The borough of Flemington serves as the seat of Hunterdon County. Though the population of this incorporated community is less than 5,000, its central location in the Garden State allows for easy travel to other cities.
Flemington’s 18 best restaurants, listed below, include everything from diners and bakeries to fancy establishments that serve afternoon tea, fine steaks, and savory seafood.
55 Main
$$ | (908) 284-1551 | WEBSITE
Chef Jonas Gold brings a casual vibe and New American cuisine to Hunterdon County. In addition to the daily specials, the lunch menu includes a variety of salads, wraps, tacos, burgers, and hot and cold sandwiches.
The sautéed scallops, chicken balsamic, and grilled salmon rice bowl with a sesame glaze are popular lunch entrees. Dinners include General J’s chicken, grilled beef tenderloin, chicken saltimbocca, and a delicious wasabi seared tuna.
Blue Fish Grill
$$ | (908) 237-4528 | WEBSITE
The Casanovas have expanded the restaurant since its early beginnings as a small dining spot. Now located in the town’s former Stangl Factory, this casual restaurant offers seafood-inspired starters such as ahi tuna nachos and calamari, as well as their popular chicken bites with either Buffalo or Kung Pao sauce.
Dishes available from the wood-flamed grill include tuna, chicken, shrimp, salmon, and mahi-mahi, sauced with your choice of pesto butter, soy-ginger garlic, red pepper tartar, wasabi aioli, and a special sauce comprised of Unagi and teriyaki.
The burritos, tacos, bowls, and other entrees focus on popular seafood. Consider the fried chicken banh mi or crab cake sandwich, too!
Capuano’s
$$$ | (908) 782-2276 | WEBSITE
Much more than a pizza spot, this restaurant offers comprehensive lunch and dinner menus that have plenty for anyone to enjoy.
Whether you wish to begin the meal with a hot seafood antipasto, clams casino, an arugula salad, or antipasto salad, you will find them a satisfying way to get ready for the veal, chicken, pasta, and seafood options that follow.
Penne vodka pizza, chicken parmigiana pizza, and other specialty or classic pies are available. Lunch crowds enjoy the strombolis and calzones, available either in small or large size, along with the burgers, paninis, and steak sandwiches.
Country Griddle Restaurant & Bakery
$ | (908) 788-8779 | WEBSITE
For 20 years, this restaurant has attracted customers who enjoy their meals in an American-styled diner with the local flavor rarely found in franchises and fast food destinations.
Benedicts, omelettes, crepes, pancakes, Belgian waffles, French toast, and oven-baked skillets cover some of the breakfast options, with the country fried steak and eggs always a great choice.
Chicken and beef nachos, quesadillas, homemade chili and soup, and deep-fried appetizers represent some of the best meal-starters. Patrons have many sandwich selections available, including melts and triple deckers. Vegetarian options are also served.
Curry Zone
$$ | (908) 755-5000 | WEBSITE
Those who enjoy Indian and South Asian delicacies should consider visiting the Curry Zone. The tandoor items cooked in the restaurant’s clay oven include kabab, tikka, and tandoori entrees with meat, seafood, and vegetarian options.
The main course dishes come with basmati rice, and include everything from paneer butter masala and palak paneer to daal makhni and a variety of curry dishes that span from fish and lamb to mutton, goat, and chicken.
The naan, roti, and kulcha breads offer a perfect accompaniment to any meal. Egg, chicken, and vegetable fried rice dishes are also available.
Dockside Market & Grill
$$ | (908) 806-3000 | WEBSITE
Jeff Stern’s restaurant combines a nautical theme, numerous seafood dishes, as well as healthy gluten-free and vegetarian items. Lunchtime appetizers include steamed mussels from Prince Edward Island and Cajun shrimp nachos.
Follow them with shrimp udon noodles, panko crusted sea scallops, Thai shrimp, crispy coconur shrimp, or other delicious entrees.
