Varsity Inn

The V I is famous for their baked tomato soup, and it is justified, the delicious soup is like a French onion soup but with tomato, creamy with small bits of diced tomato, topped with cheese, and garlic croutons, what's not to like. Get their combo soup, and grilled cheese, pure lunchtime heaven...

Went with my dad for breakfast at 8, we really enjoyed sitting outside at the big garage windows and barstools. Food came quickly and really hit the spot. My dad had Aunt Helen's Favorite omelet (has kielbasa in it!) and I had Breakfast Special #1. Pancakes were great and my dad said the breakfast potatoes were nice and crispy. Our server was quick and kind! Place was not too busy. Great breakfast spot!

Spent a nice October day on the OC boardwalk and decided to grab a meal somewhere new. Name like Varsity Inn makes it tempting to try it out. Wait staff was very nice and seated us right away. Greeted with waters and a very nice run down of the menu & specials. Inside there are plenty of seating available to make wait not long. You can people watch from the bar top seating facing the street. Plenty of different options to choose from and from the look of the dishes that were coming out of the kitchen, they all looked delicious. The breakfast options seemed to be the highlight. The quesadilla was packed with great flavor chicken, tomatoes & cheese. Crisp on the outside with sour cream dippings on the side. The tomato soup was excellent and some of the best soups I've tasted. On top is a thick layer of cheese and inside is garlic bread chunks inside the thick cream tomato soup. Grilled cheese was pretty basic white American cheese. Great combo and filling.

Best tomato soup and believe it or not I don't even like tomato's. The five star French bread French toast is another one of my favorites.

Varsity Inn is a staple for my family every year. Unfortunately this year was less than stellar. The food is good and the wait wasn't long, but the booth we sat in had large hollow sections and was extremely uncomfortable. In addition, my sister-in-law ordered some Cinnamon French Toast that sounded great, but it ended up containing raisins and nowhere could we find this fact mentioned. She has issues eating raisins in food and was upset to see them only after cutting into the meal. Also, several meals were supposed to come with Cinnamon Butter but simply didn't. This wouldn't have been the biggest issue but they insisted we pay for the extra food even though it wasn't stated it contained something she couldn't eat. If it was a matter of us not liking the food and wanting something different I'd understand, but she could not have the original meal due to their incompetence in providing the necessary information about the food. I'm hoping in the future, the menu can be clarified to either contain all the information, or so that if someone wants something extra in their food (i e. Raisins) that this is something that needs to be asked for, rather than an unwritten default.

Welp. Somebody's gotta take up the banner of best breakfast in OC now that the Surf Cafe is gone. When I think of the shore and grabbing breakfast or brunch, I think of somewhere just like the Varsity Inn. Friendly locals working and owning, chewing the fat with guests, and good food that'll have you walking out patting your stomach and making some dad comment like "ugh, looks like I can skip lunch today!". You're still going to come back here to have lunch.

I live here. I have been coming here forever and have loved it forever. I was in last week and man has it changed. It's expensive (everything is nowadays) but it just was not that good. Got a special burger and fries. Also had the tomato soup. The soup was good. The burger average at best. Like the whopper is better. And the fries were a JOKE. they were literally the worst fries I have ever had. Over fried, over coated and even looked gross. The wife had a soup and grilled cheese and it was fine. But my meal was a joke honestly. For the price and quality such a shame. Will I be back I'm not sure. There are better places. And it pains me to say that because this was my place. I would have been ashamed to served those fries. Such a shame. As the old saying goes, every good business eventually loses its way.

Food is always great. Especially the tomato soup! Staff is friendly. Love the Varsity!

Fantastic service, great atmosphere, and good food. I'll return the next chance I get.

Great Food, Great Service, Family Atmosphere. Great spot to eat inside or outside! Family owned and operated.

A go-to for breakfast and the tomato soup is still the best treat! An OC tradition continues.

Love, love, love their Roasted Jersey Tomato soup. Yum! I stopped today on my way home and bought a quart to take home. They put garlic croutons on top and cover with cheese like French onion soup. I had breakfast there yesterday. Everything was wonderful. All the servers are super friendly!

Love the Varsity Inn!! Best baked tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich. Yummy variety of breakfast choices as well. Great service ....always with a smile!

Whenever in OC try to stop in at the Varsity breakfast or lunch always good food served up by a friendly and efficient wait staff! Try it out you won't be disappointed!

