Ernest & Son Meat Market

Must stop anytime you’re in brigantine! Perfect place to pick up a great sub on the way to the beach! I’ve been coming here with my family longer than I can remember, we have them cater a lot of family events. The food is always great!

I lived here for 25 years and they were always great. I have just moved back after 4 years & if anything they have gotten better. Love them & Ernest is such a friendly guy, Never see him without a smile on his face!

I had family visiting from out of state who saw the Food Network segment on this place. That accompanied by all the five star reviews, I figured an hour drive south from Ocean County wasn’t a big deal. Wrong!!! The minute we opened the door and got a whiff should have been a warning. People… this place literally stinks. My dad is a retired butcher who knows his stuff. His impression of the quality of meat was underwhelmed. It didn’t appear to be fresh and the cuts were not impressive. This is not a quality establishment. I took a peek in the back room… big mistake. Needless to say we left empty handed. I should have asked for reimbursement for gas and tolls. Maybe the locals are brain washed.

Exactly what a deli/​butcher shop should smell like. It’s a great hole in the wall spot located a block or two from the beach. I was there in the fall.
You get great value as most sandwiches are under $ 7.
I regretfully got the cheesesteak, and I’m kicking myself. It was solid, but when your at a deli I should know to get a cold sub or better yet the lunch special which was hot roast beef.
I did get a few pieces of jerky which was great. Next time I’m in the area I will get the lunch special.

Love getting subs here to take down to the beach, since it’s only a block away. Friendly little shop, and they were featured on Diners, Drive-​Ins, and Dives!

Small little butcher that makes sandwiches, sells beef (and other) jerky, as well as veggies and (obviously) meat.
This is a review of their sandwiches. They are very good. Bread is quality, they have hard and soft hoagie bread and kaiser rolls. You pick a bread and hand it to server and tell them what you want. I got a hard hoagie Italian and it’s well worth the 6.50 I paid. It you are in the mood and want to skip the line at White House, you should go to this place.

We congregated to Brigantine from Idaho, CT, and NJ for the first time, all 15 of us! We found this gem of a deli and couldn’t have been more pleased! We had not only the grinders but took home several pounds of the sliced deli meats and hoagies to make the next day. The meat was superb and high quality and the atmosphere was genuine Italian deli right down to the jar of pickles!

Don’t take the chance of getting SALMONELLA, watch out!
I personally watched a kid grab a slab of raw chicken and touch everything in the shop afterwards. He even touched the deli meat that he cut for somebody with his bare hands. He also touched my bread and sandwich with his bare hands, all of which had raw chicken on it. He simply wiped his hands off on his apron and that was it. I said something to the manager, and he clearly didn’t care, he showed me that he had hand sanitizer for them to use and that was it. He didn’t even ask me which employee did it, in any concern of the issues. The kid didn’t use the hand sanitizer. The manager said, «well, it’s tough, sometimes we get busy». Clearly this is a normal practice for them, if you ever eat there and get sick you’ll know why.
Trust me I have gotten food from here before, it’s good, and I have nothing against anyone personally. I’m looking out for the safety of the next people who want to go there and purchase a sandwich.

This place is FABULOUS!!! We really enjoyed the buffalo chicken sand. My husband and kids got the prime rib cheesesteak and loved them 2! Fries are nice and crispy!

Used to be a better place when the original owners were there… Now, the service is not too good and the staff is miserable… Sandwiches a little over rated. Decent but not fantastic. Jerky is good… Aversa’s which is around the corner, makes a better sandwich.

Miss this place, used to order from here all the time when I’d go down to AC. Probably the best sandwiches in the area! Buffalo chicken from here in my favorite… yummm!

Every one raves about this place so I had to try it. While the corned beef special I settled for was good, I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t get the Reuben my mouth was watering for.
I can’t understand why & I don’t believe no one else has ever requested one.
I know they had the meat, the cheese, the russian dressing & the bread. How hard is it to add a little sauerkraut & slap it on the grill? Most delis would have been happy to honor my request.
The corned beef was sliced thin to perfection and very lean.

Best sandwiches in south jersey. I highly recommend the hopster. Old fashioned and authentic butcher.

Fantastic family run full-​service butcher shop. It’s got a great old school feel, and they know your name if you visit more than once. In addition to great meat, they also make award winning homemade jerky and unique subs our whole family craves. We easily visit this place once a weekend!

I had the corned beef special, tasty but i wish there was more sauce and coleslaw. We also ordered waffle fries which came with a good amount tossed into a paper sack, crispy even by the time we sat down to eat after we picked up our order. Although my brother who ordered a ny strip cheese steak, double the meat and was not a fan of how big the strips were cut and the messiness of the actual sandwich when he opened it up.

So you’re driving down Brigantine Ave for a day at the beach. You come over the bridge from AC and you see a Wawa on your right, you might be tempted to stop and get your Hoagiefest on – DON’T. Look, I love Wawa as much as the next South Jersian, but do yourself a favor and drive a few more blocks down to Ernest and Son.
Half butcher, half deli, this place makes some seriously good sandwiches at a reasonable price. ($ 6 – 8). They have a good mix of hot and cold, with a few different bread options. My favorite for the beach is a turkey Pete on a hard roll — turkey, sharp provolone and roast peppers, it doesn’t get much better. They also have a bar with a variety of cold salads, the broccoli salad and pasta salad are both really good.
Great local place to grab a sandwich on your way to the beach

holy cow
real deal kind of place
must stop if you are in the area

Awesome & delicious hoagies @ a reasonable price, & a great staff. The jerky was excellent too.
Eugene & Elena

WOOOOOW! One of the best deals for your money I’ve ever seen. Had a bachelor party and rented a house in Brigantine… What a Gem this place was to find… We had 18 guys, so I ordered the steak and the bbq special. There was at least 30lbs of meat for $ 146!!! The ribs were outstanding, put a dry rub on them and cooked in the oven at 250 degrees for 3.5 hours… To say they fell off the bone doesn’t do it justice…
I had enough food to feed 18 guys for dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday… Can’t ask for more than that…
Not down that way to often, but anytime I am, I’ll be stopping by to pick up some of their meat specials…

Hands down best meal and best deal in brigantine. I got my first meal there 11 years ago and it surprises me the quality of their food has not changed in that time. Still the same high quality product with the same low price.
They not only make subs, sandwiches and burgers, they also have a hot lunch buffet everyday and make their own soups and dinners. The dinners are frozen and range from Italian sausage, ziti, lasagna, etc. On Fridays they have a deal, but 2 get 1 free.
The staff is amazing, friendly and welcoming. They appreciate your business and it shows.
If you want an amazing meal, eat here. I suggest you call ahead because if you’re eating around lunch time be prepared to wait with the droves of die hard Ernest and Sons loyalists.