Bites Nearby: Ocean Café in Shrewsbury

Overview: Located in a small strip mall on Route 35 North in Shrewsbury,  Ocean Café offers guilt-free and delicious lunches and take-out dinner.  Their healthy gourmet fare ranges from homemade soups and sandwiches to summer rolls.

Decor:  Ocean Café occupies the center of the strip mall.  The décor is luncheonette style with several tables and a take-out counter. 

The Drinks:   Ocean Café offers beverages such as Pomegranate Lemonade ($2.95) and Green Iced Tea ($1.75). They also offer Power Smoothies each at $5.50.  You can get the Blue Mango, a blend of ginsing, blueberries and tropical juice or the ever popular Hangover Helper, a head soothing blend of orange juice, lime, lemon, mango and thai tea.

Appetizers: Ocean Café offers a great selection of healthy appetizers and soups. The Teriyaki Tuna on Skewers ($8.95) is a delicious, low-fat appetizer.  The soups ($2.95 for a cup and $4.95 for a bowl) are the main attraction. Ocean Café makes all soups with homemade vegetable stock in flavors such as Carrot Ginger and Vegetarian Chili.  The Portobello Soup was satisfying and the Chicken Chili has just the right amount of kick to it. 

Entrees:   Ocean Café serves up a variety of salads, wraps, summer rolls and sandwiches.  The salads come in a large bowl with homemade dressings.  The Waldorf Salad ($6.95) had a generous amount of chicken mixed with apples and walnuts over greens.  A creamy low-fat ranch dressing came on the side.  The Grilled Tuna Sandwich ($8.95 for a whole) comes on baguette style bread and is cooked to preference.  The wasabi mayonnaise was a pleasant surprise – not too hot!  If you want to pick up dinner on your way home shopping in Red Bank, Ocean Café offers their take on Thai for a take out.  Call ahead and you can pick up.

Service: The service was great at Ocean Café.  Even though the restaurant was full at lunch, our food came out quickly and our waitress was attentive.

Signature Dish:  Ocean Café’s soups.
 

Ocean Café

441 Broad St., Shrewsbury

(732) 933-1188