The Columns

06/26/2025: It's been at least 10 years since our last visit. We enjoyed Coconut Shrimp & Shrimp Cocktail appe's. Entree's were a Tuna Taco and a Shrimp Taco. Excellent! We sat outside on the porch. There was a cool breeze.

Went during their live music to the bar and it was great! Tuna tacos were incredible, the live music act was awesome, we had a great time.

My wife and I are on the #eatjersey challenge to have a meal in all 564 towns of NJ. We chose The Columns for Avon, our 104th town. If you're looking for an "old school" Jersey Shore dining experience, you have to visit The Columns! It's been a summer bar & restaurant since 1883 located in a Victorian era mansion. The indoor section has live music and turns into more of a bar/club scene at night. On a warm summer evening, we sat on the outdoor patio overlooking the ocean for dinner, even as the band played indoors. The atmosphere feels like a trip back in time when the entire shore was lined with grand old buildings like this. Food & cocktails were on point. We had the Surf-n-Turf roll with lobster & steak, fried calamari, Seafood Mediterranean, and a Lobster roll. Service was great, and the crew was excited when they heard about our challenge.

Servers and bartenders could be friendlier but service was fast and efficient enough. Food was mediocre at best. Ordered Rib eye and the seafood Mediterranean pasta. The steak ordered med rare came out med well and the mashed potatoes tasted like they were cooked and held hot for hours. The pasta would have been great if it wasn't sitting in a giant bowl of oil and seafood was way overcooked. Wasn't a white sauce at all. Fun atmosphere with live music. Great outdoor dining. Bathrooms were dirty.

Nicole our server was AWESOME ON POINT, she had cute earrings. I got the bacon wrapped scallops which I go for every year I feel like they should be adding more than 4. Like 6 would be nice.. the coconut shrimp. Had way more.. very yummy along with a lobster roll. Would have been nice if they had options over than French fries. They should ask if we want butter on the side with our roll and lemon. For the flavor of it all. Got the balcony view. Very lovely you can feel the old hotel vibes when you walk through to the bathroom.. along with the ambiance and plants.. love coming here along with the watermelon mojito on the side. Thanks nicole for your fast service.

I came here for lunch after spending most of the morning on the beach this weekend. I had a 20-minute wait time for a table since it was pouring raining, and the staff had to finish setting up and drying the patio. Once I was seated, I was greeted very warmly by my server, Grace. She took my order, but I had a long wait time to get my food, which was understandable since the unexpected down pour of rain caused delays. I ordered a Bloody Mary, which kind of tasted watered down, but overall, it was decent. The bacon wrapped scallops and the shrimp tacos tasted really good and had a great flavor, but it seemed like small portions were given, especially for the prices. They have a decent limited menu, and the prices do seem a tad high, in my opinion, but you get what you pay for. I was seated in the patio area, so I didn't get to see the inside of the restaurant. In spite of the rain, it looks like you can have a nice view of the beach area. Overall, even though the service was a tad slow my first time here, which was beyond the restaurants control, I enjoyed the food and I will come here again the next time I am in the area.

Felt very bad energy from the waitress. Did not seem friendly nor pleasant and saw her being pleasant with other patrons. It felt like we were being treated differently as we are Indian. Had to ask for plates, although I realized she gave another table plates without having to ask for them. Ok- fine, we Iet it go. After we paid the waitress rudely commented on how much tip was left in-front of other customers. Last time I checked- you get tipped based on the service provided and also tip is not mandatory. So she was lucky I left anything when I really wanted to leave $0. Made a complaint with management. I would suggest going somewhere else for people of color as establishments with employees like this DO NOT deserve our money. Just plain rude and classless. The food was actually pretty good but the waitress basically ruined our experience.

We had great meals with an ocean view. Wonderful wait staff.

If I could give less than 1 star I would. It took the staff 15 minutes to get a high chair, it took 45 minutes to get 1 kids meal, and another 20 minutes for 3 meals that didn't even need to be cooked. The waitress never checked on us once and the host would not let our sleeping baby come up in a stroller during a quiet time when there were empty tables around us, even though they let other tables do just that. This restaurant is not only less than mediocre for food, but the service is terrible. Do not come here unless you're ready for disappointment.

