BEST RESTAURANTS IN CENTRAL NJ

THE TOP 10 BEST RESTAURANTS IN CENTRAL NEW JERSEY

Top 10

Restaurants Central NJ

Il Castello's
Woodbridge NJ
732-602-0090
Our pick for best Italian in Central NJ. Superb food, staff, & ambience. Everyone is treated like royalty. Very reasonable prices.
Highly Recommended!

Solo Trattoria
Freehold NJ
732-780-2337
Delicious sauces! Try their Bolognese! May be the best Italian restaurant in all of NJ. True authentic Italian dishes like the ten layer lasagna with extremely thin noodles will satisfy you immensely.
Highly Recommended!

Bella Sogno
Red Bank NJ
732-747-6969
Great basic Italian food in a quaint lovely restaurant. Reminiscent of Little Italy, without the guy on the street begging you to come in. Well worth a visit! Red Bank is a gorgeous small town in Central NJ.

Bistro Ole
Asbury Park NJ
732-897-0048
Best Spanish
The Spanish cuisine in all of Central NJ. A little busy with hustle and bustle and somewhat loud at times, but well worth a visit! Great friendly staff. The Ole Ole Chicken was to die for!
Highly Recommended!

Gennaro's
Princeton NJ
609-497-2774
Two words: Pappardelle Bolognese! Made with veal, beef and pork the Old World way. Great Italian dishes all over the menu. Great sauces! A must visit.

Top 10

Restaurants Central NJ

David Drake
Rahway NJ
732-388-6677
A truly memorable romantic dining experience! Rustic atmosphere with modern paintings and dim lighting. Very romantic!
Highly Recommended!

Solo Bella
Jackson NJ
908-221-0040
Best Italian!
Very down to earth simple homemade Italian dishes. Huge portions! Nothing fancy (very casual) but very, very good. The BYOB helps keep the check under control.
Highly Recommended!

Whispers
Spring Lake NJ
732-974-9755
Whispers is one of best unknown romantic restaurants in all of Monmouth County NJ. Imaginative and delicious American cuisine. One of Central Jersey's best restaurants in the North Shore region.

Joe's Crab Shack
Lawrenceville NJ
973-989-1550
Best Family - (For kids)
Complete with Singing waitstaff, balloon twisters, outdoor playground and fun Nautical stuff hanging all around. Not to mention the best Dungeness crabs this side of San Francisco!

Lawrenceville Inn
Lawrenceville NJ
973-224-1525
A quaint dining experience like no other. Very beautiful, charming, Royalyy-like Inn setting. It's like eating in the parlour of a famous persons house. It's your home away from home! BYOB

You are viewing the best Restaurants in Central NJ
Also see the Best overall Restaurants in Northern NJ
Best overall Restaurants in Southern NJ
See our picks for the Most Romantic restaurants in all of NJ

The following restaurants are, in our opinion, the best that Central New Jersey has to offer. It is the definitive dining guide to the garden state. It is perhaps the only guide you will ever need to refer to if you are looking for the best restaurants in Central NJ.

Best Restaurants in Central Jersey

FunNewJersey.com Editorial Picks

Editorial Pick for the Best Unknown "Italian" Gem in Central NJ!

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Nonna's Italian Feast
190 Route 9 North, Marlboro NJ 732-536-9050
Dim lights, big bar, BIG portions...family style! We just love this place. Their bolognese sauce is thinner and with less meat that the traditional bolognese, but it is one of the best that we have ever had. One of the best salads we have ever had too. Great for families with kids too.

Editorial Pick for the Best Unknown Gem in Central NJ!

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La Taverna
375 Georges Rd, Dayton, NJ 732-274-2200
Whitlock Tavern was originally built by James Whitlock in the 1730's. The five separate dining areas offers really great food in a very cozy atmosphere. Quiet, romantic settings with fireplaces. Very romantic bar is a great place to bring a date to try something new. The chicken parmesan with angel hair was the best we have ever had. Great simple salad too!

Editorial Pick for the Best Unknown "New American" Gem in Central NJ!

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The Blue Bottle Cafe
101 E. Broad St. Hopewell, NJ, 609-333-1710
The Blue Bottle Cafe is truly a on-of-a-kind restaurant. They move the menu with the seasons and always come up with imaginative variations of the Contemporary American fare that thy offer. They have a flair for mixing the freshest ingredients and turning out a spectacular product. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this restaurant. BYOB

Editorial Pick for the Best Unknown American Bistro in Central NJ!

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One 53
153 Washington Street, Rocky Hill, NJ 609-924-1019
Don't miss the Clams in White Wine Broth with Garlic Toast appetizer or the farm-raised Double Cut Berkshire Pork Chop for dinner. Very nice small, quaint bistro with a cozy bar. Somewhat Intimate, with warm lighting and modern fixtures.
Highly Recommended!

Editorial Pick for the Best Japanese in Central NJ!

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Shumi Restaurant
30 South Doughty Ave, Somerville, NJ 908-526-8596
The food is excellent, fresh and extremely tasteful. We loved the presentations of all of the dishes. Shumi restaurant is one of the rare Japanese restaurants that try to add a romantic touch and style to all their dishes! Very quiet, peaceful atmosphere. First rate Shushi.

Best Seafood Restaurants in Central Jersey

Blue Point Grill
258 Nassau St. (Pine St.) Princeton, NJ 609-921-1211
Blue Point Grill sets the standard in providing impeccably fresh seafood and shellfish from around the world. A little pricey but the freshest seafood we've ever tasted!

