February 2026: Best New Restaurants
We all share the excitement of finding new restaurants that we love. New Jersey, with its vibrant, ever-expanding restaurant scene, sees new spots opening regularly. These are our favorite restaurants that opened their doors in the Garden State in 2025, spanning North, Central and South Jersey.
To compile the list, our editors and restaurant critics traveled to dozens of new restaurants throughout the year, trying the dishes and cocktails, studying the menus, observing the environments, rating the service.
We made sure that every single restaurant on our list features top-notch food, service and atmosphere. You’ll also find a variety of cuisines and some restaurants with truly interesting offerings.
We hope you enjoy these as much as we did!
FIRST WORD
Letter From Our Publisher: Celebrating 50 Years of New Jersey Monthly
Our magazine has been championing Garden State stories for half a century.
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Olivia Mack McCool runs Olivia’s, a meal-delivery service geared toward busy parents with a recently opened storefront in Maplewood.
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Revisit highlights from our rich history!
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The Best New Restaurants in NJ to Try Right Now
Here are the hottest additions to our state’s vibrant dining scene that you won’t want to miss this year.
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Her latest achievement? The Saint Clair, a dining hotspot in the foodie town of Montclair.
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Garden Staters can’t get enough of these eateries.
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Garden Staters are fed up with electric bills that jumped practically 20 percent overnight.
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