A cheesesteak hits differently when you’re holding it a few steps from the beach, trying to keep the cheese inside the roll while the boardwalk keeps moving around you. At Midway Steak House in Seaside Heights, that is part of the appeal.
The stand serves the kind of lunch you can order at a counter, eat with your hands, and still have time for the rides. Its cheesesteak gets the attention, but the menu leaves room for another Shore favorite: an Italian sausage sandwich, an order of cheese balls, or a lemonade squeezed fresh for a hot afternoon.
Midway has been feeding boardwalk crowds for more than 50 years, long enough to become part of the routine for people who return to Seaside Heights each summer. If your ideal beach day includes a proper lunch break, this is a good place to make one.
Midway Steak House Has Been a Seaside Heights Staple for Decades
More than 50 years is a long time to keep a place in the rotation on a boardwalk where hungry visitors have plenty of choices. Midway Steak House has managed it by sticking close to what people want after a morning in the sun: sandwiches off the grill, fried snacks, and cold drinks they can carry back into the day.
Its address, 500 Boardwalk, puts it in the middle of the Seaside Heights bustle, close enough to the beach that lunch doesn’t require a change of plans. You can see what kind of place it is before you order.
The sign puts cheesesteaks and other boardwalk staples front and center. There’s a counter, a menu worth a quick scan, and the familiar question of whether you’re hungry enough for a side.
If you’ve spent the morning on the sand, the answer may already be yes. That straightforward setup is part of why Midway fits Seaside Heights so well.
Some lunches are destinations in themselves, with a reservation and an hour set aside. This one slips into a Shore day whenever hunger catches up with you.
Stop after the beach, pick up food between games, or make lunch the first order of business when you reach the boards. The stand’s long history gives regulars a familiar place to find, while first-time visitors can understand the appeal without knowing a thing about its past.
The grill is there, the sandwiches are on the menu, and lunch is a few minutes away.
The Cheesesteak Is the Reason to Stop
Watch a cheesesteak come together at a boardwalk stand and you remember why this sandwich has such staying power. It asks for a good roll, hot beef, melted cheese, and enough substance to turn a quick stop into lunch.
Midway’s version follows that satisfying plan: thinly sliced beef and cheese tucked into a fresh roll, ready to eat while you’re still close enough to hear the boardwalk around you. The roll has an important job.
A cheesesteak that falls apart halfway through is a tougher proposition when your table is a bench and you’ve got plans afterward. You want to get through it while it’s warm, with a napkin or two nearby and no reason to hurry the last bite.
That’s a big part of the pleasure here. Midway serves a sandwich suited to the place where you’re eating it.
There’s also something appealing about choosing a cheesesteak when nearly every other boardwalk food is trying to catch your eye. Pizza smells good.
Fried dough always has excellent timing. Ice cream makes a strong case even before lunch.
But when you want something savory that feels like a full meal, the steak sandwich wins the argument. It gives you a reason to pause, find a spot, and enjoy the busiest part of the day from the sidelines for a few minutes.
If you’re visiting Midway for the first time, the cheesesteak is the obvious starting point. You can explore the rest of the menu on another visit.
For now, a hot sandwich on a Seaside Heights boardwalk is a perfectly good plan.
Sausage Sandwiches and Cheese Balls Make Choosing Harder
The cheesesteak may have brought you to the counter, but it isn’t the only order worth considering. Midway also serves an Italian sausage sandwich, a particularly good match for the Shore when you want something hearty from the grill.
It belongs to that dependable family of boardwalk foods that can turn a walk into an immediate lunch decision. Then there are the cheese balls.
They’re smaller, fried, and easier to share than a sandwich, which makes them useful when everyone in your group is hungry at a different time. Order them as a side, pass them around, and see how quickly a casual snack becomes the thing people keep reaching for.
Their appeal is simple: a crisp outside and a cheesy center, eaten while they’re still hot. The broader menu gives you options if your group can’t agree on one kind of lunch.
