure it had any orange or vodka in it, definitely the worst one I've ever had. Haddock sandwich was very bland but a decent size. Waitress was excellent, she is the only reason it wasn't 1 or 2 stars.

Stopped here because it was dog friendly AND there was going to be a dog pageant going on. Staff was super friendly from the host who recommended the most delicious grilled veggie wrap (man I'm still thinking about it) it came with the most pillow soft fries I think they were +2 tho which is crazy especially because there were like only 10 of em. Lol they were delicious (just kidding). Go here for the outdoors beach vibes and the good foodssss!

Staff nice enough. Many walking around, but not all seemed to be aware of customer needs. Our server was in training and fumbled on several things, but recovered quick enough. Fried flounder was delicious. Broiled crab cake was very small for an entree, and didn't have much flavor. Both tartar sauce and remoulade were very bland, and neither of us ate these. Would be nice to have lemons served with these dishes. Loved the open dining room to outside dining. Clean and cool place to hang out.

Let me start with the positive-our food server was very friendly and got our orders correct. The outside area is super cute with the pretty umbrellas and the sand. My puked pork sandwich and chips were tasty as was my husband's fish sandwich. But I love to give four and five star reviews and for this place, I just cannot. First, the man who was acting as host told us it would be five minutes for an outside table-he took our name and told us to have a seat on the sofa right next to the host area. Twenty mins went by and my husband finally asked him if it would be possible to just sit on the patio instead of outside. He was then told it would be at least 25 mins. My husband looked at him and said sorry, but no-you told us twenty mins ago we could have a table outside within five mins. We aren't waiting any longer! The man couldn't even recall having this conversation until my husband explained it in detail and then he said,"oh, I wonder why I didn't write your name down" and suddenly, we had the table we requested outside after all. The food and drink was good, but it was obvious that the amount of chips were just slapped on the plate based on how much space needed to be filled-my plate with the small roll had a ton of chips, but the fish sandwich took up more room, so there were just a few chips on that plate. My $14 indigo mule was good, but when our drinks emptied, our server never asked us if we wanted more. There are honestly just too many great places to grab a sandwich in Cape May to come here again.

Best loaded fries and crab cake sand-which I've ever had- what a gem this place is! Food and ambiance were great.

The hubs & i could eat here everyday when on vacay! Great food & drinks! Hopefully we'll be stopping by this season!

We stopped by the Rusty Nail for dinner after arriving in Cape May. The space is pretty large - even though it was a Friday night, the weather was less-than-ideal, so it wasn't too busy, but we easily had a spot within minutes of arriving. The restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating, and the outdoor seating is split between outdoors in a "sand pit" and outdoors under a covering (the route we picked given the weather). It's a very beachy-vibe - not a lot of frills, but fits right into the shore town ambience. Our service was good; our waitress appropriately checked in on us and was attentive when needed. For food - their menu is expansive with a variety of options in a variety of categories. I went for The Nail - a wrap with fried local fish, cheese, pico de gallo, and chipotle mayo alongside some guac and sour cream. It was very standard - the fish was good, but the accompanying cheese was an odd pairing and didn't seem to quite fit. I would have been more content with the fish and the salsa with the mayo to focus on the flavors of the fish without overwhelming with the cheese. It did hit the spot, but could have been better. My husband went for the Beach Plum Farm Pulled Pork, which he enjoyed (he definitely got the better entree). He really liked the sauce, and we appreciated that both of our dishes featured local ingredients. For beverages, we each got local beers, which paired well with our meals. Pricing was OK - the pulled pork seemed reasonable, but my wrap's price was a bit steep at $24 (likely for the local fish). Overall, we weren't blown away by our meal at the Rusty Nail, but it was nice to try at Cape May standard spot and try some local ingredients. Maybe next time we'll stop in for some drinks and to try some apps!

So so restaurant in Cape May. Seafood is the primary option but there are some meat, chicken, and vegetarian options as well. This place is a hit with families with little kids as it caters to casualness. Menu is adequate. Wine list need's overhaul. Beer list is impressive. Parking is ample.

Great location, food and service. Highly recommend. They a have doggy menu and the waitress brings the dog a bowl of water! Outdoor sandy beach area for dining with fire pits!

The Rusty Nail Bar & Grill has an amazing atmosphere that just embraces your soul and casts within you the peace and magic that is the Jersey Shore. Where the rest of this country talks of going to the beach, Jersey calls it heading down the Shore and for anyone who was raised in New Jersey, heading down the Shore is a rite of passage. Most of us were introduced to the Jersey Shore by our parents as children, as teens and in our early twenties, we went with our friends. Then as time progressed, we brought our children and began the process for another generation. The Rusty Nail Bar & Grill is more atmosphere and the menu is pretty standard, but the atmosphere is pretty stellar. They try to grab that surfer bar vibe and relatively succeed at capturing that atmosphere. I would recommend enjoying the outdoor seating and the cool vibe. If you are in Cape May, New Jersey, come check this place out.

