Lava Java

Love this place! Excellent hot and iced coffee. Pastries are yummy. The service is very friendly and they go above and beyond to be helpful. Definitely stop in!

Stopped by for my first coffee here. I was pleasantly surprised. The dark roast was very good, with a touch of a fruity flavor. Sorry Starbucks this coffee blend is just as good as yours. The surroundings are nicely decorated with lots of pictures to look at and local brochures and papers to pass time. The store is clean and there are plenty of cold and hot drinks for any time of day. I was tempted by the morning pastries; maybe next time. It’s a few doors north of Charlie Hankin’s former business. Wish it was here when I was a docent at the museum after Charlie passed. Good luck, hope Lava Java will be around for a long time

I’ve been going to Lava Java since they first opened and I’ve loved everything! The staff is amazingly kind and helpful, the décor, atmosphere and seating are all perfect, the owner/​chef is always there working hard and making sure everything they serve is perfect! Fair prices, delicious food, great variety of hot and cold drink options, you really can’t go wrong here. So happy they opened up, the island needed a place like this!

Super cute breakfast joint. We only ran in for coffee, which was strong and to the point, but will be back for breakfast. I had a coconut milk latte which was great and the hubs had a double shot espresso. He said he would have been a-​ok with just a single. I was stoked that they had coconut milk. A bit pricey for the two drinks but it was the weekend so what the heck!

i wish this place was bigger and the lines weren’t so long; i would come here every day if it weren’t for the long wait, especially in the morning. the drinks are awesome and the food is great too. what a perfect addition to downtown lavallette!

Fantastic coffee and breakfast spot. Super friendly staff, great outdoor seating options, quick and easy. Recommend the Mud truck coffee and breakfast plate with kielbasa.

Nice addition to town. Cozy place with a friendly and attentive staff. I have eaten and sampled some of the coffee selections and was more than satisfied by both.

I love Lava Java! Its a great new addition to Lavallette and although I haven’t been able to check out the food end of their menu– the coffee and espresso is out of this world.
My mom had their hot dark roast coffee. And claims it was one of the best she has had in awhile. They referred to the brew as ‘mud’ which was a good sign to her. I had just a general iced coffee with a shot of carmel and it was great as well. My favorite thing I think is their large size of the iced coffee. Perfect to take back to the beach and it won’t be gone by the time you get there!
I’ll be back Lava Java!

We waited in line for and egg with cheddar and a pork roll with cheese. The eggs were well fried, but I found the roll to be a bit to large and soft. It was a bit awkward and I threw out most of the roll. The bf loved the pork roll. Coffee was good.
Overall, a very cute spot with great service. Expect to wait in line during peak times. Next time I’m going to try the breakfast with egg, toast and hash browns!!! Looking forward to it.

super cute & casual coffeehouse /​café on Grand Central Ave in downtown Lavallette. A nice selection of fresh lunch options and breakfast sandwiches, definitely a step up from the average New Jersey deli /​bagel shop. Will be back to try some of their food next time! Also right next door to some really cool /​beachy boutiques.

Awesome breakfast/​coffee shop in Lavallette. I had the ham, egg, and cheese sandwich and it was delicious. Coffee was great as well. Will stop by for breakfast whenever I’m in town!

Happy to have a local coffee shop in Lavallette. Lava Java is a great addition to the community. There is a grab and go coffee /​tea counter with a few baked goods. The coffee is excellent with a few different varieties of brews and a vast selection of flavor shots. I have tried the pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich which is a Jersey staple. Be sure to call it «pork roll». I used the North Jersey colloquialism of «Taylor Ham» and they were quick to correct me. The staff t-​shirts all have «pork roll» written on them so they definitely stick to the marketing brand image!
I would suggest an easier grab and go coffee window maybe off to the side in the future. I visited Lava Java for a quick coffee on 4^th of July weekend (around when they opened) and the line was out the door. The wait time was long but they had someone monitoring the door as to not disturb the patrons eating. Bennies, am I right!

