The Best Central NJ Bars and Pubs
Your Guide To The Best Central NJ Bars Features Sports Bars, Irish pubs, Country Bars, German Beer Gardens, and Singles Bars in New Jersey
Realizing of course that selecting "The Best" can be subjective, as patrons have they likes and dislikes about what they are attracted to. Having said that, we base our criteria on those establishments that attract patrons who come primarily for what the Bar offers. While the large majority of the bars are part of a larger restaurant with food served, though the availability of good food is certainly a plus, it's not at the top of the list of the criteria.
The selection for "The Best" is focused on the Bar's variety and quality of the alcoholic beverages, the bar related amenities such as ambiance, friendliness, service, music, being seated at or near the Bar, and in the case of sports bars, large screen TV's, and more.
These Bars aren't necessarily the biggest, most fashionable, or glitziest bars
---they are just the best!
Note: Sometimes conditions require cancellations or changes of dates, times and location which are not reflected in the original schedule. Before planning a trip to visit one of the listed events, it is suggested that you call the event sponsor to confirm the event schedule or for additional information on the event.
Top Central Jersey Bars and Pubs
Alchemist & Barrister
28 Witherspoon St
Princeton, NJ
(609) 924-5555
Website
Locals refer to this spot as the "Cheers of Princeton" with ambiance resembling an old English pub.
This full service vibrant bar offers over fifty craft, domestic, and imported beers on tap and in bottles, and a decent selection of speciality cocktails, whiskies, and scotches.
28 Witherspoon St
Princeton, NJ
(609) 924-5555
Website
Locals refer to this spot as the "Cheers of Princeton" with ambiance resembling an old English pub.
This full service vibrant bar offers over fifty craft, domestic, and imported beers on tap and in bottles, and a decent selection of speciality cocktails, whiskies, and scotches.
Asbury Ale House
531 Cookman Avenue
Asbury Park, NJ
Website
Asbury Ale House is known as one of the Jersey Shore's premier sports bars. They show ervery game on over 40 HD TVs with 2 masive TV walls hung with eight 75 Inch TV's. They have over 60 different draft beers on tap with continually rotating local micro brews.
531 Cookman Avenue
Asbury Park, NJ
Website
Asbury Ale House is known as one of the Jersey Shore's premier sports bars. They show ervery game on over 40 HD TVs with 2 masive TV walls hung with eight 75 Inch TV's. They have over 60 different draft beers on tap with continually rotating local micro brews.
Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten
527 Lake Avenue
Asbury Park
Website
The Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten is modeled after the biergartens that are popular throughout the Austria and Hungarian regions of Europe.
They ferature communal tables where friends and soon-to-be-new-friends mingle in a lively, friendly atmosphere energized by a regular schedule of live & local music. The establishment features a 9,000 square foot outdoor rooftop Biergarten and 6,000 square foot indoor halle. To enhance the festive atmosphere they serve over 100 varieties of popular and hard to find imported and domestic beers, 39 premium draft beers.
527 Lake Avenue
Asbury Park
Website
The Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten is modeled after the biergartens that are popular throughout the Austria and Hungarian regions of Europe.
They ferature communal tables where friends and soon-to-be-new-friends mingle in a lively, friendly atmosphere energized by a regular schedule of live & local music. The establishment features a 9,000 square foot outdoor rooftop Biergarten and 6,000 square foot indoor halle. To enhance the festive atmosphere they serve over 100 varieties of popular and hard to find imported and domestic beers, 39 premium draft beers.
Bar Anticipation
703 16th Ave.
Lake Como, NJ
Website
Bar Anticipation is one of the Jersey Shore's top year round bar, dance, and entertainment destinations.The 25,000 sq ft facility offers many diverse dining experiences and environments, including the 30ft stone fireplace, the elegance of the new Mahogany Room. They have events every night of the week with great happy hours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Performers are national acts. In the warmer months, Bar Anticipation opens their outdoor Grotto Beach tropical oasis complete with beautiful flora, live palm trees, towering rocks, fire and water falls., two "living rooms", three private VIP cabanas, outdoor bars & dance floor, and flat screen televisions in every custom cabana. volley ball courts., and all the trimmings of a Las Vegas hot spot.
703 16th Ave.
