Restaurant Review: Langosta Lounge

You may see a trend in the location of restaurants that I choose to review for this blog.  Asbury Park has an amazing restaurant selection.  Last night, my parents and I made reservations at Langosta Lounge.

The restaurant is located right on the boardwalk and is within walking distance from our beach house.  We are currently not staying at our beach house in the winter months, but still choose to drive the 20 minutes to enjoy the great atmosphere and cuisine at Langosta.  The restaurant serves up caribbean-style menu items that matches the eclectic, oceanic decor.

Several restaurants by the shore are suffering during winter months, but Langosta is certainly not one of them.  We were lucky to get a reservation on a Saturday night (the manager knows our family after our frequent summer visits).  We were seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant right by the window so we had a view of the ocean.

Langosta has a full bar (with outstanding mojitos), but we usually choose to bring our own wine and pay the $15 corkage fee.  Last night, we enjoyed a full-bodied Zinfandel to accompany the robust flavors of food.

Immediately after being seated, we were given a fresh bread basket with a roasted garlic & tomato olive oil and an herb butter compote.  My mom and I love the crunchy breadsticks with the creamy roasted garlic.

For our first course, my dad ordered the Lobster Rolls.  We have ordered this as an appetizer before and were expecting sushi rolls.  However, they are very literal when they mean Lobster Rolls.  Fresh lobster salad is piled on top of 3 mini potato rolls.  At first, I thought the potato rolls were so low class to accompany lobster salad, but the soft doughy bread was the perfect pillow for the lobster.  

My mom and I split a simple house salad.  The salad was served in an oversized bowl with a vinaigrette on the side.  The shredded beets and carrots added the perfect sweet touch to a rather simple and boring salad.

For my main dish, I ordered the Eco-Fish of the Day.  Gooseberry Cod (which is just a type of wild cod) was topped with a lemon-herb relish.  I was afraid that this relish would be too lemony, but it had an array of other vegetables and spices mixed in and added the perfect flavor and crunch to the fish.  The cod was steamed to perfection and was flaky and buttery.  All of this was atop a creamy sundried tomato risotto.  This dish was seriously perfect! I loved getting every component of the dish in one bite-- a little bit of fish with the salsa-like topping and a touch of risotto.  It was a burst of flavor and textures in my mouth!  Even the vegetables on the side were perfect--broccolini with onions, collard greens, peppers, and carrots-- all wonderfully cooked and seasoned.

My mom also ordered the Gooseberry Cod, except had it Curry Style.  The large portion of fish was on top of an array of mixed vegetables and rice noodles, all coated with a slightly spicy and sweet curry sauce.  I couldn't decide which preparation of fish I liked more, mine or the curry.. but I must say I was very satisfied with my choice!

My dad ordered the Sugar & Spice Short Ribs.  These short ribs are absolutely incredible.  They taste like they have been slow cooking for hours and are so tender and juicy.  They were served over slightly chunky mashed potatoes (that were perfect for mopping up the sauce from the short ribs) and crisp broccolini.  

We all agreed that this was the best meal we have had in a while and that Langosta never lets us down with great food and a fun atmosphere.  The service is always superb and the food is consistently out of this world!  I cannot wait to go back!