Food is always delicious! I love the breakfast sandwich with pork roll, tomato and cream cheese on a toasted bagel. Service is very friendly. We love sitting at the counter that is open to the sidewalk. Varsity Inn is one of our OC favorites!

Amazing as usual. Cinammin bun french toast is really great. Staff is super nice & prices very fair. Highly recommend.

Tomato soup is a must have. Wasn't as hot as I'd like normally but won't stop us from returning. We always take some home at the end of vacation to make reentry to real life easier. Fresh coat of paint and new pennants but same cheesy croutoney soup which is amazing.

Excellent service, coffee, & food done to perfection. Ask for Dawn, simply the best Nothing has changed under the new owners don't forget the baked tomatoe soup

My favorite breakfast place on the island. The Philly cheesesteak omelette is my go to. Love the staff, too; they are sunshine on Earth.

What a nice little spot. Saw a line forming here one morning while on a recent visit to OC and knew we had to come back and give it a try. And when we did we were not disappointed for breakfast. The kids loved the Belgian waffle and my wife and I enjoyed omelets. Anyone knows that potatoes at most joints are hit or miss and these were a hit. Nicely browned, crisp and lightly salted. Will definitely be going back on future vacations to OC.

Specials for Girls Weekend! I was with my boys but really enjoyed the Strawberry Salad special. And my teen gave thumbs up to the fries which is all that matters for him!

This is the real deal. Breakfast or lunch (or both), you can't go wrong. Just get over there. Also, out of season, no feeding the meter until 9am. You're welcome.

Amazing food, staff & owner! Chris and his staff are the absolute BEST! If you like good food and great people, you will LOVE The Varsity Inn.

This off the beaten path family owned restaurant is well worth a visit or two or ten or daily, as some locals do! The atmosphere, staff and food will all warm your eyes, heart and stomach! Home of their "Famous Baked Jersey Tomato Soup" combined with their Grilled Cheese Sandwich is the best on the planet (Red Raider Combo on the menu). I added bacon to mine! My favorite breakfast is the 5-Star French Bread French Toast but because it's so filling I ask to make it a 3-Star with a side of bacon! Next trip will be for the Avocado BLT... can't wait!

Has a fine selection of foods and excellent coffee. It is a fun place to go and you are surely going to run into a friend or make a new one.

My wife and I stopped by last minute as we were looking for an easy lunch. We both chose the cheese steak, which came with crinkle fries. It was the first day for the girl who took our order. The picture of the cheese steak had lettuce and tomato. I said, please may you put the lettuce and tomatoes on the side because I like my cheesesteaks simple, but I could use the vegetables. Takeout order came within fifteen minutes, included no lettuce or tomato, no napkins, no ketchup, and no utensils (not that I needed them). Everything tasted fine, although forgettable. The cheesesteak was good, perhaps a little light on the meat for the roll. The roll was nice and soft. The fries were fine... probably frozen. I liked that there were slices of pickles.

They are under new ownership . I was refused entry based on the fact I have a true service animal. Me and my family would go there thru out the summer in past years so much that some of the wait staff would recognize us The new owner was rude and insulting He loudly asked me to leave. My advise is if this was a tradition to go there start a new one somewhere else. This issue is not over for me

Love this place. Charming, good service, great food. New owner and refreshed look. The turkey sandwich and New England clam chowder are delicious. I just wish they had my college pennant hanging in restaurant!

If you get the tomato soup, eat IN the restaurant. I got it to go and this is what it looks like. I ordered the "crock," and if you see in the picture I took off all the cheese and there was only half a cup. It just wasn't good either. Tomato soup down the street at the OC Grilled Cheese and Quesadilla is far better. Sorry!

Served a moldy breakfast sandwich. Spoke to Owner, who was extremely rude about the issue! Told me "mistakes happen ". No compensation for meal, only offered a new sandwich. Owner was very butt hurt that I would dare leave a negative review and actually hung up on me when I called restaurant. The only intelligent thing that he actually said was "don't come back". I will make sure to tell all my renter's to never step foot in that restaurant. Varsity Inn, the only place mold is part of your meal, and the Owner don't care! Enjoy

I've been there with my friends and it's really just a great place to eat, take out, and even go to the beach and come back to enjoy a wonderful breakfast or lunch, The service is just amazing. When I go with my friends like I said the food is great you can go wrong with the Red Raider on a cold winter day, or a nice cheeseburger to get you through the day. So if you go make sure You enjoy every little thing about the Varsity Inn!

