Best restaurants near me in Tinton Falls, NJ

This is my new favorite restaurant. Love the charming rustic decor. I feel like we’re in the Pennsylvania countryside when we’re here. The service is phenomenal, the server and the support staff are there whenever you need them. Very friendly and attentive. Now, the food. Absolutely delicious. Best rice balls ever. Honestly, I never liked rice balls until these. Crispy, cheesy delicious! All the salads are exquisitely composed. The way the greens are sliced and perfectly dressed. We had the tricolore with roasted butternut squash (finely chopped) with crispy shallots and cider vinaigrette. I’d had the halibut with lobster cream sauce and lump crab last week, which was a large fresh piece of flaky moist fish. Someone at the next table had the shrimp scampi and I already knew I had to try it this time. It was without question, not even close, the best shrimp scampi of my 50 years. The sauce was the perfect combo of wine lemon and butter. The shrimp were cooked perfectly with a crunchy breadcrumb topping. Oh, the Brussel sprouts side is also a standout. Dessert, don’t bother looking at the menu- just get the graham cracker gelato with a cappuccino, You’ll thank me later; I promise.

Had another wonderful meal, cocktails and date night l. Loved the holiday decor and for the first time sat in the covered patio area-we usually reserve a bar high top. Our waiter was attentive, friendly and paced our meal as requested so we were not finishing appetizers when our entrées arrived. We started with our favorite appetizers- crispy bbq ribs and the bread with ricotta. Ribs needed a bit more sauce but were excellent. My husband tried the Bolognese (he usually gets short ribs) which is offered in two sizes. Delicious but we expected the larger portion to be big enough for leftovers but portion was just enough for him. Scraped the plate. I had my usual, the organic chicken. Crisp and juicy as always. Overall a great meal and experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our server, Brian, was fabulous. He was very knowledgeable about the menu and most importantly about gluten free options. He was also knowledgeable about cross contamination which is exceedingly important for a person with Celiac Disease. The food was great! I had the Chilean Sea Bass in tomato broth. The flavors were terrific and the fish was sublime. The other three diners with me ordered off of the specials. They ordered the lobster tails, the fruta del mare and the stuffed lobster. The three of them loved their dishes. I love the gf bread and I do not mind paying the additional $6 to get it! The only very minor issue was we felt our wedge salads were under-dressed so we asked for extra dressing and found out when we received the bill that we were charged for the dressing. It was a nominal charge, $4 for two, but I didn’t feel good about the surprise of it with the bill. Overall, a wonderful dining experience!

Semolina is always our first choice when we come back to NJ. As usual is was phenomenal!!! The coffee crusted venison carpaccio was tender and delicious. I had the squash angolotti that were plump and the creamy sauce has just enough truffle and pepper notes. My husband had the spicy octopus ragú and it was light and flavorful. Finished the night with a hefty pot de crème that was perfection. Trish was out server and she was attentive, witty and efficient as the dining room was filling up punctuated by Bryson and Jillian who made sure we had everything we needed. once again walked away full and happy!

It was not a busy night 12/23 so we were able to sit at a table of 4 to accommodate our party of 2. That was nice. Normally I feel very squeezed in. Food is always good except for their molten lava cake. I got a cowboy burger - medium. Cooked perfect and delicious. My husband got the smashed burgers he enjoyed as well. Our waitress was wonderful and attentive.