My girlfriend and I wanted to grab lunch from the beach and Rusty's was conveniently located across the street. We wanted lobster rolls and there was a generous amount of lobster on our rolls! It was a little pricey but worth the convenience. The service was a little slow and I asked for water with lemon multiple times and they only gave me the lemon the first time. It wasn't too busy when we were there but an hour later more people came. If you're on the beach and want a bite, this place is right across the street on Beach Ave!

First time Cape May visit! I spent lunch and dinner here. Husband and I sat at the bar. We had so much fun we decided to have another couple join us. Lots of Prosecco for me and beer from him. Now, we all need food. Food service is a bit slow but worth the wait. The food is fresh, salad ingredients picked from local farm, dressing made in house and fried food cooked to order. The best fried shrimp I've ever had. Large in size, not overly battered, not greasy. Salad with fresh crisp lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and top with well seasoned lump crab meat. After, a long walk on the beach watching dolphins and surfers, Two of us decided to return while the others attended a meeting. Very popular spot Indoor and outdoor bar Great staff Good food Best outdoor area

No place to watch a football game - no sound for the eagles game, poor service, and lackluster food. Two thumbs way down!

Hello, I love this place! The food is awesome and they even give my grandchildren frisbees to play with as a plate , which by the way is not such a great thing after they are done eating. Watch out for flying frisbees everyone! But this place is a great place to eat food I promise. Right across from the beach and you can feel a cool breeze when eating your burgers or your wings! The waiter chicks are very nice as well.

Only went for drinks outside and music. Band wasn't that good but fun vibe. Can't comment on food and service because I got my drink and we didn't have any food.

Sadly, I can no longer recommend the Rusty Nail. In summer of 2020 they shut us out because reservations were sold out for the summer. This year I went early to make a reservation. Guess what-- now they no longer accept reservations! Great way to make your potential customers feel unwanted. So we show up for dinner at 5 PM. Half the tables empty, but it takes them 15 minutes to seat us. We ordered scallops, broiled flounder, stuffed flounder, crab cake sandwich and kid pizzas. The kid pizzas had no tomato sauce at all. Only cheese. The broiled flounder was supposed to be local and fresh--tasted like it was caught last week. Both of us left half of it. Also one scallop went uneaten. The food was just not very good. The server was ok. Go for drinks after the beach maybe. But definitely NOT dinner.

I like that it's old school. It's a nice size place. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Large bar inside. We stopped in for a drink yesterday afternoon. I also spotted fire pits outside.

Food ok. Service average. Small kids permitted to hang at bar and order from bar. Outside environment is cool though.

Great spot for happy hour. Fire pits snd "live" music. Bar food was very good. Located right in Beach Ave.

Walked by, looked good. Checked it out. Our group had fish tacos ( mahi) and I had a cheeseburger (cooper sharp) it was amazing , toasted brioche style bun, homemade chips and a great pickle. Will return, problem is I don't know when as I live 1,000 miles away.

This place looked great,nice seating area. Large bar. however, fish tacos or clam chowder made me sick almost immediately after .. The service was nice,staff was friendly. My husband had burger and fries and was fine.

Pretty good. Every server was nice from the guy that took your name at the front to the bartender. Decent food. I had fish tacos which were delicious and a lobster bisque that was better than 410 bank street. The bad is that the ac was on suck instead of blow. Also we sat at the bar and it was very sticky.

The buffalo wings were good. The veggie wrap and steak frites were not good at all. The wrap didn't have any flavor besides burnt veggies. The steak didn't have any seasoning on it besides butter. Be prepared to spend a lot of money on low quality food. Everything was extremely over priced. The service was not very good, but they were busy so I understand. The only good part about the place is the ambiance.

The wings at this place are off the charts! The beachy vibe is very peaceful and nice, but the food is expensive as a cows behind...

Under new management now. They discontinued the Rum Buckets? Why? $26 for 2 fish tacos? $9 for an order of fries? Boring live music? They have party lights and fire pits but close at 10? No thanks. Used to love the vibe here, but with lack of service, overpriced food and drinks, changes in the menu, and lack of good live music, we won't be returning. Anytime a place gets new management, it usually doesn't turn out well. Only thing that improved was the parking area, but most likely to drag in more money from customers.

Very 70's vibe, food was just ok and expensive. The waitress was sweet and worked hard. Seated in about 5 minutes. The best thing I had was the berry crumble. It had fresh berry, good crumble and ice cream. Could have been bigger though! I would only go back if there wasn't anywhere else to go.

One of my favorite places in Cape May I make sure I come here. Every time I visit the vibe an atmosphere is amazing! Rickey was our bartender and he made sure that our experience was 10 out of 10

Fun place with an interior with open walls & an outside area with sand & a fire pit for casual drinks & dining. Orange Crushes seems to be the thing to drink here but I started out light w/an Aperol spritz. We grazed on peel & eat shrimp (served warm) & fried calamari. Both dishes were excellent. Definitely a place to come back to when in town! Service was friendly as well!

if you are looking for a relaxed vibe with fun food you should try rusty nail. outdoor seating in adirondack chairs with feet in the sand and my little dog while listening to live acoustic music and eating some fun finger food. seafood tacos and a dog menu (she had chicken and loved it).