We ate there on our last day of vacation that we take every summer. We've heard about this place over the years, but never had a chance to try this place until now. My kids loved their breakfast, although my youngest son asked for hard boiled eggs, and couldn't accommodate him when the menu said eggs in all kind of ways. I had their classic tomato soup with grilled sandwich, and i loved the sandwich. I prefer my tomato soup to be more traditional instead of tomatoes in the soup.

Even better since changing hands. Food was amazing and the wait staff was Phenomenal! New owner Chris was amazing. Our favorite place in Ocean City still and forever!

DEFINITELY RECOMMEND COMING HERE!!!! Food was absolutely amazing and the staff was even better, great customer service and all very friendly. Me and my family went here and our server was Christa, she was absolutely amazing, she went above and beyond, excellent service from Christa. I highly recommend coming here.

Loved this spot for takeout lunch! We came here because we heard great things about their tomato soup and grilled cheese, and they did not disappoint. I was skeptical at first because I thought the soup would get cold or the grilled cheese would get soggy, but neither of these happened. The sandwich and tomato soup were both delicious - I would definitely come here again for either takeout or sit down. The staff I spoke with over the phone and at the counter were very friendly.

Great place for breakfast. Staff was really nice and efficient. Food was good and portions were generous. Can get crowded during high season though.

This place was a pain to order from. The call was breaking up as if they were in another country and the woman/girl who took our order was completely incompetent, as if it were her first day taking an order or even using a telephone. We asked for a chicken finger platter and got a kids chicken fingers instead, which we were charged regular price for; so they're good at charging regular prices but not so good at giving customers what they asked for. The tenders were the fake sponge stuff and didn't even come with any sauce, either. I'm not sure what kind of place they're trying to run there but never again. As a homeowner who seasonally rents our property out to families each year, we have a list of terrible places for our tenants to avoid. This will be on that list. Thanks for nothing, Varsity, and do us all a favor and find some real chicken to serve your community.

We were at the shore for a quick, off-season getaway and had a wonderful breakfast at Varsity Inn this morning. Such a cute restaurant, the food was delicious, and our server, Emma, was a delight. Highly recommend!

A decent spot for brunch. I do love the college vibe of this place with the university and school flags all over the walls and ceilings and the barstool options to dine. Def a unique vibe! The food was pretty good too. Nothing to write home about, just average breakfast. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch French toast was a great idea to start with and split for a lil brekky appy. For my meal, I got a Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwich and cheddar bacon potatoes. It did the job. Our waitress was friendly and accommodating. I will say it's loud as hell in here. Especially with crying children, which can be a little bit of an annoyance while trying to enjoy a meal (but that is not Varsity Inns fault, lol). There was no wait on a Friday morning around 10 AM, which is for sure a perk and prices are reasonable. I would consider coming back if I was in the area again...

YUM! Came for breakfast one weekend at the shore and was not disappointed. The food here was great, cheap, and well portioned and the staff was super friendly and attentive. I had french toast, eggs, bacon, coffee, and a side of fruit all of which was fantastic. This stop is right around the corner from the boardwalk and is super convenient. I came for breakfast on a weekday and was seated right away but imagine this place gets crowded on weekends. Overall a great local spot.

We were looking for breakfast and not interested in waiting for 45 minutes...and then we found Varsity Inn!!! What a treasure. Fast service. Excellent service. Friendly service. Great prices. And... the food was EXCELLENT!!!! We had a marvelous breakfast and enjoyed some family time!!!

