Off-campus restaurants perfect for families during move-in week at Rutgers University

Congratulations and welcome to Rutgers! If you’re in town for move-in week or you’re just looking for a good meal with family a short drive from the university, we’ve got you covered. Don’t spend 30 minutes scrolling through Yelp and Google reviews. Just pick a place from the list below! Here you’ll find some favorite spots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

BREAKFAST RESTAURANTS

Did you know that New Jersey is known as the diner state? We’ve got some excellent breakfast spots a short drive from the Rutgers campus!

1. Maria’s Brunch

A mom-and-pop diner, this place has enormous portion sizes and great reviews. It’s located in Metuchen so it’s a bit of a drive away from campus, but it’s definitely worth a visit. Check out their specials, like the Strawberry Horchata Chai Latte or the Elote Asado Avo Toast!

2. The Edison Automat

Another diner with some solid breakfast and coffee selections in Edison, NJ. It’s got almost 700 reviews on Google and holds a 4.5 star rating. Just a warning, though: seats fill up quickly, so try and get there early!

3. Hatch44

Here’s an Instagram-worthy spot featuring floral decor and aesthetic food. They have seasonal drinks, which means there’s often something new. They are vegan-friendly and focused on providing farm-to-table ingredients. Not to mention, it’s located in downtown Metuchen—a nice place to explore on the weekends.

4. Golden Seafood

If you’re craving dim sum, come here! They have weekend dim sum specials featuring the rolling carts of pastries and bamboo steamers.

5. Le Peep

An affordable diner with just what you’d expect—the classics. Featuring skillets, omelets, and the works.

6. Sam I Am

While it’s not exactly a sit-down diner, this spot has some of the best and freshest bagels in town. Get a bagel sandwich, or try their fresh bagels with homemade cream cheese. The best part is that it’s a super short drive from Livi campus!

LUNCH/DINNER RESTAURANTS

1. Efe’s

Located right off of College Ave campus, Efe’s Mediterranean food is delicious and available for either a sit-down experience or for take-out.

2. Jozanna’s

A small mom-and-pop Italian restaurant with authentic dishes and huge portion sizes. Definitely check this out if you’re craving some solid Italian food. If you need a little more convincing: it’s got over 1.2k reviews on Google with a total of a 4.7 star rating.

3. HMart Plaza restaurants

Okay yes, this is cheating a bit because this one encompasses 20+ restaurants. But if you head over to the HMart Plaza in Edison, you could check out a bunch of delicious Korean and Chinese restaurants: Happy Lamb hot pot, Spice24 dry pot, DunHuang hand-pulled noodles, Tasty Moment (Shanghai cuisine), Boom Boom Chicken (Korean fried chicken), and so much more. So if you’re craving some good Chinese or Korean food, this is your best bet to find something tasty for your meal! Just beware of Friday through Sunday mealtime parking… You might have to circle around the lot a few times, because these restaurants are popular!

4. Chef Tan

This one is also located near College Ave. A bonus: It’s also close to Penstock, if you’re interested in good coffee (we’ll have another blog post with the top 10 cafes to work/study at). Chef Tan specializes in Hunan-style dishes; so if you’re interested in spicy Chinese food, this is a great place.

Bon appétit!

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The author of this post is Dr. Aurora Sun. She is currently a researcher at Princeton University and recently graduated from Princeton with her PhD in Politics (International Relations). She loves to talk about Jesus, human rights, and how the gospel changed her life.

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