This New NJ Restaurant Named Among 50 Best in the U.S. 2023

If you love to explore new restaurants in New Jersey, you've gotta add this place to your list.

The culinary scene in New Jersey is making headlines with the emergence of a new restaurant, recently honored as one of the best in the United States for 2023.

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Esquire just released their list of the 50 Best New Restaurants in the United States for 2023, and one of them is in Monmouth County!

Lita - Aberdeen New Jersey

Huge congrats to Lita in Aberdeen, New Jersey - one of the BEST new restaurants in the entire country this year, according to Esquire. They just opened in April and they're already making their mark.

Located at 1055 NJ-34, Lita is a modern, Iberian restaurant that stands as not just a place for thoughtful, high quality foods, but as an embodiment of the story of an immigrant family. Co-owner, and former "Top Chef" competitor Chef David Viana named the restaurant after his mother Rosa Lita, who immigrated from Portugal to Newark in the 1970's.

Here's a piece of what Esquire has to say about this place:

"The hearth at Lita sees constant tending with a vigorously waved fan, the feeding of charcoal with a shovel, the movement of chicken and octopus. It is the thing you least expect to see inside a strip mall in central Jersey next to an old bowling alley, but then again, no one expected that a destination-worthy Iberian restaurant would be here."

Their "Three Course Prix Fixe" features food prepared largely in their hearth in the middle of the restaurant:

"Guests will start with ‘Essenciales’, a highly shareable collection of Spanish and Portuguese light bites and tapas, before diving into a bevy of charred vegetables, rich stews, fresh seafood and iconic meat dishes including piri piri chicken and bitoque. Lita’s signature paellas are classically prepared in the hearth oven for the very best crispy crunchy socarrat."

This clearly isn't just a restaurant - it's an experience. And it definitely deserves a top spot on your "must-try" list. Gotta try their paella!

Have you been to Lita yet? Give us your verdict!