Excellent breakfast. Our entire family loved their meals. Great staff. Worth the wait which wasn't long at all.Eggs BenedictFrench Toast5 Star French Bread French Toast... all scrumptious

We were staying over at a hotel next door to this tiny but well designed breakfast and lunch place and decided to skip the lame continental breakfast in favor of a real meal. Done up in crisp clean white and displaying pennants from almost every school in the US. Two large windows on the front of it open like garage doors so that it becomes very open air, and a table top on each window creates more seating. We had about a 15 minute wait midweek around 11am, so plan on a wait time, esp for weekends. Trish ordered pancakes and found them to be very good. Her son had a very good but very small English muffin breakfast sandwich. Maybe a different choice of bread would have produced a larger specimen ? I did get the hash browns that came with it, excellent . Her daughter had a very nice combo, eggs, French toast, bacon and sausage. She enjoyed and I even got the bacon, good quality slices too. I had their sticky bun French toast, it was served with cinnamon butter but only a thimble full. I liked it, cooked well but again a smallish portion. We all agreed that we'd return, and I think I would have to try a lunch on that visit. They serve a NJ baked tomato soup that I'm still wondering about, and the sandwiches sounded good too. Prices were reasonable and the service was very quick and friendly.

Simple, yet simply good food. My pancakes were really (surprisingly) good. Everyone else liked their breakfasts a lot too - breakfast sandwich, French Toast & scrambled eggs. (eggs were okay - a bit too omelet'y for me for being scrambled style). Adorable decor with tons of college pennants. If your alma-mater isn't here, bring it in and they'll put it up! Super nice (female) owner. Pretty reasonable & quick too.

The Varsity Inn was good, but nothing special. The decor was pretty cool with college flags posted all around the restaurant, but the tables were somewhat closely packed together. In terms of the food, my omelette was good and the potatoes were good, but nothing special. Additionally, I actually wanted fruit instead of potatoes and I was disappointed that they would not substitute the potatoes for fruit, not even with an upcharge. The waitress was not very attentive and was slow to bring some items we needed (hot sauce, butter). I would say we had a very average experience and the food itself was very average.

The Varsity is one of the best breakfast spots on the Jersey Cape. Located in the heart of Ocean City, it has both outdoor and indoor seating. The walls are lined with college pennants to lend a collegiate atmosphere. (alas - no pennants from my schools in Europe!) There is one item you must get at all costs as it is the quintessential tomato soup on the planet. That is their famous baked tomato soup served in a crock right from the oven. Tomato soup began in New Jersey and of course this soup uses Jersey tomatoes along with melted cheese on top. Don't miss it. At lunch it pairs perfectly with a grilled cheese sandwich and for breakfast I paired it with Aunt Helen's omelette. This tasty omelette is filled with kielbasa, onions, and Swiss cheese. Generous portions of hashed browns and toast accompanied the breakfast. Service was very friendly and all I can say is the Varsity Inn is a great way to start your day at the shore.

Fantastic! I was in town for a girly weekend and we needed to get our metabolism going in order to conquer the block party shopping extravaganza that was waiting for us ahead. But we had to be smart - we couldn't eat SO much at breakfast that we wouldn't have room in our Buddha bellies to eat the 3,847 food options at the block party later in the day. So we strategized that the best plan would be for the four of us to share three dishes. The girls of course chose the Varsity Inn, their favorite breakfast spot in town. At 9:30 AM on a Saturday, we hit the sweet spot and walked right in and were seated immediately. Our service was fast and attentive. Anything we needed was given to us quickly. I opted for the $12.99 omelette with hot peppers and sausage and the cheesy bacon homefries to share. We also got French toast with that lovely sweet cinnamon butter, and also pancakes and extra toast to share, not to mention rounds of coffee, orange juice and ice waters. Not a shred of food was left. We were proud members of the Clean Plate Club.

Can't believe I've never been here. Nice old school diner with pennants from any school you can think of, within 200 miles. I had the roast beef and it was delish. My wife had the Jersey Tomato soup and BLT. Everything was great and we will be back.

I really liked this little breakfast spot! A good greasy spoon diner type of establishment, but a little more refined in the menu and beachy in ambiance. Enjoyed spotting all the alum flags on the walls. Came here Memorial Day and luckily snagged the counter-style stools for 4 people at prime brunch time. We ordered a variety of breakfast and lunch items. I really enjoyed my eggs benedict with hash and a side of scrapple. It was HUGE - I actually couldn't even finish it, it was so filling. BF got the burger and fries and said it was decent. Friends got a greek omelette and one of the specials of pepper/spicy hash. For the most part, everyone like their meals, however, the omelette was less "Greek" than it was pretty basic, and plus they added mushrooms to the feta and spinach which wasn't expected. From my recollection, it's pretty affordable and I'd say the portions alone are well worth it.

Tasty place for a sit down breakfast. I had the Sunnyside eggs with scrapple. Very good. Service was great.