Best Outdoor Dining in New Jersey

Restaurants with scenic al fresco dining ambiance

With an abundance of ocean and waterfront views, and restaurants with beautiful gardens and patio dining, NJ is an ideal place to enjoy outdoor dining.

These selections have excluded restaurants with sidewalk dining as they tend to be more oriented towards people watching as well as the noise from street traffic that takes away from amenities of mother nature and the ambiance that waterfronts, beaches, oceans, and gardens provide.

Note: Due to the extra special amenities of dining outdoors in a scenic setting, be prepared to pay a little more for this experience.

Best Northern NJ Outdoor Dining Restaurants

Bernards Inn
27 Mine Brook Road
Bernardsville, NJ
908-766-0002
Website
Dine outdoors on the Terrace and enjoy the cool breezes and evening stars.
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Cafe Matisse
167 Park Ave
Rutherford, NJ 07070
(201) 935-2995
Dine in the "Secret Garden", a plush outdoor garden with fountains. The garden can also be viewed from the inside through floor-to-ceiling windows.
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Clean Plate Kitchen
49 Main Street
Clinton, NJ
Serves healthy food using locally sourced, organic ingredients.---- and with the best view in town, this is the place to be.
In the warmer months try and get a seat on the outdoor patio with a view of the Old Red Mill on the Raritan River.
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Focacceria Ristorante
26 Church St.
Liberty Corner (section of Basking Ridge)
908-604-2440
Popular with diners who come to enjoy well prepared homemade Italian food and cozy, outside dining in the warmer months.
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Highlawn Pavilion
Eagle Rock Reservation
West Orange
973-731-3463
Dine on the patio with scenic views of the New York City skyline and Eagle Rock Park. Enjoy lunch or dinner under the stars.
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Liberty House
76 Audrey Zapp Drive
Jersey City
201-395-0300
The view of the Jersey City skyline is breathtaking!
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Maritime Parc Restaurant
84 Audrey Zapp Drive J
ersey City,
(201) 413-0050
Has scenic waterfront views of the Jersey City skyline, and marina. During the warmer months there is outside dining on a large stone patio with awesome waterfront, marina views.
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Restaurant Latour
Crystal Springs Resort
1 Wild Turkey Way (Crystal Springs Rd.)
Hamburg
(855) 977-6473
Outdoor dining on the patio looking across the Kittatinny Mtns to the Delaware Water Gap and Pennsylvania. For that special ambiance, arrive for dinner in time to take in the sunset over the mountains.
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Best Central NJ Outdoor Dining Restaurants

Avenue Restaurant
23 Ocean Ave
Long Branch
732-759-2900
Outdoor dining on the Terrace facing the beach and ocean.
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Avon Pavilion
600 Ocean Ave
Avon-by-the-Sea
732-775-1043
Dining at this restaurant is a great way to experience the Jersey Shore. It's open air outdoor dining on the boardwalk with a view of the beach and ocean, and a nice vantage point for people watching.
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Bareli's By The Sea
1505 Ocean Avenue
Grand Victorian Hotel
Spring Lake, NJ
(732) 769-5700
A high end restaurant serving a creative contemporary Italian menu with scenic ocean and beach views.
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The Frog and the Peach Restaurant
29 Dennis St.
New Brunswick
732-846-3216
They offer outdoor dining in The Garden Room with seating for 50 that can be temperature controlled for a winter luncheon or a summer evening. This semi-outdoor space is heated and enclosed in the winter and open in the summer to expose it to the warm weather breezes.
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Inlet Cafe
3 Cornwall St.
Highlands, NJ
(732) 872-9764
Dine on the outdoor deck and capture the waterfront ambiance for an authentic Jersey Shore experience. Moderately priced.
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Klein's Fish Market & Waterside Café
708 River Rd.
Belmar
732-681-1177
Dine outdoors overlooking the Shark River and the passing fishing boats on the deck under large colorful umbrellas. Moderately priced
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Lambertville Station Restaurant
11 Bridge St.
Lambertville, NJ
609-397-8300
There is scenic outside dining at the Canal Side Bar and patio along side a dormant stretch of track. Great for people watching
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Lily's on the Canal
2 Canal Street
Lambertville
(609) 397-6242
Located along the Delaware Canal offering alfresco dining on the patio for the lucky few who are able to land a table outside. Its also a good spot for people watching as they stroll by along the tow path. Moderately priced.
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The Shrimp Box
75 Inlet Drive
Point Pleasant Beach
732-899-163727
Experience excellent water front views, fresh locally caught seafood, and "not break the bank."
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Moonstruck Restaurant
517 Lake Ave.
Asbury Park
(732) 988-0123
Outdoor dining on the front porches of the second and third floors. The setting is very attractive overlooking Wesley Lake and the stately homes in Ocean Grove
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Rats Restaurant
16 Fairgrounds Rd.
Hamilton 609-584-7800
There is patio dining at the edge of a pond, overlooking the gardens.
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The Robinson Ale House
1200 Ocean Ave
Asbury Park
(732) 774-1400
Awesome ocean views, people watching, and a high energy bar scene
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Stockton Inn
1 S Main St
Stockton
609-397-1250
Dine outside in the beautiful tri-level brick patio with terraced gardens, waterfalls, and a variety of hanging plants.
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White Butterfly Cafe
200 N County Line Rd
Jackson, NJ
(732) 901-6262
One of the best outoor patio dining restaurants in Western Monmouth and Western Ocean Counties.
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Best Southern NJ Outdoor Dining Restaurants

McGlade's Restaurant On The Pier
722 Beach Avenue
Cape May 609 884-2614
Popular with diners on a limited budget who enjoy affordably priced traditional American food in a casual, beach front, Jersey shore setting
Moderately Priced
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Ristorante Toscana
1990 Route 70 East
Cherry Hill, NJ
856-489-7373
With an attractive courtyard with Tuscan ambiance complete with overhead grape vines, flowers, and a waterfall. It's one of the top outdoor patio dining restaurants in South Jersey.
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Two Mile Landing - The Crab House and 2 Mile Restaurant and Bar
Fish Dock Road At the base of the Wildwood crest bridge
Wildwood Crest
(609) 522-1341
This popular family seafood restaurant with a great waterside dining view and sunset is actually two restaurants in one location: The Crab house and 2 Mile Restaurant and Bar, combines to offer two restaurants and four bars ---- in one facility.
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Uries Waterfront Restaurant
588 West Rio Grande Ave.
Wildwood
609-522-4189
It's one of the best places in Wildwood for waterfront dining. A great place to experience that "Jersey Shore" feeling by sitting back and watching boats pass by while enjoying a drink at happy hour or staying on for a casual meal.
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