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OT: The 27 most expensive restaurants in New Jersey

Adding to your list:

Rats - Yes
Highlawn Pavilion - Not even close
Ryland Inn - Yes
Bobby Flay Steakhouse - good, but not unique for a high-end steakhouse
 
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Agricola is considered one of the most expensive? Aren't their entrees in the 30s and 40s at their highest? That's pricey but nowhere near the real expensive places. Guess I'm just too used to NYC prices lol
 
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Bottom (beginning) of this list is fine, but what the heck is with Restaurant Latour??

I’m a self-professed foodie and I like to eat probably more than the next guy, but you gotta be out of your mind to drop $375 in NJ for a meal (assuming pre-tax & tip).
 
T2Kplus10 said:
I live next to Princeton and Elements has a very good reputation. However, it's way too gourmet for our taste, so we have never tried.
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Don’t get me wrong; it’s good. It’s better than good. But IIRC, OP asked if it’s worth it. I went for the $130 a head prix fixe menu. IMHO it’s not worth that.
 
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Rats...love it there
Bobby Flay: as Upstream said, nothing special
Stage Left, always a good meal
Nicholas good but I was not overwhelmed.
 
Brick Farm Tavern (No. 10 on this list) is incredible. Pricy, but not unfairly so. I've never left there feeling like I got ripped off.
 
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SHUSource said:
Brick Farm Tavern (No. 10 on this list) is incredible. Pricy, but not unfairly so. I've never left there feeling like I got ripped off.
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Went there for the first time a few months ago, was blown away. We are frequent customers of the Brick Farm Market down the road, so we assumed the Tavern would be outstanding!
 
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AntiG said:
Agricola is considered one of the most expensive? Aren't their entrees in the 30s and 40s at their highest? That's pricey but nowhere near the real expensive places. Guess I'm just too used to NYC prices lol
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It is because of their wine list. You can spend a lot of money there if you want to. I eat there all the time and for a decent price.
 
Listing the most expensive bottle of wine on the wine list just seems a little silly. Has only a limited bearing on the price/quality restaurant.

To disagree with some posters above, I think Bernards Inn is not worth it, Highlawn Pavillion is worth it (albeit in an old school kind of vibe), I think Ninety Acres is WAY overrated (although I had a terrible experience there, and have not gone back), and I think Nicholas is serving some of the best food you can buy in NJ.

I have mixed impressions on Jockey Hollow kitchen. I have been there many times, and I thought it was very good at first, I really think its just not good enough for the price they are charging.

Agree on Agricola. I love it there, but never even considered it to be in the company of the Nicholas, Serenade, Ryland, Jockey Hollow, etc. crowd. Its just a nice restaurant.
 
RUSK97 said:
Bottom (beginning) of this list is fine, but what the heck is with Restaurant Latour??

I’m a self-professed foodie and I like to eat probably more than the next guy, but you gotta be out of your mind to drop $375 in NJ for a meal (assuming pre-tax & tip).
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Yeah, I dropped $500 at Eleven Madison Park in NYC which was ranked the #1 restaurant in the country at the time. It sucked, not the service, the actual food. I could have had 3 to 5 delicious high end meals with my wife for that money at some of the spots we already love, so its really hard to justify that price tag unless you are loaded.
 
Also, the pricing in that article doesn't make sense. For example, for Jockey Hollow they show:

Prix Fixe party: There’s a four-course prix fixe menu for $86 and a six-course chef’s menu for $116 that jumps to $190 with wine pairings.
Dinner for two: $180

How does that add up? 2*86 is $172. $8 tip?? You are not getting out of that place for that price even if you drink water. With a "cheap" $60 bottle of wine, you are at $232 before tip.
 
AntiG said:
Yeah, I dropped $500 at Eleven Madison Park in NYC which was ranked the #1 restaurant in the country at the time. It sucked, not the service, the actual food. I could have had 3 to 5 delicious high end meals with my wife for that money at some of the spots we already love, so its really hard to justify that price tag unless you are loaded.
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really? I did the tasting menu with the wine pairing there ($350 just for me). Totally the best meal I ever had in my life. I thought it was worth every penny and could still tell you about every course I had. I didn't think anything would top my meal at Le Bernardin but EMP blew it away.

@Upstream have you been to Rat's for Mother's Day brunch? they serve it out of the kitchen so you get to see their million dollar stove and the chef's table in the kitchen (known as the Rat's Nest) and meet the chef and the staff.
 
MrsScrew said:
@Upstream have you been to Rat's for Mother's Day brunch? they serve it out of the kitchen so you get to see their million dollar stove and the chef's table in the kitchen (known as the Rat's Nest) and meet the chef and the staff.
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Is that just for Mother's Day, or do they do that for their regular Sunday Brunch too?
 
Upstream said:
Is that just for Mother's Day, or do they do that for their regular Sunday Brunch too?
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I know it's Mother's Day. May be Father's Day too. It is not done for regular Sunday brunch.