The expanded menu adds more dishes, such as cedar plank salmon, surf & turf, filet tips and shrimp, lump crab cakes, and grilled lemon honey BBQ chicken. Expect large portions and plates that have a very nice presentation as they arrive at the table.
Dolce
$$ | (908) 237-1221 | WEBSITE
This Italian restaurant has delicious salads, as well as soup choices such as the rich vegetable-based minestroni de verdura to start your meal. Dinner dishes include pastas and other entrees, with meat, chicken, poultry, and vegetarian options available.
The chicken entrees include Framcaise, Parmigiana, Florentina, and Milanese varieties. The shrimp scampi, sole almondine, and Atlantic salmon join some well-prepared veal dishes as popular entrees.
The best-selling pastas include the whole wheat penne, tortellini carbonara, goat cheese gnocchi, and wild mushroom ravioli.
Garden State Salad
$ | (908) 751-5605 | WEBSITE
Saundra Scott opened this healthy dining spot in December 2011. For more than a decade, she has crafted some of the best wraps and salads, all with an emphasis on local produce and ingredients whenever possible during the growing season.
Grass-fed beef from a local farm is used in the burgers. The variety of toppings and house-made dressings make this inexpensive eatery a top choice for locals and visitors who crave vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free salads, wraps, and “sammys.”
Marinelli’s Pizza
$$ | (908) 806-7562 | WEBSITE
Giovanni and Caterina Marinelli have had a hand in a few Italian restaurants since moving from Italy to the United States in 1968. Since opening in 1989, Marinelli’s Pizza has offered traditional and gourmet pies.
Some of their special pizzas include the chicken vodka, cheese steak, baked ziti, and baked potato pies. Much more than a pizza place, this popular destination along State Route 12 also serves wraps, cold sandwiches, and hoagies, as well as hot grinders and calzones.
Burgers, seafood dishes, pasta, and favorites from Nonna’s kitchen round out the comprehensive selection of entrees available here.
Market Roost Restaurant, Catering & Bakery
$$ | (908) 788-4949 | WEBSITE
Carol and Norman Todd bring their baking and culinary talents and experience of more than 40 years to the area. Customers enjoy some of the most delicious cakes, cupcakes, Irish soda bread, sticky buns, tres leche cakes, gingerbread cakes, macaroons, cookies, and other sweet treats in the Garden State.
Chef’s specials include an in-house veggie and grain burger, Thai-style pork wrap, spanakopita, and fish cakes. Hot and cold sandwiches–including a rosemary focaccia, New York corn beef brisket, and maple cured ham complement the baked goods and pastries.
The restaurant has also developed a strong reputation for catering at weddings and other special events.
Matt’s Red Rooster Grill
$$$$ | (908) 788-7050 | WEBSITE
This BYOB restaurant occupies a restored Victorian home near the heart of the borough. Matt McPherson brings a special touch to preparing high-end dishes sourced from locally harvested and grown ingredients.
Whether you prefer tasty flatbread, East Coast oysters, or chicken and egg dishes delivered from a farm in nearby Griggstown, his team prepares your dish with perfect taste and presentation. Ribs, steaks, and seafood dishes have a taste that will have you toasting the kitchen with the bottle you brought.
Pork Chops BBQ
$ | (908) 237-9111 | WEBSITE
Similar to its sibling in Ewing Township, this restaurant has a reputation for good food and fast service. This restaurant’s barbeque selections go beyond the traditional southern chicken, ribs, and beef by including a number of recipes and entrees that have a distinctively Portuguese influence.
The pork skewers, empanadas, and Portuguese sausage make great starters. Sandwiches include the pulled pork and chicken versions one would expect, along with a delicious sirloin steak, febras (grilled port cutlet), and bifana (pork cutlet sauteed in wine and garlic).
Spanish rice, black beans, and plantains add to the traditional corn bread and cole slaw. The combos are always a popular item. Where else will you find a paella house special coming out of the same kitchen as short ribs?
