New Jersey’s dining scene turned in a historic showing in Wine Spectator’s 2026 Restaurant Awards, with 83 honors landing across the state as part of a global program that recognized 4,012 restaurants spanning all 50 states and more than 85 countries. Eleven of New Jersey’s honorees are earning the distinction for the very first time this year, while dozens of others have built winning streaks stretching back a decade or more, some all the way to the program’s earliest years.
Winning one of these awards is a far more demanding process than simply keeping a well-stocked bar. Restaurants must pay an entry fee and submit their actual physical menus and complete wine inventories for review, and Wine Spectator’s editors then judge those submissions against a specific, exacting set of standards. Winning lists must offer at least 90 to 100 benchmark selections, demonstrate a thoughtful pairing between the wine program and the food menu itself, show evidence that inventory is being kept in proper cellaring conditions rather than simply stored, and present that information with flawless formatting, down to accurate producers, vintages, and regions for every bottle listed. Wine Spectator’s editor and publisher has described the industry itself as being in the middle of a real transformation, with diners growing more selective about when, how, and what they drink, pushing restaurants to respond with more creative and well-considered wine programs as a result.
Below is the full, complete list of every New Jersey winner this year, organized by region so it’s easy to find what’s near you. Restaurants marked as first-time honorees are earning recognition for the first time in 2026; every other listing includes the year its current winning streak began.
The State’s Only Grand Award Winner
Out of more than four thousand restaurants that submitted programs for consideration worldwide, only 99 venues anywhere earned Wine Spectator’s top-tier Grand Award, the most exclusive distinction the program gives out. New Jersey has exactly one.
- The Pluckemin Inn — Bedminster (winning since 2011)
North Jersey
- 1776 — Morristown (since 2023)
- Artemio’s Prime and Proper — Ringwood (since 2025)
- Battello — Jersey City (since 2019)
- Berta’s Chateau — Wanaque (since 1991)
- Blu on the Hudson — Weehawken (since 2025)
- Brazeiro Churrascaria — North Bergen (since 2023)
- Court Street Restaurant & Bar — Hoboken (since 2016)
- Del Frisco’s Grille — Hoboken (since 2016)
- Drift Restaurant & Bar — Weehawken (since 2025)
- Eddie V’s Prime Seafood — Paramus (since 2023)
- Faubourg — Montclair (first-time honoree)
- Halifax Restaurant — Hoboken (since 2024)
- Ho-Ho-Kus Inn & Tavern — Ho-Ho-Kus (since 2012)
- Hudson & Co. — Jersey City (since 2025)
- Hunan Taste — Denville (since 2007)
- Il Capriccio Ristorante — Whippany (since 2016)
- Molos Restaurant — Weehawken (since 2017)
- Morton’s The Steakhouse — Hackensack (since 2016)
- Nero’s Grille — Livingston (since 2018)
- Nostrana Ristorante — Boonton (since 2025)
- Oceanos Oyster Bar & Sea Grill — Fair Lawn (since 2023)
- Rails Steakhouse — Towaco (since 2016)
- Red Horse by David Burke — Bernardsville (since 2024)
- Restaurant Latour, Crystal Springs Resort — Hamburg (since 2006)
- River Palm Terrace — Edgewater (since 2022)
- River Pointe Inn — Rumson (since 2025)
- Seasons 52 — Paramus (since 2023) and Hanover (since 2023)
- Son Cubano — West New York (since 2021)
- Sorellina Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar — Hoboken (since 2017)
- Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas — Clifton (since 2022)
- The Capital Grille — Paramus (since 2024) and Parsippany (since 2021)
- The Feathered Fox — Jersey City (first-time honoree)
- Undici Taverna Rustica — Rumson (since 2009)
- Ventanas Restaurant & Lounge — Fort Lee (since 2019)
Central Jersey
- Americana Kitchen and Bar — East Windsor (since 2024)
- Brick Farm Tavern — Hopewell (first-time honoree)
- Cree Wine Co. — Hampton (since 2023)
- Eddie V’s Prime Seafood — Princeton and Cherry Hill (since 2024)
- La Griglia Seafood Grill & Wine Bar — Kenilworth (since 2004)
- Ristorante Da Benito — Union (first-time honoree)
- Ristorante Lucca — Bordentown (since 2024)
- Seasons 52 — Edison (since 2014), Princeton (since 2015), and Bridgewater (since 2016)
- Stage Left Steak — New Brunswick (since 2001)
- Stockton Inn — Stockton (since 2025)
- The Clinton House — Clinton (since 2020)
- The Frog and the Peach — New Brunswick (since 2016)
- The Perch — Princeton (since 2025)
- The Sergeantsville Inn — Sergeantsville (first-time honoree)
- Uproot — Warren (since 2024)
- Water & Wine Ristorante-Taverna — Watchung (since 2006)
- Witherspoon Grill — Princeton (since 2008)
South Jersey & The Shore
- Amada, Ocean Casino Resort — Atlantic City (since 2024)
- American Bar & Grille, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa — Atlantic City (since 2022)
- Angeline by Michael Symon, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa — Atlantic City (since 2018)
- Avalon Prime Steakhouse — Avalon (since 2016)
- B Prime Steakhouse, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa — Atlantic City (since 2023)
- Bacari Grill — Washington Township (since 2000)
- Birravino — Red Bank (since 2015)
- Caffe Aldo Lamberti — Cherry Hill (since 2008)
- Capriccio, Resorts Casino Hotel — Atlantic City (since 2017)
- Council Oak Steaks & Seafood, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino — Atlantic City (since 2024)
- Judy’s — Asbury Park (first-time honoree)
- Knife and Fork Inn — Atlantic City (since 2009)
- Kuro, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino — Atlantic City (since 2025)
- Linguini by the Sea, Ocean Casino Resort — Atlantic City (since 2021)
- Lita — Aberdeen Township (first-time honoree)
- Morton’s The Steakhouse, Caesars — Atlantic City (since 2016)
- Ocean Steak, Ocean Casino Resort — Atlantic City (first-time honoree)
- Old Homestead Steak House, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa — Atlantic City (since 2006)
- Rat’s Restaurant — Hamilton Township (since 2023)
- The Blue Pig Tavern — Cape May (first-time honoree)
- The Capital Grille — Cherry Hill (first-time honoree)
- The Ebbitt Room — Cape May (since 2017)
- The Palm Atlantic City, Tropicana Casino & Resort — Atlantic City (since 2020)
- Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse, Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino — Atlantic City (since 2015)
- Washington Inn — Cape May (since 2021)
What This Year’s List Says About New Jersey Dining
Taken as a whole, this year’s 83 winners tell a clear story about where New Jersey’s wine culture currently stands. The presence of a single Grand Award winner in Bedminster shows that the state can compete at the very highest level the industry recognizes, while the sheer volume and geographic spread of Award of Excellence and Best of Award of Excellence winners, from Hoboken’s waterfront to Cape May’s historic inns, demonstrates that serious wine curation is no longer confined to a handful of marquee destinations. The strong number of first-time debuts across every region, along with winning streaks stretching back to the early 1990s at spots like Berta’s Chateau in Wanaque, together paint a picture of a state that has both a deep bench of long-established wine programs and a steady pipeline of new restaurants stepping up to meet that same standard. For diners across New Jersey, this year’s list offers something close to a curated map of where the most ambitious food and wine pairings can currently be found, from a quiet inn in Hunterdon County to a casino steakhouse on the Atlantic City boardwalk to the state’s singular Grand Award winner tucked into the hills of Somerset County.