Lake Como, NJ
Website
Bar Anticipation is one of the Jersey Shore's top year round bar, dance, and entertainment destinations.The 25,000 sq ft facility offers many diverse dining experiences and environments, including the 30ft stone fireplace, the elegance of the new Mahogany Room. They have events every night of the week with great happy hours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Performers are national acts. In the warmer months, Bar Anticipation opens their outdoor Grotto Beach tropical oasis complete with beautiful flora, live palm trees, towering rocks, fire and water falls., two "living rooms", three private VIP cabanas, outdoor bars & dance floor, and flat screen televisions in every custom cabana. volley ball courts., and all the trimmings of a Las Vegas hot spot.
The Boat House
8 1/2 Coryell St
Lambertville, NJ
(609) 397-2244
Facebook page
This cozy, maritime "boat house" themed bar is joyfully eccentric. It's a great place to spend a couple hours with friends to meet up for drinks.The nautical decor overwhelms the ambiance in a delghtful way with paintings of boats, model boats, boat signs, and other memorabilia.The 2 story bar has a cast iron pot belly stove, with the 2nd floor seating on sofas, chairs & tables.
There's no food, no TVs, and you're not allowed to stand; patrons must be seated (if every seat is taken, you'll have to wait in line until someone leaves)..
8 1/2 Coryell St
Lambertville, NJ
(609) 397-2244
Facebook page
This cozy, maritime "boat house" themed bar is joyfully eccentric. It's a great place to spend a couple hours with friends to meet up for drinks.The nautical decor overwhelms the ambiance in a delghtful way with paintings of boats, model boats, boat signs, and other memorabilia.The 2 story bar has a cast iron pot belly stove, with the 2nd floor seating on sofas, chairs & tables.
There's no food, no TVs, and you're not allowed to stand; patrons must be seated (if every seat is taken, you'll have to wait in line until someone leaves)..
Clydz
55 Paterson St.
New Brunswick, NJ
Website
Clydz is a very popular hang out for the 21+ Rutgers crowd and professional business people who enjoy a vibrant happy hour with large drink portions, especially the martini's.
The ambiance is energetic, with a speakeasy vibe, complete with fish tanks and fireplaces. They specialize in serving a variety of artisanal cocktails and a casual contemporary American menu. The main attraction is their talented bartenders who create inspirational specialty cocktails.
tt's a popular singles bar during Monday - Friday Happy Hour from 4pm to 7pm.
55 Paterson St.
New Brunswick, NJ
Website
Clydz is a very popular hang out for the 21+ Rutgers crowd and professional business people who enjoy a vibrant happy hour with large drink portions, especially the martini's.
The ambiance is energetic, with a speakeasy vibe, complete with fish tanks and fireplaces. They specialize in serving a variety of artisanal cocktails and a casual contemporary American menu. The main attraction is their talented bartenders who create inspirational specialty cocktails.
tt's a popular singles bar during Monday - Friday Happy Hour from 4pm to 7pm.
Dublin House Restaurant & Pub
30 Monmouth St
Red Bank, NJ
Website
A popular downtown Red Bank Irish Pub with plenty of Guinness and Irish Beers on tap. It's especially popular on St. Patrick's Day and for watching Irish soccer, rugby, and the World Cup. In the warmer months you can eat out and have drinks on the attractive back patio.
The Dublin House has a true pub feel with a cozy, if not plain, dining room with a fireplace. The bar is nice and long, with a narrow counter bar with additional stools and the coolest accents of half-cut beer barrels.
They serve a good selection of domestic & imported beers.The offer good food with selections of traditional Irish fare, and live Music on Thursdays, with comedy Nights, and summer Sunday night live music in the Temple bar, and happy hour from 4 pm to 6 p.m, Monday - Friday.
30 Monmouth St
Red Bank, NJ
Website
A popular downtown Red Bank Irish Pub with plenty of Guinness and Irish Beers on tap. It's especially popular on St. Patrick's Day and for watching Irish soccer, rugby, and the World Cup. In the warmer months you can eat out and have drinks on the attractive back patio.
The Dublin House has a true pub feel with a cozy, if not plain, dining room with a fireplace. The bar is nice and long, with a narrow counter bar with additional stools and the coolest accents of half-cut beer barrels.
They serve a good selection of domestic & imported beers.The offer good food with selections of traditional Irish fare, and live Music on Thursdays, with comedy Nights, and summer Sunday night live music in the Temple bar, and happy hour from 4 pm to 6 p.m, Monday - Friday.
River Rock Restaurant & Marina Bar
1600 Route 70
Brick, NJ
(732) 840-1110
Website
Located on the Manasquan River, this full-service restaurant and bar has four bar areas with 20 taps and a variety of great cocktails and premium spirits. Entertainment features nightly events, including cover bands, DJs, bar bingo, trivia night, and comedy shows. Additionally they have 44 large TV's with sports packages, and an outdoor Tiki bar, and live music stage.
