Best Restaurants in Jersey City (2025)

Dan Richer’s wood‑fired pies spotlight New Jersey farms and obsessive dough craft. Lauded by The New York Times and regularly cited by national pizza lists, it’s the city’s definitive destination for pizza and seasonal antipasti. Aim early; dough can sell out. Featured by Eater NY.

Rick Easton’s cult Roman‑style bakery turns out slabs of pizza, extraordinary breads, and Italian deli fare Fridays through Sundays. Bon Appétit and Eater have raved for years; locals queue for mortadella sandwiches, seasonal focaccia, and pastries that taste of Italy by way of the Heights.

A Heights favorite for handmade pastas and backyard cooking, Corto delivers a changing menu that feels personal and distinctly Italian‑American. Praised by NJ Monthly and Bon Appétit, it’s BYO, intimate, and deeply neighborhood‑driven. Don’t miss the rigatoni with Calabrian heat when it appears.

Jersey City’s first Bangladeshi restaurant serves homestyle feasts and limited‑seat Dawat dinners from a James Beard–nominated chef‑owner. Expect bhortas, hilsa, goat curry, and the warmth of a family table. Featured by Eater, CNN, and celebrated by local critics.

Jersey’s Bustling India Square, Swadist Is the Place To Be | Eater NY

A four-year-old restaurant at 715 Newark Avenue near Jersey City’s Journal Square on the edge of India Square, I didn’t notice it until recently — after two visits, I think it’s the best Indian restaurant in the neighborhood. Unlike many nearby spots that specialize in Hyderabadi biryani, South Indian dosas, Bengali desserts, or Mumbai and Gujarati thalis, Swadist (which means “tasty” in Sanskrit) centers on Delhi-focused dishes and presentation; chef-owner Uttam Rawat, who is from Tehri in the Himalayan foothills, fills the menu with mostly northern but some southern Indian cooking plus Indo-Chinese and Thai items. The dining room — continuous sienna banquette, stained-wood furniture, silver-domed flip-top pots and eye-popping photos of vegetables and spices — can look like a bargain hotel, and there’s a weekend buffet ($20 adults, $10 children), but the food quickly makes the decor beside the point. Standouts include a baby goat masala ($21) in a thick ginger-and-garlic–forward sauce with hints of cinnamon and cardamom and very tender, fatty ribs; chicken achari ($17) with hunks of dark meat in a mellow, spicy, puckering beige sauce (our favorite); fresh-pressed paneer in a creamy sauce loaded with fenugreek that gives it a pungent, almost cedar-stored-cheese quality; and baingan mirchi ka salan ($16), baby eggplants in a hyper-nutty sesame–peanut–poppy seed sauce studded with chiles that are “hot as hell” — a contender for vegetarian dish of the year. The Bengali fish curry (tilapia in a tan, mustard-oil–laced sauce) and black pepper lamb both deliver notable heat, and the Lucknow crust-on dum biryani (vegetarian version recommended) arrives speckled with vegetables, its edible crust functioning as a naan and served with a raita that is a dish in itself. Even the pad Thai (broad moist rice noodles with sprouts, crushed peanuts, shrimp and chicken) is perfectly executed — achingly sweet but indistinguishable from a good Thai place, which I take as another mark of Swadist’s quality. - Robert Sietsema

Chef Claude Lewis, a Food Network Chopped champion and Jersey City native, cooks the food of Antigua and Barbuda—pepperpot, oxtail, and fish cakes—in a relaxed, community‑minded setting. Recognized by Eater and local tourism guides for authentic West Indian flavor.

A downtown bistro with market‑driven plates, polished cocktails, and neighborhood energy. The Infatuation and NJ Monthly highlight it for versatile dining—from French onion mac and cheese to branzino and an excellent burger. Brunch and sidewalk seats add to the charm.

A longtime local hang for Mexico City‑style tacos, tortas, and margaritas, born from a Grove Street taco truck. Consistently recommended by Eater and The Infatuation, it’s lively, affordable, and late‑night friendly. Order lengua, barbacoa, and a side of salsa to test the heat.

A family‑run Vietnamese mainstay since the late ’90s, known for restorative pho, savory clay‑pot dishes, and a broad menu that rewards regulars. Praised by local food writers for its staying power and soulful cooking; a downtown go‑to before or after the plaza.

In Bergen‑Lafayette, this family‑owned spot riffs on Asian comfort food with care—hand‑folded dumplings, udon in coconut curry, and rice bowls with seasonal vegetables. Featured by Thrillist and local outlets, it’s an inviting detour beyond downtown’s usual circuit.

A cider‑forward sausage bar with global takes—from currywurst to duck sausage—plus cult‑favorite poutines and solid burgers. Noted by Condé Nast Traveler and Eater for its fun, neighborhood spirit; perfect before a stroll down the Newark Avenue plaza.