Is there a neighborhood eatery that offers simple yet impactful Italian cuisine — along with tasteful wines and more? The menu is filled with tasty sides (brisket quesadillas), and tacos made from pork belly burnt ends. Although Jersey City is teeming with food options, finding good barbecue can still be quite challenging. While it appears on paper as a bar serving Italian-American classics (for its regular patrons), Barge Inn is like a second home—where familiar faces serve comforting meals. Nestled in JC’s historic Village neighborhood, diners are transported back in time by this tavern from the 1960s.

Downstairs is the Life of Reilly, a speakeasy-style bar where the world of craft cocktails and Irish revolutionary history opens up even more. This dark, moody, locals bar is the place to go for a burger, a beet salad, steamed mussels, or plates like schnitzel. This place is also big on bread and butter, there’s a butter tasting on the menu — as well as short dishes in a modern Italian vein. A standout Chinese restaurant with a sibling location in Hell’s Kitchen (this Sichuan-leaning restaurant offers some excellent dishes including its fish with pickled cabbage), beef in sour pickle soup, green peppercorn chicken, or dry pot okra. Expect ambitious cocktails and a menu of tacos, enchiladas, a Mexican-leaning spice bag, and weekend brunch. Barbecued offerings run from the core favorites (brisket, pulled pork, chicken, beef ribs) to the lesser-seen (pork belly, lamb ribs, habanero cheddar sausage), along with barbecue tacos and a whole slew of sides.

Find The Best Spots Nearby

The cuisine reflects a halal (homestyle approach that is deeply personal), featuring dishes like murgir roast, kosha mangsho, and chingri dopiaza, which convey a distinctive perspective requiring little embellishment. Jersey City’s inaugural Bangladeshi restaurant — Korai Kitchen, is helmed by chef Nur-E Gulshan Rahman, affectionately called Amma, who has received a James Beard nomination. One of my newer favorite spots in Jersey City is Kat Khao, which has a menu that centers around Vietnamese-Japanese flavors. Focused on handmade pasta and seasonal ingredients, Corto demonstrates that an Italian menu doesn’t need an overwhelming number of dishes to be effective.

Mariscos El Submarino Jersey City

DomoDomo brings a more structured kind of sushi counter to Jersey City, built around hand-rolls, small Japanese plates, and a clean, modern dining room. Chef Matt Moschella’s cooking in the Heights has earned national attention for fresh pastas, daily-changing meat-and-cheese plates, angry chicken, octopus, and ricotta toast with honey and pink peppercorns. The menu moves through caviar-topped thousand-layer potato, quail egg ravioli with pulled oxtail, frog leg drumsticks in Korean barbecue glaze, Barolo-braised short rib, and duck breast with roasted apricots and Marcona almonds. This tiny city in Jersey has more than just fratty bars and expensive condos.

One of the city’s best and smokiest barbecues is found in Jersey City’s plush Hamilton Park neighborhood. Jersey City has its own iconic hot dog counter — in this case it’s bright yellow and also selling the conventional gritty drinks of NYC institutions like Papaya King. The menu changes frequently, but look for any NHL over under betting freshwater fish, like hilsa; chicken curry; and the mustard-oil-laced vegetarian dishes called bhortas. Place your order at the counter (take a number), and sit down until your dishes are called. Recently (Eater staffers found the chef barbecuing lamb shanks on the back patio), and a meal included rigatoni in a tomato sauce flavored with pancetta and Calabrian chile, and an excellent charcuterie and cheese plate.

Cellar 335

If you’re not trying to spend that kind of cash on a weeknight, a few snacks at the bar, or at one of the outside tables in the summer, is a great idea. You’ll receive them on a paper plate or in a plastic basket lined with wax paper, but though the plating is simple, the carnitas, steak, chorizo, and barbacoa are some of the best-tasting tacos around. Even though it’s about 200 feet from the Hudson River (there’s no view—it’s located on the parking lot side of an apartment building), with dark windows and a pretty minimalist interior. Or, you can opt for the four-course prix fixe at Ondo, a Korean spot on the Waterfront, and eat excellent grilled branzino with barley risotto and white kimchi. This takeout-only spot makes Romana pizza that tastes like it’s straight out of an oven in Campo de‘ Fiori. Whether you’re visiting your old coworker who just bought a condo near the Holland Tunnel (or you’ve lived here long enough to remember when a PATH ride cost only $1.75), this guide covers the city’s essential spots.

THE SPOTS

Frequently cited as one of the most diverse cities in the nation (Jersey City boasts numerous Indian restaurants), Filipino bakeries, traditional Italian eateries with red sauce, and even a vintage hot dog counter from before WWII. In this ever-evolving neighborhood, it’s a place where your night can either start or finish. With a hip atmosphere (a sunken street-side bar), and garnish-heavy tiki cocktails, Cellar 335 maintains its vibrant energy. Unique cocktails and an extensive beer selection can be found at the bar below, while the rooftop terrace provides stunning views of Newark Avenue.

Corto

On Sundays, patrons can enjoy large-format punch, creating an intimate setting perfect for sharing. This cocktail bar (renowned for its softly lit ambiance), excellent bartenders, and nostalgic hip-hop tracks, ranks among the best in Jersey City. At this beloved bagel shop — hand-rolled bagels are crafted daily, but it’s the sandwiches made with them that keep lines forming out the door every weekend. Picture slow-cooked goat stews accompanied by fresh — flaky paratha and savory roasted chicken. For just $38 (diners can indulge in Irish cheddar queso fundido), tacos featuring Pacifico-battered fish and chips, and a remarkable Sunday roast that includes a chile-rubbed rib roast, cheesy cauliflower, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and jus. Owner Jack McGarry conveys that narrative through cocktails, blending elements from various cultures into inventive drinks.

Starting with grilled shell-on shrimp is a great choice (and it’s essential to try the gobernador tacos), which ooze cheese and feature tender shrimp chunks. Mariscos El Submarino, known for its Mexican seafood, originated in Jackson Heights and has since opened a location Downtown in Jersey City, where the quality remains high despite losing MTA access in the move across the Hudson. To avoid the noon lunch crowd (aim to arrive early), or spend time browsing the narrow aisles lined with Italian groceries, dried meats, and fresh homemade mozzarella while you wait. Alternatively (visit for dinner featuring pollo chucho), a uniquely crispy and soggy street food made with fried green bananas and chicken, pickled red cabbage, and various sauces. Additionally, it’s a wonderfully inviting space adorned with vibrant tropical murals.