1600 Route 70
Brick, NJ
(732) 840-1110
Website
Located on the Manasquan River, this full-service restaurant and bar has four bar areas with 20 taps and a variety of great cocktails and premium spirits. Entertainment features nightly events, including cover bands, DJs, bar bingo, trivia night, and comedy shows. Additionally they have 44 large TV's with sports packages, and an outdoor Tiki bar, and live music stage.
Stone Pony
913 Ocean Ave
Asbury Park, NJ
Website
The Stone Pony ia an Asbury Park landmark. It's a place where top performers have played including Jersey Shore's own Bruce Springsteen.and South Side Johnny.
A great place for year round band performances.. Take a tour inside and see memorabilia and well known singers' guitars on display on the walls.This iconic bar also has a special stage set up outdoors in in the summer for concerts that attract top performers.
913 Ocean Ave
Asbury Park, NJ
Website
The Stone Pony ia an Asbury Park landmark. It's a place where top performers have played including Jersey Shore's own Bruce Springsteen.and South Side Johnny.
A great place for year round band performances.. Take a tour inside and see memorabilia and well known singers' guitars on display on the walls.This iconic bar also has a special stage set up outdoors in in the summer for concerts that attract top performers.
St. Stephen's Green Publick House
2031 Rt 71
Spring Lake Heights, NJ
Website
Located in the Spring Lake shore area known as the "Irish Riviera". With many of the patrons having been to Ireland, they know they have to be authentic to succeed. It's one of the best places on the shore to hear traditional Irish music every Tuesday & Sunday Nights. They feature drafts from local breweries like Kane and Flying Fish right alongside Irish favorites like Guinness and Harp and lesser-known Irish brews like Murphy's, Magners, and Kilkenny. It's set in a large quaint old house with ambiance that is consummate Irish pub with dark woods, cushioned bar stools, and a fireplace.
2031 Rt 71
Spring Lake Heights, NJ
Website
Located in the Spring Lake shore area known as the "Irish Riviera". With many of the patrons having been to Ireland, they know they have to be authentic to succeed. It's one of the best places on the shore to hear traditional Irish music every Tuesday & Sunday Nights. They feature drafts from local breweries like Kane and Flying Fish right alongside Irish favorites like Guinness and Harp and lesser-known Irish brews like Murphy's, Magners, and Kilkenny. It's set in a large quaint old house with ambiance that is consummate Irish pub with dark woods, cushioned bar stools, and a fireplace.
Tommy's Tavern + Tap
3492 U.S Highway 9
Freehold, NJ
Website
732-543-0053
Popular with millennials who enjoy a high energy, spacious industrial-chic, sports bar tavern with well made comfort food, and hand crafted specialty cocktails, a huge variety of craft beers, and wines by the glass and bottle. The elevated bar program includes everything from seasonal craft cocktail specials to exclusive Bourbon blends and over 24 rotating beers on tap.
They have HD TV's on every wall giving patrons a view from every table in the house. The centerpiece is a huge rectangular bar with seating for 55 and large HD Tv's suspended from the ceiling.
3492 U.S Highway 9
Freehold, NJ
Website
732-543-0053
Popular with millennials who enjoy a high energy, spacious industrial-chic, sports bar tavern with well made comfort food, and hand crafted specialty cocktails, a huge variety of craft beers, and wines by the glass and bottle. The elevated bar program includes everything from seasonal craft cocktail specials to exclusive Bourbon blends and over 24 rotating beers on tap.
They have HD TV's on every wall giving patrons a view from every table in the house. The centerpiece is a huge rectangular bar with seating for 55 and large HD Tv's suspended from the ceiling.
The Wonder Bar
5th and Ocean
Asbury Park, NJ
732-502-8886
Website
A Blues, Rock, and Roots Music venue with a great history. Many of the performers who have appeared at the Stony Pony also have received their start here.
"Tillie's Landing" outside deck and bar is a huge draw during the summer months and combined with the indoor venue they have a capacity to hold 2,000 patrons. In addition for being known known for great live music, they also feature a Yappy Hour—where dogs run the show.
5th and Ocean
Asbury Park, NJ
732-502-8886
Website
A Blues, Rock, and Roots Music venue with a great history. Many of the performers who have appeared at the Stony Pony also have received their start here.
"Tillie's Landing" outside deck and bar is a huge draw during the summer months and combined with the indoor venue they have a capacity to hold 2,000 patrons. In addition for being known known for great live music, they also feature a Yappy Hour—where dogs run the show.