This is a beautiful spot to listen to music, dance, and drink. It is a better than average beach bar, with a varied crowd, strong drinks, and live music. It a gorgeous old Victorian mansion right on the water, so you can stare out at the ocean while you sip on a tumbler of wine and shout over the music at your friends. Also - there is a tiny restaurant in the back that serves cheap AF lobster and lobster rolls. It is cash only, and very no frills, but the lobster is excellent.

Here is a nice way to end a beautiful beach day at Avon. Sit outdoors, watch the ocean, sip a Modelo beer and eat here. Service was excellent and the food was great. I loved my wedge salad. It came with plenty of crispy bacon and and fresh romaine lettuce. Shrimp was perfectly grilled. This place is a little pricey but location, food and service do add up to a perfect way to end the day.

Been coming here since I was a kid and it never disappoints. It's right off the Avon boardwalk so views of the ocean are great. Highly recommend the lobster roll!

Great experience from start to finish. What's not to love about sitting right near the beach with stunning views? Started the evening with a few aperol spritz, wings, calamari and coconut shrimp. All were tasty and good portions. The calamari had a great spicy kick to it! Enjoyed! We then had our entrees. I had a lobster roll which was delicious! It came with fries on the side. My fiancé had tuna tacos, my future sister in law had shrimp tacos and my future cousin in law had crab cakes. I enjoyed mine, I know a few others thought it was average. Overall the food is good, however the views make everything that much better. I'll be back again!

Good bar with live music. Typical bar food with shore type specials like steamers and lobster rolls. For me I prefer lobster rolls with drawn butter over the rolls with mayo. I wish they had the choice. Definitely a better spot for lunch than the Pavilion on the beach!

Great outdoor seating area for our party of 11, where you can see the beautiful beach. If you want to get seats for a large party be sure to arrive early. So we got there at 11am on Sat, thinking it was when it opened based on what's posted but it turns out it's opened at 11:30am and didn't take reservations. We did get seated right away at 11:30am so that was great. Enjoyed my fish tacos and my friends also liked their meals too. Keeping in mind food was not our focus this was a great meet-up spot to grab a bite and head to the beach just across the street!!

The food isn't really anything special but the ambience is great! Nice porch restaurant across from the beach with water views. Had a lovely dinner there overlooking the ocean. Exactly what we were looking for when searching for seafood restaurant on the water. Food isn't spectacular, but I'd return for the view. Beautiful on a warm summer night. I had the crab cakes. We also got bacon wrapped scallops as an appetizer which were kind of a joke since they only came with four and were very small, but good company and good vibes so it's alright.

We came on a Thursday and it was Lobster Palooza Nite! 1-1/4 lobster and 2 sides for $20. Great deal. It was packed. We didn't have reservations and went right at dinner hour. We waited 35 minutes which was what they said and had a drink at the bar. Service and food was great. We had the seafood bisque and crab cakes very good.

Over the weekend I attended a wedding at the Columns. It was outstanding! Now understand that The Coulmns is a seasonal restaurant, bar and nightclub until Kip, Allison, Brian and staff transformed it into an amazing wedding venue on the beach! The set up was beautiful. The staff was top-notch and the food was delicious. Thanks Guys for such an incredible day for Sarah and TJ!! Kudos!!!

The Columns is right on the shore which makes for a beautiful view. It is in an old family home and I was surprised how much space there is on the first floor. We attended a graduation dinner and they added cute little details for the grads around the room of the party (and the menu). So sweet of them! The food was decent. We had the steamers and calamari for an app and then I had the shrimp scampi for my meal. The steamers were cooked well and there was plenty of them. But the dipping sauce (usually just butter) was rather bland. The calamari was cooked well!! The shrimp of my meal was the best part. The sauce on the noodles were also bland. The drinks were also well but there is not draft beer which was off to me since there were full service bars around the restaurant. But the wine was delish and highly recommend if you dine at The Columns. The servers get 5/5 stars. So quick to get orders and were on it even with a group of 40+!

