Diners' Choice: Contemporary American restaurants in New Jersey

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Contemporary American cuisine in New Jersey? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

The Station at Mountain Lakes

4.9

4.9 (1040)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Mountain Lakes

About the restaurant

The Station at Mountain Lakes is a scratch restaurant featuring fresh seafood, steaks, homemade soups, salads, pasta and a variety of unique entrees created by Executive Chef/owner Bradley Cooper. Owner operated for 14 years, The Station is located in a beautifully restored field stone train station in the heart of Mountain Lakes.

Top review

Steven

Dined 2 days ago

The food is superb. The staff is very attentive for your needs. They watch your reactions and react to what they think you may need or want. Truly old style restaurant service. That alone I tip well for. The superb food and service. Noise is a little loud, but it is an old building with a nice ambiance. Take in the atmosphere, ambiance, and view along with superb service, and you will have the perfect experience. The only negative I have is the table downstairs near the middle, and the wine bar area is tight and has a lot of traffic. I was at that table the first time, and it was annoying the amount of wait persons and people squeezing by the table.

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Popular dish

Filet Mignon Gorgonzola

Blue Bottle Cafe

4.9

4.9 (1465)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Hopewell

About the restaurant

We are open for takeout and on-site dining Wednesday through Saturday.
With seasonally inspired menus featuring local produce, hormone/antibiotic-free meats and sustainable fish and seafood, the Blue Bottle Café will delight even the most discerning diners. Chef-Owner Aaron Philipson is known for his bold flavors, pristine sauces, and thoughtful combinations of delectable ingredients. Gnocchi and Seafood are definitely fan favorites! Comprised of three intimate dining rooms, the restaurant is perfect for casual get-togethers, business lunches and dinners and other private events. Book weekends early for preferred seating times!

Top review

Yale

Dined 4 days ago

One of the best restaurants in Central NJ. An outstanding chef with innovative interpretations served by an extremely personal staff in a very unassuming environment. We have been dining here for many years and never fail to be surprised by the menu creations . We drive 25 miles to dine here but the distance never stops us. A Hopewell, NJ gem.

Stella Restaurant

4.9

4.9 (889)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Ventnor City

About the restaurant

Stella is a BYOB offering chef driven quality ingredients in a relaxed casual atmosphere. Owned by father-son team, Nicholas and Vincent LoBianco, Stella Restaurant has earned the reputation of personable service and excellent food over 20 years of being in business. Named Top 100 Restaurants in the United States in 2023, Stella features unique menus in a classy supper club environment.

Top review

JeffreyVIP

Dined 1 day ago

As always, the service and food were excellent! The menu is consistent and all menu items are delicious. Desserts are solid and shareable. We can’t come here enough, especially during the off-season - so lucky to live just 3 blocks away.

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4.9

4.9 (383)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Red Bank

About the restaurant

"d'jeet?"asked Grandpa
to everyone who walked through his door in hopes of sharing a homecooked meal, a token of his love. And so, food came to represent family, friends and memories. Our passion is to relish in the delight of providing people with food they can feel good about, cooking traditions passed down from our ancestors to bring you natural, flavorful foods using seasonal and local ingredients.

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined on Dec 4, 2024

Food delicious as anything Chef Casey sends out on his menus.

F1RST

4.8

4.8 (313)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Hawthorne

About the restaurant

Excited to be opening his "F1RST" restaurant, Award winning Executive Chef/Owner Adam Weiss who is known for his creative mix of unique flavors, textures, and artful presentation will be opening F1RST, an Eclectic American Fine Dining BYOB Restaurant. Focusing on seasonal American Cuisine with a twist, Chef Adam Weiss is bringing his distinctive cooking to Northern New Jersey.
Diners will delight in the two uniquely decorated dining rooms that are upscale and trendy with avant garde artwork, subdued lighting, soothing background music, and an intimate fireplace.
Our mission is to create a memorable dining experience for all who join us. We look forward to serving you!

