NJ farm-to-table: Savor fresh dishes at these 10 restaurants

🍅 Farm-to-table dining is vibrant in New Jersey

🍅 Many menu ingredients are locally sourced

🍅 Here are 10 top farm-to-table restaurants in the Garden State

For those who like farm-fresh food and ingredients when they dine out, you’ll be happy to know that New Jersey has a vibrant farm-to-table dining scene with many restaurants committed to sourcing local and seasonal ingredients.

Here are 10 farm-to-table restaurants to check out in the Garden State.

Semolina Restaurant

13 White St., Red Bank

This “farm-to-table restaurant serving simple cuisine in a casual setting” is a BYOB. Guests love the contemporary Italian dishes such as bucatini pasta (local foraged mushrooms, mascarpone, herbs, and parmesan Reggiano), and pasta with clam shells (local chopped clams, n’duja, lemon, toasted garlic, and oreganato crumbs).

Il Nido

184 Route 9 North, Willow Point, Marlboro

This local Monmouth County restaurant elevates traditional Italian cuisine by integrating high-quality, locally sourced ingredients. Be sure to try the Jersey scallops with raisins, almonds, and cauliflower. The coffee-rubbed pork is made with celery root, brussels sprouts, and chestnuts.

Heirloom Kitchen

3853 County Rd 516, Old Bridge

This farm-to-table restaurant also has a cooking school, offering cooking classes every Sunday morning, and Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. The open kitchen design offers an intimate dining experience. Heirloom Kitchen is committed to sourcing the best quality ingredients and creating both elevated and interactive dining experiences.

Dishes include Lobster Gnudi (ricotta, and parmesan saffron foam), Trout (badger flame beet, Yukon potatoes, mustard onion, buttermilk, and smoked trout roe), and Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake (toasted marshmallow ice cream and graham crackers)
There is also a seven-course chef’s tasting menu available on Sundays.

12 Farms Restaurant

120 N Main St, Hightstown

Dedicated to sourcing ingredients from local farms, this cash-only restaurant serves up American dishes in a relaxing setting with takeout fare, and a BYBOB policy. The chef thrives on grass-fed, grass-finished beef, the freshest seafood, and local ingredients to bring these diverse and creative menus. They cater to every palate including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.

Enjoy The Jersey Tomato Panini (avocado, thick-sliced bacon, pine nut basil pesto aioli), The Garden State Panini (julienned spring onion, roasted red pepper, red kale, roasted garlic hummus, and focaccia), farm fresh burgers, and local farmstead cheese platters.

The Frog and The Peach

29 Dennis St, New Brunswick

Established in 1983, this restaurant has long been committed to serving local farm and fishery fare. In 2012, Executive Chef Bruce Lefebvre purchased the restaurant and stayed true to the authenticity of the Garden State’s world-class agriculture and fisheries.

Enjoy local sea scallops served with butternut squash, brussels sprouts, pickled shallots, and white peppercorn sauce, or the New York Strip Steak which is house-smoked, and served with creamed spinach gratin, gaufrette potato, and bordelaise. The black truffle ricotta gnocchi is served with traviso, walnuts, tartufo, and squash broth.

Ninety Acres

200 Natirar Dr., Peapack

Set within the Natirar estate, Ninety Acres offers a farm-to-table experience with a focus on sustainability. The menu features upscale New American cuisine sourced from an on-site farm on this palatial estate, with a massive wine list.

Notable dishes include the burrata (almonds, asparagus and white asparagus, arugula, and mint), Porcelet Pork Rack (roasted yams, port wine onions, buckwheat, and sunflower seed mélange), and the Pan-Seared Salmon (white beans, preserved peppers and celery in a tomato-mussel broth).

Agricola Eatery

11 Witherspoon St., Princeton

Agricola means “farmer” in Latin. This restaurant features fresh, local ingredients in its dishes. This modern restaurant has an open kitchen and a hip and rustic atmosphere, too.

“Using fresh ingredients from local farms, we serve food that brings people together to laugh, share and celebrate. Good food translates to memorable moments and we encourage you to delight in both as we build on the traditions of community, farming and breaking bread with friendly faces,” the restaurant website reads.

Enjoy dishes like Local Yellowfin Tuna Tartare (avocado, deviled egg, sliced watermelon radish, and filone crisps), Local Mushroom Flatbread (spinach, asparagus, Fulper Farms ricotta cheese, local egg, and Pecorino Romano), and Local Caught Seared Halibut (crispy fried polenta, hakurai turnips and greens, harissa, hen of the woods mushrooms).

Catherine’s Farm to Table

1001 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant

Catherine’s Farm to Table is a charming restaurant in Point Pleasant that is dedicated to serving fresh locally-sourced ingredients that are carefully selected from nearby farms.

The menu is carefully curated to reflect the seasonal availability of ingredients. The rustic décor compliments the farm-to-table concept.

Dishes to try include truffle mac n cheese, bacon steak, brown sugar-brined pork chops, miso cod, and a house salad made with carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion and a carrot-ginger dressing.

Beach Plum Farm

140 Stevens St., West Cape May

This working farm, market and restaurant offers a farm-to-table dining experience. It spans over 62 acres and grows more than 100 types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as well as raising chickens, pigs, and turkeys. The farm also supplies fresh ingredients to several local Cape May restaurants including The Ebbitt Room and The Blue Pig Tavern.

The on-site restaurant offers seasonal farm-to-table meals, often served in an outdoor, rustic setting. The dining experience features multi-course farm dinners with ingredients grown and raised on the farm. Meals are also served communal-style, meaning guests often dine at long tables, creating a social, communal experience.

Brick Farm Tavern

130 Hopewell-Rocky Hill Rd, Hopewell

Located on Double Brook Farm within an 1800s farmhouse, this restaurant offers a unique pasture-to-table dining experience by sourcing ingredients. The menu showcases the freshest produce, proteins, and dairy, emphasizing seasonal and sustainable dishes.

Try fried gouda balls (with house-made tartar sauce, and the house-pickled vegetable of the season), the Point Pleasant Black Bass (roasted broccolini and sunchokes, and forbidden black rice), Heritage Pork Schnitzel (with parsley-butter rigatoni, garlic sauteed green beans, and house gravy) and Grass-Fed Filet Mignon (truffle parm-fingerlings, grilled scallion, pepper-onion medley, and mushroom bordelaise).

Enjoy the freshness these restaurants have to offer.

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