Went there after spending the day at the beach, service was efficient and food was delicious! The drinks were on point too. Place is also very accommodating!

I love it here! been many times and never disappointed!! Can't wait to go again! The food is delicious, the ambiance looking at the ocean, and the service are all wonderful!!!

The bartender was not exactly friendly. They aim their service toward people who will tip 10x their bill. Had people cutting in line who were randoms!

Love this place after a long beach day! The no-frills outdoor grill/deck has self-serve seating (cash only) with causal fare consisting of peel shrimp, clams, whole lobster, mini burgers, hot dog, etc. Cheaper prices but continually goes up each year. Can't beat that ocean view (if you're lucky). For actual dining, I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the food was. Bacon wrapped scallops usually underwhelm me bc the scallop is too small or dried out and is overpowered by bacon flavor... not here!!! Juicy, sweet, tender scallops and the crispy bacon complemented nicely. Orange marmalade for dipping. The octopus special was sooo good, seasoned with olives/ & capers. Side salad was perfect. Waitress was very sweet and attentive. Be warned the floorboards do shake when folks walk by--it's an old house. Always expect a wild time here, as they have live bands around the clock. It gets packed, but plenty of standing room away from the stage. Cover charge by a certain hour at night. Depends on time of day for what age group frequents, but overall seems to be getting younger as years go by.

This place fucking sucks! Do not go for food showed up at 9:00 on a Thursday in the summer whole staff seemed pissed to serve us. Everyone watched as we ate the whole time and the server was taking plates while we were eating. Honestly unacceptable behavior all around need to hire better staff. Will never go back! Table of 8 you would think the server wants to tip no absolutely so disrespectful

3.5 stars. OK, so my review is based on going here on a cool, rainy June day so it was empty and quiet. I know it gets super packed normally, so my experience was different. I'm pretty sure that the columns used to be an old Victorian home at one point and it's probably needs the columns because of all of the different columns throughout the former house. It is a large bar/restaurant with different sections inside and outside. Since it was raining we were inside and obviously had the entire bar to ourselves. Aperol spritz FTW and a glass of water before heading on the road. It does smell like bar in there, but that's expected for a popular place like that. I wouldn't mind returning but only during quieter seasons.

The reason to go here is the bar, and the people hanging out. It's really a jersey summer place as they close in the fall and reopen around Mother's Day. The food is good not great, better seafood can be found in a dozen restaurants within 2 miles, but none have a more magnificent view of the ocean. If you are looking for a great place to grab lunch or dinner with great views this place can't be beat. If you're looking fabulous food, this isn't the place for you.

I don't know how anyone could walk away without awarding a five star rating. At least not on a Thursday night...LOBSTERPALOOZA night! I'm going to quite a bit straight from their website: Calling all lobster lovers! The Columns bar and restaurant has its popular LobsterPalooza special every Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. You get a 1.25-pound whole steamed lobster, plus vegetable of the day and choice of mashed potatoes, rice or French fries, for just $19.95. In addition, live musical entertainment is provided by the Guns 4 Hire acoustic trio on Thursday nights starting at 6:00 p.m. end of quote. You definitely have to make reservations. I'm not sure if we had them, I forget, but we did have to wait. We had some wine and watched the beach waves, as the Columns sit right across the road by the beach. We also had drinks inside the bar,and the band was great. They kept giving away lobster dinners, but none of us were so lucky. But we sure felt lucky when seated with a view, wearing our lobster bibs, and taking photos to determine the winner of who had the best looking dinner. We had some calamari and pretzel bread before dinner. The veggie of the day was green beans, yum, and the potatoes were awesome, and the lobster divine. There was absolutely nothing not to live, other than our wait (which we made fun) for a table at this packed quaint dining spot. As soon as we plan to go back to the shores, I'll be marking in every Thursday night on the calendar with: call Columns!

