A lot of you guys ask me for recommendations for the best restaurants in NJ. Not only have I been to hundreds of them, I actually put together a bracket to find THE best restaurant in NJ, which my followers voted for. The winner of the best restaurant in NJ competition was The Pasta Shop, and I can assure you, they are the best! Here is a list of my other top picks for the best restaurants in New Jersey

Samba Montclair

This Brazilian restaurant is one of the best in NJ. Samba Montclair is a stylish, yet rustic, farm to table restaurant. I have been there several times, and have never had a bad meal. You need to start off with their fresh juices, I had the coconut lemonade. I usually order the cheesy bread and wings as an appetizer. For an entree, I would recommend shrimp in creamy sauce inside a butternut squash. For dessert, I would recommend their flan. There are tons of good restaurants in Montclair, but believe me, this is the best!

Blue Steel Pizza Co

If you are looking for some unique dishes, and even better cocktails, head to Blue Steel Pizza Co in Bloomfield. The decor is sleek and rustic. This is my favorite spots in NJ for cocktails, I would recommend the Tommy Margarita. Some of the best appetizers there are the chili shrimp, coca cola wings, and the wild mushroom dan dan noodles. You can’t leave without trying their detroit style pizza, ALL of them are delicious (I’ve tried most of them). For dessert – smoked sweet potato flan and creamy tiramisu dip.  Also, they have a hidden speak easy style bar on their second floor – make reservations for it, and thank me later!

The Ebbitt Room

This is an elevated seaside restaurant in Cape May. The ambiance is super romantic, it is dimly lit and normally there is someone playing the piano.  The restaurant is little on the expensive side but definitely worth it. Many of their ingredients are sourced from the Beach Plum Farm so everything tasted really fresh. I ordered the lobster caesar salad as an appetizer and there were huge chunks of fresh lobster in it. As an entree I got the seared scallops over creamy risotto, and for dessert the sweet ricotta donuts.

South + Pine

Serves seasonal American food by chef Leia who is a former chef for Bobby Flay. Located in Morristown, South+Pine focuses on using fresh seasonal ingredients to create unique artistic dishes with casual dining. This restaurant was in my final four march madness bracket and I can assure it is definitely one of the best! We tried a bunch of their appetizers – the Mussels, burrata with apricot jam, and carrot + coconut soup. For the entrees we got the burger and fried chicken and waffles both of which were juicy and super flavorful. For dessert I ordered the apple tart with salted caramel and fresh ice cream. This was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had and I don’t even typically like apple deserts.

The Pasta Shop

This restaurant in Denville offers Italian American comfort food with great quality ingredients and they even makes pasta in-house. We tried almost their whole menu and I can see why you guys voted them #1 restaurant in NJ. We ordered bruschetta toast with walnuts and local honey, and mozzarella sticks for an appetizer. These mozzarella sticks are found all over Instagram and lived up to the cheesy hype. For an entree, I got Chicken parmesan which was a thin cutlet with super crispy edges, as it should be. We also got rigatoni (freshly made in house) with vodka sauce and Pork Marsala – I typically don’t order pork but this was juicy and tender it was delicious. For dessert we got the cannoli which tasted really fresh.