Quick answer: After a long beach day on Long Beach Island, many visitors head to Manahawkin, NJ for easier parking, faster service, and a wider range of family-friendly dining options. Pizza, pasta, and subs are the most popular choices, especially for groups feeding hungry families back at a vacation rental.
Long beach day? Sunburn setting in? Kids suddenly starving the moment you hit the car? If you’ve spent the day on Long Beach Island, you already know what comes next: the scramble for dinner. LBI is stunning in July and August, but peak-season restaurant waits are real, and so is the challenge of parking when everyone else has the same idea.
That’s exactly why so many beachgoers make the quick drive into Manahawkin instead. Just across the causeway via Route 72, Manahawkin sits at the gateway to LBI and offers something the island itself can struggle to deliver in summer: a stress-free dinner. Easier parking, faster takeout, more options for big groups, and food that actually satisfies a crew of tired, sandy people.
Manahawkin isn’t just a convenient stop; it’s a natural and easy choice for a post-beach dinner. Here are a few ideas for what to order when you get here.
Why Do So Many LBI Visitors Head to Manahawkin for Dinner?
During the summer, eating on LBI can be tough. Popular restaurants fill up fast, wait times get long, and finding a table for a big group without a reservation is almost impossible. After a long day at the beach, that’s the last thing anyone in a vacation rental wants to deal with.
Manahawkin solves most of those problems at once. The drive is short—less than 10 minutes from many LBI access points. Parking is rarely an issue. Takeout options are plentiful, which matters a great deal when you’re feeding a beach house rather than sitting down at a table. The variety of options means you can satisfy a group where half the people want pizza and the other half want pasta, without anyone compromising.
Sometimes dinner is less about dressing up and more about feeding tired, sandy people quickly. Manahawkin is built for that.
What Makes a Great After-the-Beach Meal?
The best after-beach meals share a few things in common. They’re quick to order and easy to pick up. They work for mixed groups, including picky kids who’ve spent the last five hours being bribed with snacks. They travel well back to a rental and they don’t require anyone to stand over a stove.
Shareable foods help. A couple of pizza pies, a pasta tray, and a round of subs covers most groups without anyone overthinking it. Foods that reheat well the next morning are a quiet bonus—cold pizza for breakfast is practically a Jersey Shore tradition.
Why Pizza Is One of the Best Beach-Day Dinners
Pizza has a strong case as the default after-beach meal, and not just because it tastes good. It feeds groups without requiring exact headcounts. It requires no cooking at the rental and generates almost no cleanup—just close the boxes. Kids eat it without negotiation. Adults are always happy with it.
For a group of 10, a general rule of thumb is 3–4 large pies. Pair a couple of round pies with a square Grandma pizza or Sicilian, add a pasta tray for anyone who wants something different, and you’ve covered the whole house.
At Fusaro’s Pizza & Pasta, the pizza options run deep. Classic round pies for the crowd-pleasers. Grandma pizza with a thin, crispy bottom and pillowy interior. Sicilian squares for the heartier eaters. Specialty pies like the Lucy Special (pepperoni, ricotta, red pepper flakes, hot honey) or the Grandma Vodka for anyone who wants something beyond a basic cheese. There’s even a pizza calculator if you want to dial in the exact order for your group size.
Family-Friendly Dining in Manahawkin Without the Hassle
Beach house dining has one consistent challenge: keeping everyone happy. That means accommodating picky eaters alongside adults who want something more interesting, feeding different age groups from the same order, and doing it all without a ton of effort.
Fusaro’s Pizza & Pasta at 31 N Main St in Manahawkin is built around exactly that kind of group. The menu runs from kids’ pasta with butter or vodka sauce to specialty pizzas, Italian cheesesteaks, subs, wraps, salads, and full pasta entrées. Families that arrive with wildly different requests tend to leave with everyone covered.
Dine-in is available for those who want to sit down and decompress. Takeout and online ordering make it easy to call ahead, swing by, and head back to the rental without skipping a beat. Fusaro’s also offers free delivery and does not charge credit card fees (details that matter when you’re ordering for a full beach house).
Easy Takeout for Beach Houses and Vacation Rentals Near LBI
Feeding 6 to 15 people after a beach day calls for a strategy. Cooking isn’t it, not after a full sun-drenched day. The most reliable approach is a pizza-and-pasta combination: a few pies for the table, a pasta tray or two for variety, and maybe a sub platter if the group is on the larger side.
This format checks every box. Fast to order, easy to pick up, no cooking, minimal cleanup, and reliably good leftovers for the next morning. For families cycling through a week-long rental, it’s also cost-effective.
Fusaro’s online ordering lets you place the order before you even leave the sand. By the time you’ve rinsed off and made the drive, dinner is ready.
What Locals and Visitors Order Most at Fusaro’s
Lucy Special: pepperoni, ricotta, red pepper flakes & Zab’s hot honey
The most popular orders at Fusaro’s follow a consistent pattern: family-sized round pies, square pizzas for sharing, pasta, and subs. The Grandma Lucy Special has a loyal following. Sicilian squares disappear fast at group orders. The Italian cheesesteak has its own dedicated fan base—customers consistently call it the best in the area.
For newcomers, a solid starting point is a classic cheese pie, one specialty square (the Grandma Vodka or the Manahawkin Square both travel well), and a pasta tray of baked ziti or penne vodka to round things out.
“If you’re looking for the best Italian cheesesteaks and pizza, you must go to Fusaro’s in Manahawkin.” — Michele H., Google review
“The pizza with spinach may have been in the top 5 pizzas we’ve had. Real good.” — Dana R., Google review
Make Dinner the Easiest Part of Your Beach Day
Heading off the island after a long day should feel like relief, not another errand. Fusaro’s Pizza & Pasta in Manahawkin makes it simple to feed a hungry group with pizza, pasta, subs, and easy takeout, just minutes from Long Beach Island via Route 72.
Call (609) 978-3888 or order online at fusaronj.com and have dinner sorted before you even hit the causeway.