Went for lunch while visiting the beach for the day. Wasn't super impressed. The meal was pricey for the portion sizes. Our server was wonderful & we enjoyed sitting on the patio. We will stick to Columns for their live music and night life

One of the only restaurants in Avon by the sea beach, right next to the beach on Saturday evening we had a 45 minute wait for a table but time went by quickly. The restaurant has live music in the evening and tons of people standing up and dancing. Food was average ordered the penne with vodka sauce and lobster sandwich.

Was down the shore for the first time this summer and decided to start the day with a blood mary. Bartender at the columns was EXTRA DRY Get a new job buddy!!!!!

amazing. people watching as good as the lobster roll. to the losers leaving 1 star reviews, you're not coming to the French Laundry. relax. this place rocks.

While waiting to be seated you can stand inside and get a drink at the bar while music plays, which is nice to pass time. The view is beautiful since it is right on the ocean. However, the food is trash. We ordered the burrata, which didn't taste bad but it's wasn't a nice, fresh juicy burrata as I would've liked to have. There was way too much not necessary arugula with one ball of burrata. Then we ordered the calamari, which I'll give it to them it was different than your standard calamari since it had a thai chili sweet sauce with it. However it wasn't good, just ok. Then we got the vodka sauce pasta dish with chicken. The pasta was okay and the sauce was okay. The chicken though was disgusting. Chewy and gross. I also hated the bread it came with. The service was helpful they adjusted the price for our pasta since we didn't order it with chicken. They got our drinks fast and efficiently. I would come back to hang out get a drink, but never for dinner.

The food and service were outstanding! Since this restaurant does not take reservations, we arrived around 4:40 pm. They were able to seat us right away at an outside table over looking the beach. We had the calamari and shrimp cocktail appetizers. Both were delicious. I had the whole lobster stuffed with crabmeat. Fir $36 this is a steal! My husband had linguine and clams. Also very good. I highly recommend this restaurant!

Agree with the other reviews, this is not a spot you come to for fantastic food. It's decent, the service can be a little spotty (but friendly) but the drinks are good and the views are fantastic.

We came by for the "lobsterpalozza". My wife had the 1.25 lobster, I had the lobster roll. Both were excellent and very reasonably priced. We started with the Buffalo Cauliflower Bites...they were awesome!! This is a definite must-visit if you're ever in this part of the Jersey shore (and even if you're even remotely close by!!)

First, we dropped off everything at my good friend's car then walked over to The Columns. It was a spacious restaurant with one side for self-service and the other side if you want waiter service. We wanted to grab a quick bite so we went to the self-service side. My friend ordered a Griddle Dog and Seafood Bisque. I ordered the Boat of Fries (nothing special) and Sausage & Peppers (they should've mentioned that it wasn't the full link...this was yummy but I want more meat lol). For alcoholic beverages, you have to order at the cashier right next to the food line. Wow, the prices were so inexpensive man.

This is the Parker House of Avon. I am not the biggest fan of Parker House and this one has the same vibe. It gets crowded here and there almost always is a line on the weekends. They also charge cover so get that cash ready. We came to eat before the party started and it was not good. The coconut shrimp were ok but had no flavor. The buffalo chicken dip is bar food and better if you are drinking. The tuna tacos were really bad and the tuna tasted like it was cooked yesterday. The wings with garlic sriacha weren't bad. I would not come to eat but I would come back for a drink. It looks like it gets going so if you are looking to party you won't be disappointed.

Don't mis order your drink they won't correct it. Wanted the drink special that was on the menu thought it was a sea breeze turns out it was a summer breeze. Asked them to correct the error they refused unless I purchased a new drink

Was seated, and just sat here for 25 min waiting for someone to bring me a water or take my order. There are maybe 7 people in here right now. Going to the Promenade instead. Train your people!

Similar to Parker (same owners go figure) & is my 2nd choice of any Jersey Shore establishment (after Parker of course)! Drinks are really good and reasonably priced. Music is great, patrons are friendly...worth it every time!

There was a huge line of kids just not willing to wait in line for a cover band and a beer

Terrible food and service. Poor management. The only saving grace is the ocean view. It'd be better to go to Dunkin' Donuts on ocean Avenue. Never again.

