Known for its beautiful old houses and covered streets, Maplewood has a compact downtown area known as the “Village,” the blocks on either side of the train station that many of its 23,000 or so residents use to commute to and from work in Manhattan.

Many of the newer residents have moved from Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens, which means they have high standards when it comes to dining.

Most of Maplewood’s notable restaurants are located downtown, with a few exceptions on the adjacent commercial strip of Springfield Avenue. The choices range from one of New Jersey’s best French restaurants (Lorena’s) to the new chapter of a popular pizzeria (Artie’s).

Below you will find our top picks of the best restaurants in Maplewood, listed in alphabetical order.

Why should you trust this list? Simply put: New Jersey monthly knows the New Jersey dining scene. Our editors and restaurant critics spend endless amounts of time crisscrossing the state, dining at all kinds of establishments, from fine dining to pizzerias, from old favorites to new restaurants bringing their own twist to the New Jersey culinary scene.

Enjoy!

(RELATED: The best restaurants in New Jersey)

In May 2023, Maplewood favorite Arturo’s merged with its sister bakery, Bread Stand, and moved to a larger location. The new spot is now an all-day eatery, serving fresh baked goods at the bakery counter in the morning and then lunch and dinner. The big draws are chef and owner Fred Shandler’s daily fresh pastas, salads, small plates, and beautifully charred wood-fired pizzas.
15 Newark Way, 973-378-5800

This fast-casual farm-to-soul restaurant with tables, counter service and delivery is one of three locations of a brand founded by two women, Adenah Bayoh and Elzadie Smith, who grew up on Southern cooking (the other locations are in Pennsylvania). The small menu offers chicken (fried or baked), fried turkey wings, fried fish (whiting or catfish) and ribs with your choice of side. Bring your own food. —EL
1565 Springfield Avenue, 973-313-0328

Since opening in 2005, chef Humberto Campos’ (named for his wife, Lorena) gem of French fine dining has been a fixture not only in Maplewood, but in greater Essex County and beyond. In addition to his signature creation – the lump crab and mushroom crepe in beurre blanc – Campos offers excellent contemporary versions of popular dishes like duck breast, rack of lamb, filet mignon, halibut and liquid chocolate cake. Bring your own food. —EL
168 Maplewood Avenue, 973-763-4460

Though it’s just across the border in Union’s Vauxhall neighborhood, Maplewood residents consider Mama’s a local institution, and they smile when they think of it. “I’ve never met anyone who’s only been here once,” says Chris Finnick, grill master since 2007 at this takeout restaurant (with a few tables) that opened in 1997. The Jersey native draws on his family’s Carolina roots to add sweet-and-sour flavor to grilled chicken, pork ribs, beef ribs and chopped pork sandwiches. His mother, the owner (“I just call myself Mama”), says the pork is dry rubbed, baked for four hours, smoked in a coal-fired pit, chopped and then marinated overnight in her grandfather’s Carolina vinegar sauce. Pork ribs get similar treatment. The menu includes fried chicken, fried whiting, catfish, shrimp and tilapia as sandwiches or dinners. Sides include candied yams, collard greens, French beans or Spanish rice. Perhaps the hardest choice is dessert. So many roads to ruin: sweet potato pie, banana pudding, peach cobbler, pineapple coconut cake and more. Regulars know to call in their orders to cut down on wait times in the tiny space. “It gets crowded here,” says Finnick. “There’s a lot of kitchen space and no front entrance.” Bring your own food. —Mary Ann Castronovo Fusco
2083 Springfield Avenue, Vauxhall, 973-687-0400

This sushi specialist offers one of the longest specialty roll lists you’ll find – 47 in total, from the basic $4 cucumber roll to several $17 kitchen rolls, including the Crazy Dynamite Roll (spicy lobster salad, shrimp tempura and avocado, topped with spicy salmon, spicy white fish, tempura chips and hot sauce). In addition to sushi and sashimi, the kitchen also offers tempura, beef negimaki, tonkatsu, hot pots and fried rice dishes. Open seven days a week. Bring your own food. —EL
166 Maplewood Avenue, 973-378-8336

Grab a burger, some fries and a Guinness. Courtesy of St. James’s Publick House

How Irish is St. James’s Gate? Just look at the website’s homepage, which displays a second-by-second countdown to the next St. Patrick’s Day. In addition to (also British) specialties like Bangers & Mash and Shepherd’s Pie, the pub is prized for its excellent burgers. And for 20-ounce pints of Guinness on tap. Lunch and dinner are served seven days a week. —EL
67 Maplewood Avenue, 973-378-2222

In addition to traditional Thai soups, sautés, curries and noodle dishes, Wild Ginger pushes culinary boundaries with Vietnamese summer rolls, Indian roti with curry dip, Chinese lo mein and General Tso’s chicken. It’s open for lunch and dinner. Bring your own food. —EL
175 Maplewood Avenue, 973-378-8822

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