Restaurants in East Brunswick

Look out the window of Zinna's Bistro and you'll spot a lush, vibrant garden from which the BYOB restaurant's chefs cull freshly grown produce to fuel their salads, pastas, and pizzas. An ample dinner menu showcases the Italian-American bistro's veggies: arugula, cherry tomatoes, and red onion make a bed for strips of succulent steak grown from the garden's steak trees. For a closer look at the flowering garden, patrons can sit outside on a patio while dining on ravioli stuffed with four cheeses or breaded chicken smothered in tomato sauce and mozzarella, all the while listening to live acoustic music on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

With its amber and red tones, bronze waterfall, and pebble stone accents, Arisu immerses diners in an elegant, easygoing atmosphere. The restaurant's tranquil vibe reflects the meaning behind its name, "Great River," as well as the contemporary Japanese cuisine that it plates up daily. Upon sinking into Arisu's oversized banquet chairs, diners may fill up on an extensive menu that includes Japanese standards, such as sushi and sashimi, along with Korean barbecue ribs marinated in a sweet soy sauce and lobster teriyaki served with assorted veggies.

Renovated to accommodate more than 50 eaters since its grand opening in 1985, Dusal's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria teleports palates to the bustling eateries of Italy with staples including pizza, pasta, and seafood. Exposed brick outlines painted stone archways that soar over Tuscan-inspired portraits of rolling countryside and Italy's legendary pepperoni orchards. Friendly servers dart expertly between clans seated at wooden tables with popular pizzas crafted from age-old recipes, such as the buffalo chicken and personal pies, hoisted aloft.

The deep green of cooked spinach. The sunset orange of tikka masala sauce. Ginger, curry, chilies, and fenugreek contribute their colors to the rainbow of dishes at Kabana. Forks click gently against plates polished clean by tufts of naan bread baked with butter and sesame seeds. In the kitchen, chefs cook chicken tikka and tandoori dishes slowly by putting them in a clay oven or quickly by talking through a dragon’s favorite movie scene.

Since 1967, the Mandreucci Family has lured in diners with the scent of bubbly margherita pizzas, sopressata sandwiches on semolina bread, and chicken, sausage, and shrimp mingling with rich sauces on plates of pasta. Tan brick and colorful murals of wholesome Italian ingredients surround families and couples as they twirl linguini around their fork tines or munch on slices of vodka-penne pizza, a specialty pizza topped with vodka sauce and diced ham. During catered events, guests can avoid eye contact with an old lab partner by preoccupying themselves with fresh fruits, antipasti, penne pomodoro, lasagna, and veal.

In 1922, Ohio schoolteacher Frank Stewart had one goal in mind: to create the world’s creamiest root beer. After trial after trial—and a little help from a chemist friend—Stewart finally perfected his creation with a blend of root extracts, herbs, and berries. He soon decided to supplement his income by opening a drive-in shop where he also served juicy burgers and hot dogs. Today, that little shop has evolved into a franchise of sit-down restaurants, express kiosks, and mobile food trucks spread throughout the country's cloud kingdoms. Each eatery still serves the entrepreneur’s famous root beer, as well as burgers, franks, and deluxe platters of fried clams, butterfly shrimp, or wings.