The 12 Best Restaurants in Chester, NJ

Looking for the best restaurants in Chester, NJ? You are in the right place. Chester is one of the few towns in Morris County people actually drive to for the day, and the food has kept up with the antique shops and the farms. Main Street splits east and west at the Route 206 light, and inside a quarter mile you get an 1810 steakhouse on the National Register, a Victorian tea room that has been baking the same secret scone recipe for 30 years, and a taqueria that changed hands this summer. This guide covers the restaurants worth your time and money.

We update this guide regularly to make sure it reflects the latest openings, closures, and standout dining experiences. For more restaurant guides across the county, check out our picks for the best restaurants in Morristown, Parsippany, Denville, and Randolph.

Chester works differently from the rest of the county. Most Morris County dining is neighborhood dining, but Chester gets a steady flow of day trippers coming for Alstede Farms, Hacklebarney State Park, the antique shops and the craft shows, which means the restaurants here are built to handle a Saturday crowd that arrives all at once. Reservations matter more here than the size of the town would suggest.

Fall is the busiest stretch of the year. The Fall Chester Craft Show brings 175 juried makers to Main Street in September, apple picking runs through October, and the whole season is mapped in our guide to fall festivals and fairs in Morris County. Book ahead on those weekends.

PH Steakhouse at the Publick House

Chester’s special-occasion room, inside an 1810 Federal-style brick building on the National Register of Historic Places. Filet, ribeye, porterhouse and T-bone anchor the menu, with a full bar and a boutique hotel upstairs. Burger and brew night runs $15 on Tuesdays. Reservations recommended.

Address: 111 Main St, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 955-7911
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Price: $$$$
Website: phsteakhouse.com

PREN

The newest full-service kitchen in the downtown core, and the one to send a group to. Scratch-made comfort food built around a Wagyu cheddar smash burger, an apple brie flatbread and a meatloaf people order by name. Weekend brunch from 10 a.m., seasonal outdoor seating, open seven days.

Address: 52 Main St, Suite 1, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 955-7197
Cuisine: New American
Price: $$
Website: prenkitchen.com

Redwoods Grill & Bar

Celebrating 30 years in 2026. The entire kitchen is built around a wood-burning grill, which is what the steaks, seafood and burgers all come off. Fireplace inside, patio outside, live music, full bar, and reservations through OpenTable. Call ahead on hours.

Address: 459 Main St, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-7909
Cuisine: American
Price: $$$
Website: redwoodsgrillandbar.com

Benito’s Trattoria

Family-run since 1992 and tucked just behind Main Street. Northern Italian cooking with penne vodka, eggplant parmigiana and pollo marsala doing the heavy lifting, plus a new patio. BYOB, which makes it the value dinner in town. Reservations suggested.

Address: 44 Main St, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-1887
Cuisine: Italian
Price: $$$
Website: benitos-trattoria.net

Sally Lunn’s Tea Shoppe & Restaurant

Thirty-plus years on Perry Street, in a Victorian parlor packed with bone china. The warmed buttermilk scones come from a recipe they still will not share, and the cottage pie, pasties and homemade pies fill out a proper lunch. More than 50 loose teas. Lunch and tea only, closes around 5:30.

Address: 15 Perry St, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-7731
Cuisine: English Tearoom
Price: $$
Website: sallylunns.com

Fresco Mexican

Birria tacos, the La Bomba molcajete, pozole and pork tamales, served from a Main Street porch that is the best seat in town in warm weather. There is an artisan boutique inside the restaurant, and weekend breakfast starts at 7 a.m., which almost nobody knows. BYOB.

Address: 137 Main St, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 955-7222
Cuisine: Mexican
Price: $$
Website: frescomexican.com

Old Mill Tavern

A local tradition for more than 50 years, sitting directly across from the historic Nathan Cooper Gristmill on Route 24. Twenty-four beers on tap, burgers, wings and a Reuben worth the drive, plus roughly 400 first responder patches on the walls. Live music Tuesdays. The natural stop coming back from Hacklebarney.