Platform One
$$ | (908) 284-1172 | WEBSITE
This go-to spot for modern American cuisine is operated by Brendan Stokes, a chef who trained extensively in England. Nachos with ground angus beef, fried calamari, skin-on fries smothered in nacho cheese, and generous portions of battered onion rings are top options for appetizers.
In addition to the house, Cobb, and Caesar salads, diners can select the smoked salmon, Southwestern, goat cheese, and “superfood” options. Pastas run from penne vodka to mac & cheese comfort food.
Wraps, burgers, chips, cheesesteak sandwiches, and a hot roast beef a jus are some of the other menu selections diners may enjoy during their visit.
Sinbad Mediterranean Cuisine
$$ | (908) 237-3788 | WEBSITE
Known for its labneh, a thicker version of Greek yogurt, this restaurant along Highway 202 has many of the Greek and Mediterranean dishes one would expect. The hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel are other popular starters.
Kebab, falafel, and shawarma sandwiches satisfy many of the customers. Those who prefer their kebabs with rice and grilled vegetables will enjoy these fulfilling entrees.
Seafood dishes include Adam’s roasted salmon, the Prince Amir shrimp, Sabrina’s parmigiana crusted tilapia, and Tango shrimp sauteed with scallions and hot cherry peppers. Choose their rice pudding or a slice of baklava to complete your meal.
Teaberry’s Tea Room
$$$ | (908) 788-1010 | WEBSITE
With over 100 varieties of tea, this tea house offers fancy and delicious lunchtime options in a restored Victorian structure. Soup, salad, quiche, and sandwiches are available with teas to suit every taste.
Afternoon tea includes scones, desserts, and light sandwiches. Nearly 50 blended and flavored black teas, along with oolong, white, green, and ruby teas, and various fruit blends, assure that patrons have a substantial selection available for lunch, afternoon, socials, or special catering occasions.
Theresa’s Cafe
$ | (908) 788-8886 | WEBSITE
Open weekdays for breakfast and lunch and Saturdays for breakfast only, Theresa’s Cafe serves a variety of egg dishes to get you moving in the morning, along with wraps, sandwiches, French toast, and pancakes.
The seasonal chili, daily soup, burgers, paninis, and sandwiches keep lunchtime diners pleased. The tuna melt, BLT, and sloppy joe are popular sandwich choices, along with subs, lunch wraps, and salads.
Diners seeking an inexpensive option for meals with a home-cooked taste rather than fast-food redundancy will enjoy a visit to this cafe.
Village Gyro
$$ | (908) 824-7484 | WEBSITE
Located a short walk from St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, this family-owned grill and restaurant includes cooks and bakers familiar with the best dishes from Cyprus, Greece, and other Mediterranean destinations.
Breakfasts include pancakes, omelettes, and sandwiches reinforced with their strong Greek coffee. Lunch and dinner vegetarian options include the orzo, a vegetable gyro, and a falafel burger.
From the grill, diners can get gyros and souvlaki sandwiches or platters, as well as kebabs. A visit to the bakery and food market alongside the restaurant offers great selections for dining-in or to take home.
Viva Mexico
$$ | (908) 788-0744 | WEBSITE
The kitchen at VIva Mexico cooks all of the traditional Mexican dishes you expect, but in a casual-yet-classy restaurant, far better than the usual fast food venue.
The selections include tacos al pastor, chiles rellenos, a fantastic Texas burrito, flautas, chimichangas, and huevos con chorizo scrambled egg platter.
The torta Cubana offers the restaurant’s take on a Mexican variety of a Cuban sandwich with quesillo cheese, avocados, and other additions. Mole Oaxaca with its grilled chicken breast foundation and the sirloin steak Tampiqueña get top votes.
Great Garden State Eats
The 18 best restaurants in Flemington NJ satisfy a variety of tastes. Please consider visiting one of these establishments the next time your travels take you to Flemington or Hunterdon County. You will not be disappointed by the variety of menu options available in this area.