Midway’s ordering menu also lists hot dogs, burgers, meatball sandwiches, fries, cheese fries, funnel cake, and fried Oreos, though availability can change. That range is handy on a boardwalk outing.
One person can get the cheesesteak they came for, another can stick with a hot dog, and somebody who claimed they only wanted a bite can make a case for dessert. Still, trying everything in one visit would leave you with little energy for the rest of Seaside Heights.
A sensible approach is a sandwich and one side to share. The harder part is deciding whether the cheese balls or the fries get that spot.
Fresh Lemonade Belongs in the Order
After a stretch on the beach, cold lemonade can sound as good as lunch. Midway’s fresh-squeezed version gives you something bright alongside a rich cheesesteak or sausage sandwich, especially on a day when the boardwalk planks are warm underfoot and everyone is looking for shade.
It’s a pairing that makes sense from the first sip. The sandwich brings the salt and the heat; the lemonade brings the chill.
You could choose a soda or water, of course, but fresh lemonade feels right for this particular stop. It’s the sort of drink you finish more quickly than expected, then wish you had saved a little for the walk back.
You can get it in a small or large size, according to Midway’s ordering menu. If lunch is a brief pause before you head elsewhere, the smaller cup may do the job.
If you plan to linger on the boards, a larger one gives you something to carry while you take in the sights. Either way, think about the drink when you place your food order.
It’s easy to focus on the cheesesteak and remember lemonade only after you’ve stepped away from the counter. That little decision can shape the rest of your lunch break.
Sandwich in one hand, cold cup in the other, you’re set to find a place to eat and watch Seaside Heights go by. Just give yourself a moment to put everything down before unwrapping the cheesesteak.
Ambition is admirable, but so is keeping lunch off your shirt.
The Boardwalk Makes Lunch Part of the Shore Day
A good lunch stop earns its place in the day by leaving room for everything else you came to do. Midway sits right on the Seaside Heights boardwalk, so you can go from beach to food without packing up for a drive across town.
A few steps away, the day is still in full swing: people heading for the sand, families comparing game prizes, and someone trying to settle the next question of rides. That setting changes how you eat.
You might take your order to a nearby bench and stay put until the last fry is gone. You might split a side while walking, then find a spot for the main event.
Either way, there’s plenty to look at while you eat, and no need to turn lunch into a formal occasion. For families or groups, the location is especially useful.
Beach days rarely run to schedule. Someone gets hungry early, someone else wants one more hour in the water, and plans tend to shift once you see what’s open.
Having sandwiches and snacks directly on the boardwalk makes it easier to keep the outing going. You can stop when everyone is ready, order according to appetite, and return to whatever caught your eye before lunch.
It also means a Midway visit works even if you came to Seaside Heights chiefly for the food. Get the cheesesteak, take a walk along the boards, and let the rest of the afternoon develop from there.
With the beach beside you and Casino Pier’s rides and games nearby, lunch has a way of becoming a longer visit.
What to Know Before Visiting Midway Steak House
You’ll find Midway Steak House at 500 Boardwalk in Seaside Heights, near the center of the action. The stand is part of the Midway operation alongside Midway Tequila Bar, so look for the steak house counter when it’s time to order food.
The address is useful for planning your arrival, but once you’re on the boardwalk, the menu and signage make the stop easy to recognize. For a first visit, start with the cheesesteak if that’s what drew you here.
An Italian sausage sandwich offers another substantial choice, while cheese balls or fries can round out an order for two. Fresh-squeezed lemonade is the drink to consider when you want the full boardwalk lunch.
Bring an appetite, and leave enough time to eat while everything is hot. Check the current details before making a special trip.
Midway lists its phone number as 732-793-4777 and notes that closing times can change. Boardwalk operations can vary with the season, so a quick call is useful if the cheesesteak is the main reason you’re driving to Seaside Heights.
Menu selections and prices can change as well. Once you arrive, the visit is refreshingly uncomplicated.
Order at the counter, collect your food, and choose your spot along the boards. The beach, games, and rides can wait a few minutes.
A warm cheesesteak deserves your attention first.
Share this story