Address: 55 Route 24, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-9815
Cuisine: American Pub
Price: $$
Website: oldmilltavernchester.com

Domo 7 Japanese Restaurant & Hibachi

Chester’s sushi answer, in the ShopRite plaza on Route 206. Sushi and sashimi alongside a full hibachi room and a handful of Korean dishes, which makes it the easiest pick when the table cannot agree on anything.

Address: 189 US-206, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-7787
Cuisine: Japanese
Price: $$$
Website: domo-7.com

Taqueria de Maria

New ownership took over the West Main Street taqueria in July 2026 and kept the thing that worked: ten styles of taco, from al pastor and carnitas to lengua. Tortas, tamales, burritos and guacamole made to order. BYOB, with catering and delivery.

Address: 79 W Main St, Chester, NJ 07930
Phone: (908) 879-0447
Cuisine: Mexican
Price: $
Website: taqueriademaria.com

Explore Chester NJ’s Best Restaurants

Chester is built for a day, not just a dinner. Park once near the Main Street light and almost everything on this list is a short walk: the steakhouse in the 1810 brick hotel, the tea room on Perry Street, the taqueria just west of the intersection, the pizza place in the middle of the shops. Drive five minutes east and you get a wood-fired grill celebrating its 30th year. Drive five minutes west on Route 24 and you get 24 taps across from a Revolutionary-era gristmill. Whether you are coming for apples, antiques, a craft show or just a Saturday out of the house, Chester feeds the whole day well.

What Makes Chester’s Restaurant Scene Special?

Chester is a destination town, and that changes what the restaurants have to be. Alstede Farms, Hacklebarney State Park, the antique shops and the craft shows pull visitors from across North Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, so the kitchens here are used to a rush that arrives in a two-hour window on a Saturday and then disappears. The upside for you is that the range is unusually wide for a town this size: a $6 sub, a $12 plate of tacos, and a dry-aged steak in a building that predates the Civil War, all within a quarter mile.

The other thing worth knowing is the geography. Main Street splits into East Main and West Main at the Route 206 light, and directories are inconsistent about the prefix, so an address listed as 137 Main and one listed as 137 E. Main are the same place. The walkable core runs from roughly 15 Perry Street to 137 Main. Redwoods sits about half a mile east, and Old Mill Tavern about a mile west on Route 24 toward Hacklebarney. Everything else on Route 206 is a short drive south.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best restaurant in Chester, NJ?

For a real dinner out, PH Steakhouse at the historic Publick House is the pick, with dry-aged cuts and a full bar inside an 1810 building on the National Register. For lunch, Sally Lunn’s Tea Shoppe is the most Chester thing in Chester, and PREN is the newer kitchen that handles a group best. Redwoods Grill & Bar is the wood-fired option and is celebrating 30 years in 2026.

Where should I eat in Chester after apple picking at Alstede Farms?

Alstede sits west of downtown, so the two easiest stops on the way back are Old Mill Tavern on Route 24 and, once you reach the Main Street shops, Sally Lunn’s for scones and pie or Sub Pub for something fast. If you want to make a night of it, book PH Steakhouse or Redwoods before you go out to the farm, because fall Saturdays fill up.

Which Chester restaurants are BYOB?

Benito’s Trattoria, Fresco Mexican, Taqueria de Maria and Thai Kitchen are all BYOB. For a full bar, go to PH Steakhouse, Redwoods Grill & Bar or Old Mill Tavern, which pours 24 beers on tap.

Explore More Morris County Restaurant Guides

Morris County is packed with great dining across dozens of towns. Explore our other restaurant guides to find your next favorite spot:

New for 2026: see our full roundup of the best restaurants in Morris County for our top picks in every town.

• Best Restaurants in Madison, NJ
• Best Restaurants in Morristown, NJ
• Best Restaurants in Parsippany, NJ
• Best Restaurants in Denville, NJ
• Best Steakhouses in Morris County, NJ
• Best Breweries in Morris County, NJ
• All Morris County Restaurant Reviews

Have a Chester restaurant we should add to this list? Let us know and we will check it out.