Pluckeman Inn
359 Route 202 South, Bedminster NJ, 908-658-9292
Although not geared just to seafood, this contemporary American restaurant surely brings a top level of seafood, wine and service to the table. Sophisticated yet warm. We have also listed the Pluckeman Inn as one of the best restaurants in Northern NJ as it is on the border of being very close to both Northern and Central NJ.

Best American Cusine in Central New Jersey

Nicholas
160 State Route 35, Red Bank, NJ 732-345-9977
Outstanding combination of presentation, detail oriented service, and exceptional cuisine. Truly one of the best American restaurants in Central NJ

Best Unknown Seafood/Steak in Central New Jersey

KC Prime
4160 Quakerbridge Road, Lawrenceville,NJ 609-275-5418
By far one of the best unknown Steakhouses in all of NJ. Don't miss the awesome seafood appetizer. Their menu features the finest in USDA Choice and Prime beef, as well as the freshest seafood, chicken, pasta around. Well worth a try!

Jakeabob's Bay (No website)
525 Front St. Union Beach, NJ 732-264-3730
The food and service is great and the summer atmosphere is wonderful. Very reasonable prices and a cool bar.

Best Italian Restaurants in Central NJ

Deanna's Restaurant
54 North Franklin Street, Lambertville, NJ 609-397-8957
Very cozy with a small wine list specializing in homemade pasta. Simple Italian comfort food. Cool bar too! Tuesdays & Wednesday: Locals Night Prix Fixe $20/3 courses. Second Saturday of every month: Live music with Michelle Wiley 6-10pm . Sunday: Live Piano Music 5-8pm.

Pino's (No website)
448 Us Hwy No 9 Marlboro, NJ 732-972-6663
If your looking for a New York Flair without going through the tunnel then Pino's is fine choice. The service is very good. The waiters always make you feel special. They will carry your drinks for you from the bar to your table! Very good food although some selections are a little but pricey. Good loyal crowd is always willing to greet you at the bar. Reservations are necessary on weekends. Very nice romantically lit atmosphere.

Michael's Cusina Italia
Alexander Plaza - Route 9 South, Manalapan NJ 07726 - 732-409-4777
We have chosen Michael's here for their large "Family Style" Portions and their consistency of down home Italian dishes. Their house salad is terrific and most of the dishes that we have tried were way better than average. BYOB

Best Casual Bar Atmosphere in Central New Jersey

Sayreville Bar & Restaurant
7 Cecelia St, Sayreville, NJ 732-257-4110
Don't miss the famous "all you can eat" home-made soup, salad, and mussel bar! Every Thursday is All You Can Eat St. Louis Ribs & BBQ Chicken for a mere $14. Excellent place to mingle and chow down with the locals.

Blue Rock Cafe
Cliffwood Beach NJ, 732-583-7699
Very underrated seafood selections. Cool outdoor bar on the bay where you can smoke. Nothing spectacular but very consistent. The jumbo shrimp cocktail are some of the biggest shrimp we have ever had. Very reasonable lunch specials daily.

Olde Silver Tavern (No website)
149 Freehold Road, Manalapan, NJ 732-446-9840
The Olde Silver Tavern is a very popular neighborhood tavern which serves up better than average Steaks and bar fare. Decent bar scene too. The bar seems to be drawing an older crowd.

Best Unknown restaurant in Central New Jersey

Spargo's Grill
130 Route 33 West, Manalapan, NJ, 732-294-9921
Spargo's Grille, an upscale, casual restaurant in Manalapan, New Jersey. Spargo's has quickly become a gem in Monmouth County (for those who know about it) . Chef/owner Tim Murphy refreshes bored palates with his fresh Californian�Caribbean flair. You must try their Bolognese Rigatoni (Rigatoni pasta tossed with a classic meat sauce and finished with fresh ricotta).

Other Very Good Top Restaurants in Central Jersey

Denotes our FunNewJersey.com Editorial Choices

2 Senza Ristorante - Red Bank - Traditional Italian
Anton's at the Swan - Lambertville - Fine Romantic American
Christopher's - New Brunswick - Fine American dining
Clydz - New Brunswick - Offers unusual fare in a sleek atmosphere
Colorado Caf� - Watchung - Steakhouse with Weekly Entertainment
La Casa Bianca - Whitehouse Station - Mediterranean Cuisine
Old Bay Restaurant - New Brunswick - French Cuisine
Sputino 360 - New Brunswick- Very upscale Italian
Stage Left - New Brunswick - Contemporary American Cuisine
The Big Fish - Princeton - Contemporary Seafood Cuisine
The Cranbury Inn - Cranbury - Quaint Colonial Bar Restaurant
The Ferry House - Princeton - Innovative French-American Cuisine
The Frog & The Peach - New Brunswick - American Cuisine
Lamberti's Cucina - Manalapan - Above average Italian Fare
Luchento's Country Italian Ristorante - Millstone Township - Country Italian
Costa Verde - Sayreville - Portuguese restaurant with large wine list

A little bit about the FunNewJersey.com Restaurant Guide in Central NJ

Remember that a "Best of list" is just an editorial opinion. You should use them for what they should be used for..... A reference of opinion. Of course they are not the "gospel" that is set in stone and does not define every restaurant's reputation and standard. There are always great restaurants that will get bad reviews as there are restaurants that aren't considered good that will get good reviews. Please enjoy this reference for what it is. A guide of opinion. It is more important to remember that you should have and have fun going out and trying new restaurants in New Jersey. You will surely come up with your own favorites.

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