August 2019: 30 Best Restaurants

It’s a golden age for New Jersey restaurants. So golden, that last year we increased our annual list of the state’s best restaurants from 25 to 30 positions. This year, we held the line at 30, but included on the list seven restaurants that did not earn the Top-30 distinction last year.

So what’s on the menu this year? Most likely, it’s New American—but with a broad interpretation that embraces an array of influences, especially Latin, Asian and Italian (virtually everyone offers an expertly executed pasta), but also American Southern and Nordic. Naturally, there’s the ever-present underpinning of French technique.

Choosing the restaurants each year for the NJM Top 30 is a challenge. For you, the reader, choosing which ones to try first, might be even tougher. (P.S. See the winners of our 36th Annual Jersey Choice Restaurant Poll here.)