I come here for the blueberry hibiscus iced tea with a scone on the way to work in the mornings sometimes. Along with the typical coffees and custom lattes they also offer a wide range of teas from The Republic of Tea brand and sell the tins if you fall in love with a blend.

Been a little while since I’d been by, but was pleased to see all its charm still intact (even more so sans annoying Bennys). Ordered the grilled cheese on gluten free bread with a side of chips and salsa. The grilled cheese was grilled to buttery and melty-​cheese perfection. The chips and salsa were yummy also; but I most appreciated being able to splurge on a delicious sandwich not normally available to us gluten avoiders. Love this place!

Let me start off by saying that, from a customer’s perspective, this place is great. Coffee is always fresh, food is consistently delicious and very reasonably priced, and it is always clean. The staff is also typically very friendly. There’s a reason why the line is out the door most days; it’s a great business.
Having said that, as a former employee, they can certainly improve how they communicate with their workers. At the beginning of the summer, I worked every Sunday as it was my second job, they were very accommodating, but soon the scheduling manager kept telling me that they «didn’t need me this week», and «this week» turned into 5 weeks in a row. After the weeks had gone by I tried getting in touch with this person and for days they would not return my texts and phone calls. Finally, after contacting the owner, this person responded and proceeded to tell me they didn’t need me for the rest of the season and thanked me for the work I’ve contributed.
The issue I have is that they KNEW they wouldn’t need me anymore since they hired new people who could work year-​round (I attend university out of state) and I only found out once I had chased them down to pry the information out of them. If they hired people that are more available, that’s fine I understand, but they did not tell me as soon as they knew they wouldn’t be needing me, I had to put forth way more effort than I should have in order to find this out. It was honestly a huge headache.
If you want to come here every morning for coffee and breakfast food, you really can’t go wrong. If you want to work here, please beware.

This is a very quaint coffee shop with a nice lunch menu. I ordered the shrimp salad on toasted multigrain bread and a
coffee. My wife ordered chicken salad on a vegetable wrap and iced tea. We were both disappointed with our food. My shrimp was laughably tiny and had very little taste. My wife said her chicken salad was also bland. She said her tea tasted like coffee. My coffee was very good. Still, we’ll give this place another try, as the staff are very friendly.

Good local coffee shop/​luncheonette.
Pros: very cute décor; ample seating space; local; great soups.
Cons: flavored coffee is lacking (variety of flavors but they are not recognizable). Certain food items served Monday thru Friday only.
Overall a good spot. Locally would rate 5 stars as it is best out of available shops. On a global scale it’s a 4 star place.
Check it out to support local businesses!

Such a cute, laid back place! Much more than just Java. The exterior has lots of outdoor seating, dog water bowls for the pooches, umbrellas and live music on Thursdays. The interior has a beachy vibe and has artwork by local artists. Love the lemonade, Arnold palmers and the chips with guacamole. My teenagers are there having lunch right now! I just hope it doesn’t get sooo busy that we won’t be able to get in because of their popularity! Best of luck to them on their first summer-​so far very great! **btw-​the Owners Dad is a great helper/​worker!

This place is the absolute best! It’s a perfect fit in the Lavallette corridor and exactly what the island needed.
High quality coffee and offerings are well above average — the type of artisanal stuff that one can usually only find towards Monmouth and the north (prepared the way it should be.) We often don’t get the best selection down here, this joint is with the times.
I cannot imagine anyone reviewing poorly, the single negative review made me laugh, and I agree with the person who called it; benny misery.
There are plenty of places you could poo-​poo in the area, this is not one of them. I hope they remain a permanent year-​round fixture for the long run.

Awesome food! great coffee! You can call ahead– busy place– friendly staff– really unique cool coffee joint so happy to come across it! thanks to Unilocal I found it and it will be the go to breakfast and lunch spot! Soon enough they’ll have to double in size– line is out the door all day!