Top review

JerryVIP

Dined on Dec 12, 2024

Great food Duck was best I had in a long time Professional service

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Popular dish

Spicy Tuna Tartar

The Circle

4.9

4.9 (738)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Sparta

About the restaurant

Contemporary American Restaurant located in Fredon, New Jersey

Top review

Karen

Dined 1 day ago

A truly delicious and wonderful dinner experience. Very much looking forward to going back.

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4.9

4.9 (3862)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Point Pleasant Beach

About the restaurant

THE POACHED PEAR BISTRO

Located at 816 Arnold Ave in the beautiful shore community of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

The Poached Pear Bistro is a stylish, yet family friendly, BYO contemporary American restaurant featuring excellent food and reasonable prices in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Chef-owner Scott Giordano, formerly executive chef at Whispers in Spring Lake, NJ, and sous chef at the Saddle River Inn in Saddle River, NJ, and his highly professional kitchen and wait staff are committed to providing patrons with a truly pleasing and memorable dining experience.

Top review

Norma

Dined 5 days ago

We love that we have a special place to go to celebrate our special occasions

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Popular dish

Poached Pear Salad

Popular dish

Apple Cider Brined Pork Chop

Popular dish

Duck Confit Raviolis

Cree Wine Company

4.9

4.9 (22)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Hampton

About the restaurant

Wine Bar & Kitchen offering a curated selection of wines and spirits to enjoy on premise or To Go!

Award Winning Wine Spectator Wine List!

Cree Wine Company offers an impeccable selection of curated wines from around the world, and pairs it all with a beautifully crafted food menu. All of this is presented in a comfortable wine bar & kitchen with a beautiful classroom and event space, designed to bring real wine experiences to life.

Our Wine Bar & Kitchen offers hundreds of wines and spirits by the taste and by the glass. From 4pm until close on weekdays, starting at 12pm on Saturdays, and from 11am on Sundays we have a beautifully crafted menu of entrees and shareable plates to enjoy with your wines. We have over 700 different wines on the wine list, plus over 100 spirits and wines by the glass or flight!

Top review

FrancesVIP

Dined 2 days ago

Great food (duck confit, striped sea bass). Great wine selection. Great service and staff. On top of it, we sat near the fire, so it was a warm and cozy evening out.

ONE 53

4.8

4.8 (2580)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Princeton

About the restaurant

ONE53 is a ninety-nine seat cozy neighborhood restaurant & bar serving New American / Euro Bistro cuisine in a relaxed setting. We combine local hospitality with traditional & contemporary dishes.

Our menu features seasonally changing specials using only the best and freshest seasonal ingredients.

ONE53 features wines from the U.S. and Europe along with a full bar that offers a variety of traditional and specialty hand-crafted cocktails. We're located in Rocky Hill, just minutes from Princeton, NJ.

We've received glowing reviews from The New York Times, The Star Ledger, The Times of Trenton, and NJ Monthly. ONE53 was named 2019's Favorite Restaurant and Favorite Bar by Princeton's premier newspaper Town Topics.

ONE53 was recently named one of the Ten Best Restaurants in Central Jersey by OpenTable

Top review

Michelle

Dined on Dec 10, 2024

Always one of our favorites. Consistently good food and well-trained staff.

Blend on Main

4.8

4.8 (2708)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Manasquan

About the restaurant

Blend on Main is committed to using as many local sustainable products as possible. In doing so we have met some incredible farmers, artisans, and fishermen along the way. Our menu is a celebration of their hard work.

We genuinely care about serving really good, high quality food. Thank you to all of you who walk through our doors. We are fortunate to have you here sharing our vision with us.

- Chef Lou

Top review

CathyVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Our party of 4 had dinner at Blend on Main and we all had different meals which were delicious. The prices aren’t inexpensive but the quality of the food and presentation was appreciated. Also, it’s byob so thats nice. Our waitress was excellent. Highly recommended!

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