We've been here at least 6 times over a 7 year period. Mostly lunch time. New parking lot area, nice landscaping and a much nicer and fresher appearance! Nicely done. Lots of open area to eat and drink! We were sat in an area requested. Food took quite awhile to be served. We were asked way too soon after served if everything was ok. We didn't get a chance to bite any of it yet. The next follow up to see if we were ok took quite awhile and it wasn't crowded. Price?! They went UP! Drink menu...bottled Budweiser $6! Really!! Craft selection started at $9! We ordered one craft beer and it was cold! Chicken breast sandwich with LTO with chips was $17 each. Fried onions or mushroom were $2 extra. Fries? Must order a basket for $9! Well our sandwiches arrived kinda sorta very warm. Cheese coagulated already. Needed a lot of ketchup as chicken was blah! Wife's chicken breast was huge and dry! Fries were kinda warm. Not overly tasty ! So...we left feeling like it's a tourist trap now! Hotel behind the place and patrons there are probably happy to pay the high price for mediocre food because they are on vacation You def can't sit at bar and drink domestic beer at $6 a pop for a fun afternoon! One and done bar prices! I'd stay away it's a one and done event when I'm town.

$11 Bloody Mary. No garnish. They brought me a half eaten olive. No celery. Nothing. Rate 0 if I could

You HAVE to get the shrimp appetizer!! Jumbo shrimp cooked perfectly! The hidden gem menu item, Strawberry wings. Crazy concept, but it WORKS! The staff were friendly and attentively. The food service was slow, but we had a large group. There was live music and it is dog friendly.

*BAR REVIEW ONLY* I was at the Rusty Nail for 2 chardonnays this past 4th of July weekend before the town fireworks. They had plenty of space and seating options - dinner indoors, indoor/outdoor bar seats, sand tables, and picnic tables. It honestly wasn't that crazy or crowded like I've seen some shore bars, and I was able to get a seat at the bar. Good vibe, good crowd, happy people enjoying the shore. Bonus points for unobtrusive live music (including "Harvest Moon").

Horrible food, terrible service, great atmosphere. The appetizer took 45 minutes to come out (fried zucchini - not sure why it would take so long to throw something in the fryer). Waitress checked on us a total of two times the duration of the time we were there. If there's a delay in food the staff should come over to check in on the table. We got cold chicken tacos, cold chili and cold coffee for dinner. Would never eat here again.

Rum buckets discontinued? Why? Spoke with new management and he just said "stopped selling them" and we asked if they could limit 1 per person, and he said "that'd go over well" with an attitude, and then said "plenty of other drinks". Yet we just came from 2 Mile Landing and they have a limit of 1 rum bucket and that place was boomin. Rusty Nail just has poor management. It used to be a great beach bar, now they just raised the prices, have smaller bland portions, and boring live music. And they close at 10? On the weekend? In the summer? They close up the sandy area and force everyone inside. There's so much potential, yet new management and typical NJ had to ruin a great establishment. It's just terrible and it's always the wrong people that are in charge. Won't be returning.

Ive eaten breakfast here many times. Always good. The creamed chip beef is amazing. The open air seating is nice. There is always a musty smell but it is right at the ocean so I am sure its difficult to keep moisture out. We decided to eat dinner here. Got here around 3:30. Not packed yet. Here is a tip for you. Early dinner at the shore(before 4:00) usually has no wait. I got clams casino. They were AMAZING. a bit pricey at $12 for 6 but thats average for tourist spots. I got a Turkey club. Only complaint was the lack of bacon. Hardly any at all. Bread was barely toasted. Still good. Lots of turkey. My wife got a steak wrap. OMG. It was amazing. They shave the steak themselves. I wish I got that. It was very tasty. Aside from chips sides are extra. $2 to get fries. Fries were thick with seasoning. Very good. Menu is pricey but its a shore spot and I feel they have good quality food. The burgers were $17 but I saw one. HUGE and looked fresh. Gonna hit it again soon.

Great place! All the drinks and food are good. Happy place any time of the day! Right across from the beach! Love the nachos!

We arrived early after being told prior no reservations taken but the moment you arrive there is a sign walk-in's to the right reservations on the left lol. So at any rate we had a table set immediately and ordered drinks. Drinks made very good to order and fast as the place was only half full when we arrived on Friday at 4:30. Starting with the zucchini sticks fried nicely I really liked the way they were breaded we very good as were the Buffalo wings. I did a burger for the 1st time on this trip and glad it was a good one or I'll say very good so glad I ordered it as some of the seafood choices my friends ordered weren't as up to par. For later in the evening they have fire pits on a sandy beach great for a nice evening of fun. Just say arrive early and you will be fine. The wait staff was very nice and would return for drinks anytime.

Some of the WORST service I have ever had. I don't know if the servers/hostesses/bartenders just hate their jobs or they were all collectively having a bad day but we didn't get good service from a single one. The food was mediocre, not worth the price. There were also children running around unattended kicking sand all over everyone and not a single adult kept them in check. If you're trashed, like several of the guests were when we were there, you probably won't care about any of it but for people who want to genuinely enjoy their experience it's a major let down.