I highly recommend attending their Epicurian Palette. Its always a Sunday in September (9/23 this year). Go hungry. wear comfortable shoes. Pay the extra money for the VIP tour.

http://epicureanpalette.org/
 
Ate at Saddle River Inn maybe a decade ago and enjoyed it. Also been to Bobby Flays and The Old Homestead in AC.

Surprised Jersey City doesn't have a restaurant on this list yet.
 
These don't seem that expensive. Haven't been to many of these in a while.

I've been to Rat's a few times and always come away disappointed with the food. I want it to be great, and some of it is, but most of what I've had is decent to good. The ambiance and outside area is worth whatever they charge though.

Elements has a cheaper eatery downstairs from it. Mistral. Really enjoy it there. Food is excellent.
 
cicero grimes said:
I am surprised the concessions at HPSS did not make the list.
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Lets face facts, The food at HPSS is pedestrian. I get it your at a football game but they could offer something better than the pure crap that is served. I wish they would lease out some of the concession stands to area restaurants and let them serve whatever fare they offer, at whatever price makes sense where they can make a profit. I for one am so tired of the $8 hotdog $5 pretzel and on and on. Lets get some Bar B Que(Big Eds) a high quality place and then a healthy food vendor. Maybe even bring in a grease truck concession.
 
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Upstream said:
What does "old school kind of vibe" mean? Does that mean lack of attention to detail and resting on reputation versus actually providing excellent food and service?
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No, of course it doesn't - It just means it has an old school feel to it. Il Capriccio is the same way. Not like Agricola, which is on the other end of the spectrum as a decidedly current, hipster, farm to table kind of place.

As to your view of HP, I just haven't had that negative experience you obviously have. Although its been a couple years since I have been. At the end of the day, any restaurant is only as good as its last service. I have had lots of people tell me to go back to Ninety Acres. I am sure what I experienced there was far from the norm, but I will always have a negative view of the place.
 
AntiG said:
^ its a travesty that there's no Grease Truck stand in the stadium. Seriously, what single food represents a Rutgers specialty that works well at a ball game more than a fat sandwich?
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Yeah, pretty simple idea here. You would think someone on the RU marketing/game day experience team would have figured this one out by now.
 
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Ole Cabbagehead said:
No, of course it doesn't - It just means it has an old school feel to it. Il Capriccio is the same way. Not like Agricola, which is on the other end of the spectrum as a decidedly current, hipster, farm to table kind of place.

As to your view of HP, I just haven't had that negative experience you obviously have. Although its been a couple years since I have been. At the end of the day, any restaurant is only as good as its last service. I have had lots of people tell me to go back to Ninety Acres. I am sure what I experienced there was far from the norm, but I will always have a negative view of the place.
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Try Ninety Acres again, great place. My wife and I actually do classes at the attached cooking school as well, lots of fun.
 
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I've dined in about half of those restaurants and enjoyed each one. Some of them multiple times. I don't know if the authors actually dined at any of them though, because the prices are way off. Anyone who has been to Borgata knows that The Old Homested is pricier than Bobby Flay's. They have Flay's near the top of the price list and probably doesn't even belong on the list at all.
 
Ole Cabbagehead said:
No, of course it doesn't - It just means it has an old school feel to it. Il Capriccio is the same way. Not like Agricola, which is on the other end of the spectrum as a decidedly current, hipster, farm to table kind of place.

As to your view of HP, I just haven't had that negative experience you obviously have. Although its been a couple years since I have been. At the end of the day, any restaurant is only as good as its last service. I have had lots of people tell me to go back to Ninety Acres. I am sure what I experienced there was far from the norm, but I will always have a negative view of the place.
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I'll admit my view of the Highlawn Pavilion is tainted by a terrible experience I had at the Manor, which shares the same management. But while I found Highlawn Pavilion better than the Manor, I still was very unimpressed, especially considering the cost.
 
Upstream said:
My wife especially likes Rats in the warm weather when you can sit outside in "Monet's garden". The atmosphere alone is worth the premium, plus the food is outstanding.
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We absolutely love Rats, especially sitting outside amidst the Grounds for Sculpture homage to Monet. We go to GFS at least 1-2 times per year and usually try to eat at Rats - fabulous food. Have never tried the brunch, though, so maybe next time...
 
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Have been to about 10 of the places listed, as we spend way too much time in restaurants (mostly not high end ones). My favorites are probably Chez Catherine (everything there is usually perfect), Stage Left (always have a soft spot for this place as we've known the owners since before they were the owners), Ryland Inn and Rats, with both Ryland Inn and Rats both having some of the most impressive outdoor dining anywhere in NJ. Kind of surprised Frog & The Peach didn't make the list. .
 
Took the family, grandparents and a nanny to the River Palm for a graduation, everybody loved everything.
 
Used to go to the Ryland Inn 50 years ago (not a typo). It was great then, and glad to see it is still great today.

Overall, I agree that most of these restaurants are not expensive given the prices listed, but I expect my actual cost would be 40-50 dollars higher.
 
In general steak houses are a complete rip off. They sell atmosphere mostly. I've never had a steak at any high end place better than I can make myself at a fraction of the cost. Buy great meat. Season it right and you can do the same for 1/4 of the price.
 
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