Dine at one of the many celebrity chef-owned restaurants in New Jersey
🍔 New Jersey is home to many celebrity chef-owned restaurants
🍔 They range in cuisines
🍔 You'll find them from Atlantic City to West New York
“Where do you want to go out to dinner tonight?” Couples and friends often ask this question as the weekend approaches.
Nobody has an idea, so you go to the same restaurant, as always. Does this scenario sound familiar?
Why not shake things up this holiday season by going to a celebrity chef-owned restaurant in New Jersey? There’s a lot to choose from with different cuisines available.
David Burke
David Burke, a Hazlet native known for his appearance on the reality TV show, "Iron Chef America," has 10 restaurants in the Garden State.
Chateau Grande Hotel, 670 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick
Orchard Park serves modern American cuisine with a seasonal menu highlighted by cuts of steak.
67 E Park Place, Morristown
1776 brings a modern, hip dining experience to Morristown with seasonal foods and a David Burke twist.
What’s cool about this place is The 1776 Topgolf Swing Suite. It’s a great place to practice golf swings, hold corporate events, celebrate birthdays, or just relax. The primary menu for the Topgolf Swing Suite includes sushi, cocktails, and beer offerings.
26 Ridge Road, Rumson
The Bernards Inn, 27 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville
Red Horse by David Burke has two locations to enjoy modern-American steakhouse cuisine with Asian influences. Enjoy creations such as Himalayan salt dry-aged steaks, sushi, small plates, seared day boat scallops, rock shrimp, and more.
The restaurant in Bernardsville has an extensive wine list, including bottles dating back to 1897.
200 Park Avenue, Fort Lee
This David Burke restaurant serves modern American, Asian, and Latin-Fusion fare.
1411 NJ-36, Union Beach
The GOAT by David Burke is a wood-burning Italian-American cuisine restaurant.
Driftwood Cabana Club, 1485 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright
Drifthouse is an upscale coastal restaurant with a seafood-focused menu.
Grandview II Riverwalk Condo, 40-4 Riverwalk Place, West New York
This Cuban supper club provides an atmosphere dedicated to the 1950s Cuban era of glamour, elegance, music, dancing, flavors, style, entertainment, and heritage. Enjoy the open-air setting, vintage décor, live music, and modern Cuban-influenced cuisine, all while taking in a full view of the Manhattan skyline.
19 Valley Street, South Orange
Just one mile from Seton Hall University, The Fox and Falcon is a go-to-tavern for everyone from solo diners to family get-togethers. David Burke’s modern American menu features classics such as clothesline bacon, lobster dumplings, Burke's legendary dry-aged, prime “Foxy Cheeseburger,” a sushi menu, and more.
There’s a happy hour menu Monday through Friday with small plates and discounted cocktails. It also offers a reasonably-priced, prix fixe menu available from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for theater and college sports nights.
David Burke’s Dixie Lee Bakery
303 Main Street, Keansburg
Okay, it’s not a restaurant, but this David Burke bakery is about celebrating old traditions and creating new ones.
“My grandfather took my mother to Dixie Lee when she was a little girl to buy pastries.
Looking forward to creating new memories for families for years to come, said Burke on the bakery's website.
Marcus Samuelsson
This Ethiopian-born Swedish-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and television personality is best known as a longstanding judge on the hit Food Network show, “Chopped,” head judge of “Top Chef: Family Style,” and an iron chef on Netflix’s rebooted “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend.”
Samuelsson has two restaurants in New Jersey
The Grand Court, 56 Halsey Street, Newark
Vibe BBQ is a quick-serve restaurant featuring American comfort classics, putting house-smoked meats at the center of it all.
Samuelsson explains his love for BBQ via a statement on the restaurant's website.
“I’ve been in this country over 30 years, and BBQ has been one of the cuisines that I have loved most. It’s a food that is known as classic American, but it’s also about the culture, the taste, the feel, and the vibe for me. Eating with hands, eating outside, eating in someone’s backyard with family and friends. I’m drawn to the vibe of BBQ which is where the name comes from. BBQ culture lives here like nowhere else.”
American Dream, 1 American Dream Way, East Rutherford
Marcus Live! Bar & Grille inside American Dream features a wide range of funky, casual classics to an assortment of steaks and grill options, to a selection of Samuelsson’s signature dishes like fried chicken and cornbread waffles. The place also has a nice wine list, craft beers, and cocktails.
Gordon Ramsay
This multi-Michelin-starred British celebrity chef, restaurateur, and television presenter has starred in “Hell’s Kitchen,” “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares,” and “The F Word.” Ramsay is known for his abrupt, strict, aggressive, and yes, mean culinary comments, often laced with profanity toward competition participants.
Ramsay owns two restaurants in New Jersey.
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, 777 Harrah’s Boulveard, Atlantic City
If the name didn’t give it away, Ramsay and Caesars Entertainment have partnered for his steakhouse concept in the iconic seaside gaming resort.
Enjoy prime beef, caviar, Ramsay’s iconic beef wellington, and more.