Let me just say that I will never go there again. The food was ok. The service worker was very nice. But the time it took to get seated due to drunks not getting up knowing they were done is just wrong. Of course I need to talk about the ambiance as a horror. The overwhelming drunks at the surrounding table's screaming and cursing, well that alone would have made me walk out without eating or paying for the food. Well let me stop here. Like I said. Never going back.

Great food and service. Beautiful view of the Avon boardwalk and the ocean. Mom had coconut shrimp which she said were delicious. I had a Turkey club which was very good.

Welcomed by several hostesses who were very nice and friendly. Table over looking the beach on the outdoor patio - quickly was given ice cold water. Our waitress was awesome from Univ of Tennessee - that girl will go far with her great personality, communication, and good looks! Food was extremely hot and tasty / nice sized portions - delicious overall and fair prices for by the beach. We are every bite and look forward to going back again!

Love this place! Great to go for lunch after the beach! Love their margaritas! Very fun place! They make really good burgers

TWELVE DOLLAR LOBSTERS!! Oh sorry, was I yelling? I mean come on, can you blame me?! A whole lobster for $12. For the last few years, I've enjoyed going to Parker House. This past season we visited The Columns instead. It has a slightly upper scale crowd than Parker House can get, especially in the basement of Parker House. It turns into a party quick down there. The menu is the same though which is exactly what I was looking for. I always get a dozen shrimp which for $10 is also a great deal. You can get non-seafood items like mini burgers, mini sausages, mini chickens sandwiches as well as fries - all $3 each. They also have a raw bar with oysters and clams. I stay away from that since I'm sadly allergic to oysters and imagine they shuck the clams with the same tool as the oysters. You can also get steamers too as well as a list of other items. I love the layout of The Columns. We sat a high top near the bar. Which similar to Parker House, you order at the food counter, as well as the bar for your food and drinks. The open layout is really great, and they have a huge amount of hanging plants all around. I couldn't stop staring at them, they were so gorgeous. At a certain point a band will setup for live music to continue the evening into a slightly less crazier party than Parker House. I recommend getting there early for lunch so you don't have to deal with the crowds later on.

Whenever I visit the beach at Avon, I know I can have a fantastic, inexpensive lunch at Columns. Here is the secret I will share with you. Instead of sitting down in their restaurant go to their fast food section to the left of the main entrance. They serve $2 sliders, $12 lobsters, $12 snow crab legs, $11 steamed clams, and other items that are unbelievably cheap. You can also order beer here. Service is friendly and fast, so you can go back to the beach straight away. This place totally beats the pavilion across the street.

Put a ton of meat in my taco. Bartender stayed to ask if I needed anything else after I was done and then had some light tunes to finish off the night

The Columns is a fun shore restaurant, bar and nightclub that's set in a Colonial Style Mansion with a wrap around porch.There is one large main bar, and a few smaller bars inside with several high tops. In the main room with the stage looking out of big picture windows you have great views of the beach and ocean. In their other rooms they have sit down dining. If you prefer to sit outside for dining they have that too on their wrap around porch. On Sundays, you have Joe Baracata playing 3-6p and Bobby Bandiera plays rock n roll music with his band from 6p-10p. In lieu of a cover charge they ask for a donation which goes to a different nonprofit organization weekly. It's always a really fun time here at the Columns and during the summer months it can get really busy. Some nights are geared for a younger crowd, but I will say you definitely get a mixture of ages depending upon whose playing. Other nights it's both live bands and a DJ. The food is good, their menu has a little bit of everything. On Thursdays they have Lobsterpalooza , you get 1-1/4 lb lobster, with potato and vegetable. During happy hour they have Oysters $1.00 a piece 2:30p-4:30p, and they have 50cents Clams 2:30p-7:00p. Shrimp is $10 a dozen. ( you have to get that at the bar only.) I had their Cesar salad with grilled chicken and it was absolutely delicious. It had shaved Parmesan on top. My friend had the lobster bisque and it was rich and thick with pieces of lobster in it. She also had their crab cake appetizer which came with 3 little crab cakes and a remoulade sauce which was tasty. She also enjoyed their raw bar. I thought the mixed drinks were a bit weak. They need to improve on that. My friends felt the same that's why I'm giving them 4 Stars instead of 5. All in all we really had a great time.

