August 2025: Top 40 Restaurants

Our annual Top Restaurants issue is kind of a big deal: to the restaurants and chefs we feature; to our readers, who now have a whole batch of great restaurants to visit; and to our editors and critics, who spend months visiting restaurants around the state and crafting a list that we feel truly represents the best of Jersey’s culinary landscape.

As for criteria, each restaurant on this year’s list features extraordinary food, service and ambience, offering an unforgettable dining experience to anyone who visits. Cuisines range from steak to sushi, Italian to New American. There’s something for every type of diner here.

And new this year: We have moved some of our longtime favorites to a classics list, allowing us to celebrate even more restaurants, both old and new, in the Garden State. Plus, as always, our Top 40 list, which is chosen by New Jersey Monthly editors and food critics, is accompanied by the results of our annual restaurant poll, in which you, our readers, vote for your favorite places to eat in more than 40 categories. Mangia!