Caesars Atlantic City, 2100 Pacific Avenue, Atlantic City
An authentic British pub experience, this restaurant is modeled after the famous concept brought by Ramsay to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The Atlantic City menu features British pub favorites like shepherd’s pie, ale-battered fish and chips, and beef wellington.
Michael Symon
James Beard award-winning Chef Michael Symon shares his cooking style with viewers as an Iron Chef on the Food Network, “Burgers, Brew & ‘Que,” and as ABC’s resident chef. He’s also a former co-host of the Emmy-winning TV show, “The Chew.”
Symon owns one restaurant in New Jersey.
Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City
This Italian restaurant serves classic dishes made with family recipes, including Mother Angeline’s Sunday sauce. The menu also features homemade pasta, red-sauce style favorites, wood-fired steaks, seafood, and Sunday Supper. Enjoy prosciutto, ricotta, sweet hot peppers, Caesar salad, garlic bread, cavatelli, sausage and peppers, “mom’s” meatballs, and strawberry cassata cake.
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck is an Austrian chef and restaurateur who was pivotal in the rise of California cuisine during the 1970s. One of his signature dishes at his original restaurant, Spago, on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, is house-smoked salmon pizza.
He’s also launched modern fusion cuisine by combining classic French techniques with California and Asian influences.
Wolfgang Puck has one restaurant in New Jersey.
Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City
American Bar and Grille offers contemporary American cuisine in an upscale setting. It mixes modern and classic recipes while paying homage to the special flavors of the Northeast. The restaurant is Chef Puck’s first East Coast venture.
“New Jersey’s famous tomatoes, corn, and local selections of fresh seafood are found in several of the menu items influenced by the Garden State,” according to the website.
Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri is a chef, restaurateur, New York Times best-selling author, and Emmy Award-winning TV host who is one of the most recognizable culinary stars in the world. In 2006, Fieri won Food Network’s competition show, “Next Food Network Star.” He was awarded his own series, “Guy’s Big Bite.”
Since then, he has hosted top-rated TV shows including the Emmy-nominated “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “Guy’s Grocery Games,” “Tournament of Champions,” and “Guy’s Ranch Kitchen.”
Guy Fieri has two restaurants in New Jersey.
Flavortown Kitchen by Guy Fieri
Newark Liberty International Airport, 3 Brewster Road, Newark
Located inside the airport’s Terminal A, the restaurant takes its name from a reference to “Flavortown” by Fieri on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”
The restaurant offers an all-day menu that includes dishes inspired by Fieri’s personality such as Trash Can Nachos, Ain’t No Thing Butta Chicken Wing, and Motley Que Pulled Pork Sandwich.
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, 777 Harrah’s Boulevard, Atlantic City
This one-of-a-kind chicken tender restaurant created by Fieri features signature sandwiches, chicken tender combos, sides, salad bowls, and 22 signature sauces, including Fieri’s special sauce (mayo, ketchup, mustard and pickle juice). The chicken tenders are brined in fresh lemon juice, pickle brine, and buttermilk, and infused with fresh herbs.
Bobby Flay
Chef Bobby Flay, who was the first chef to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is known for craving one thing even when he’s working in the kitchens of fine-dining restaurants, and that’s a burger.
In his Food Network Show, “Food Nation,” Flay traveled across the U.S. sampling foods of many cultures. He has combined his favorite dishes and love of the grill to come up with a very unique American cuisine menu.
He has written 16 cookbooks and has won five daytime Emmy awards, too.
Flay has one restaurant in New Jersey, however, Bobby Flay Steak is available at multiple New Jersey locations.
Bobby’s Burgers at Harrah’s Atlantic City
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, 777 Harrah’s Boulevard, Atlantic City
Here, guests can find classic flavors, as well as burgers with a twist, such as Bobby Blue and Bacon Burger topped with blue cheese sauce and bacon, or the Nacho Burger with hot queso and jalapenos.
Bobby’s fries can be topped with cheese and bacon, or try the sweet potato fries, or buttermilk onion rings to compliment that burger.
Wonder is a new kind of dining experience where they replicate restaurant-quality dining and make it available for pick-up, delivery or dine-in at one of their locations. Flay is one of the many partners who has worked with Wonder to recreate some of the most popular dishes from his restaurant Bobby Flay Steak.
There are 10 Wonder locations in New Jersey all serving Bobby Flay Steak.
210 South Avenue West, Westfield
221 River Street, Hoboken
219 Morris Avenue, Springfield
80 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park
1 Union Avenue, Cresskill
461 Route 10, Roxbury
1 Teterboro Landing Drive, Teterboro
36 South Street, New Providence
8119 Town Center Way, Livingston
148 Center Grove Road, Randolph
More New Jersey locations, including in Toms River, Cherry Hill, Middletown, Parsippany, and Green Brook, are coming in 2025.
Bon Appetit!
Report a correction | Contact our newsroom
Best Mexican restaurants in NJ, according to residents
Gallery Credit: Dino Flammia
More From New Jersey 101.5 FM