Columns was a supreme disappointment. Our group of ten walked in after a long day on the beach, only to be disrespected. We called in advance to ask for a reservation, and were then told to just show up a half hour before. We got to the place, and ended up waiting over an hour with only poor margaritas to hold us over. After an hour, we went to the hostess to ask for a time update, and were then told we had to leave. This place has disappointed us immensely, and we will not be returning to their establishment any time soon. If they weren't going to sit a large group, they should have told us in advance, or at least separated us into two tables. We were willing to compromise, but they were not.

First, let me say I'm a regular and frequent supporter of the people that work in the food service industry. I happened to be at the bar/restaurant when an incident occurred on 8/19/22. Since I can not respond to a review that was posted I will write one on my own. Sitting at a bar height table by the front door, drinking a frosty cold one with my girlfriend I was able to witness an incident when a person waiting for a large table to clear, decided they were going to "berate" one of the young hostesses to the point that she was brought to tears. Why?? Because the tables were not turning over at a speed that was to their satisfaction. I was able to hear this exchange because the front doors were open. So please keep in mind when you are going to tell a story and write a review, please tell the whole story not just the points that make you look like the victim. You were not the victim here, you were the cause of the problem. This might have been the reason you were asked to leave.

I love going here for the bands! Live music rocks! I had the lobster roll this past weekend and I wish I could've had more it was great! Drinks are reasonably priced for down the shore and the bartenders work hard!

Let me start off by saying our waitress Katie was the best!! The place was packed on a Saturday afternoon and she was continuously checking up on us, answering any of our questions, and was just really sweet. This is a great spot right next to the beach and they have a huge wrap around deck to be seated outside. We got a great table looking out to the water and couldn't have been happier. We got a few drinks and some apps to share. * Frozen margaritas - both reg and strawberry... really delish and got a nice buzz off of one! * Beer * A titos transfusion * Chips and guac and salsa * Wings * 1 dozen Oysters No complaints about anything, especially with the view. Inside was huge also... they were playing live music, so fun! People were dancing inside and there was plenty of space at the bar and at some tables. With the convenience of hopping off the beach and walking right here, it's a total winner in my book!

I hate to give a good review just because I don't want more people coming here! And ruining our local spot!! The columns is great, it's casual, really good food, yummy drinks, awesome view, best service, and what more could you want in the summer?! For anyone that's given bad reviews, clearly has zero patience and no taste! No, it's not fine dining, it's an awesome spot with fun friendly staff, and the best place to hang out, whether it's a Friday afternoon right out of work, Saturday or Sunday , afternoon off the beach, or a late night, if you like fun, you'll have a good time! Oh, and did I mention the staff that is just the best of the Jersey shore?!

*Raw Bar Review* My boyfriend and I come here almost every single time we are down in Belmar in the summer! If you're a seafood fanatic and dont mind the "grab and go" restaurant experience then you have to come here! The seafood is always cooked to perfect and (heres the best part..) ITS SO CHEAP! Lobsters, shrimp, snow crab legs, clams, little mini burgers, salads... And a quick drink bar on the side to grab a cold drink or beer. You can sit inside or outdoors in their wrap around porch with views of the beach. We've never really sat in the restaurant section because i feel like the whole experience of coming here is to go to the raw bar.

The food is terrible. My Fiancé and I walk along Avon's boardwalk at least once a week. During the pandemic, we tried to check it out but they never allowed us to do take-out despite calling several times. My Fiancé always raved about the food here, especially the lobster rolls. When things with Covid were starting to settle down, we came here with some friends for NY this past July. We rang up about a $200 bill and every meal we ordered was salty/over-salted. (pasta dish, lobster roll, french fries, soup) When we came it was at the intermission hour, between lunch and dinner, and had a salad while we waited till 5 pm to put in our order. Other than the view of the water and the service being on point, everything else was terrible. Needless to say, I will not be coming back here a 2nd time.