Restaurants in Newark

When The Melting Pot originally opened in 1975 just outside Orlando, the location was cozy and quaint, but diners had only three options: swiss-cheese fondue, beef fondue, or chocolate fondue. However, as the restaurant grew in popularity, so did its menu selection and atmosphere. The restaurant first expanded four years later under the leadership of a Melting Pot waiter and enterprising college student named Mark Johnston, who teamed up with his brothers Mike and Bob to open a new outpost in Tallahassee. This location grew in reputation to pave the way for future franchise expansion. Today, the company—now owned by the trio of siblings—reigns as the premier fondue, wine, and drink restaurant, stretching across North America with more than 140 restaurants linked by underground tunnels. The restaurant's menu has also ballooned, and patrons can now expect six varieties of hot dipping cheese paired with salads, meats, and molten chocolate.

On a given night, groups of foodies gather around tables to nosh on signature four-course meals, from cheese-fondue appetizers and various salads to steaks and seafood cooked in a choice of healthy broth or oil. Birthday revelers and couples can share decadent evenings at private tables, capping off meals with chocolate desserts that have defined The Melting Pot for decades.

Nestled inside Quickly's in Newark, King of Dumplings showcases sleek decor to parallel a host of authentic Chinese dishes. Blue and gold lights hang from the ceiling by cords almost as thin as the restaurant's hand-pulled chinese noodles. Starters encompass unique ingredients such as crispy lotus roots, as well as popcorn octopus, pork elbow, and 12 types of dumplings. Patrons can also enjoy a host of shrimp, beef, and pork dishes in the glow of the King's flat-screen TVs or order dim-sum pancakes and buns to be delivered to their home or kiddie pool.

In Istanbul’s Taxim Square, the aroma of roasting lamb and beef wafts from street vendors’ stalls. Café Taxim’s menu of gyros and kebabs pays homage to the metropolis’ bustling street cuisine scene, though from within more serene environs: geometric light fixtures illuminate the casual eatery’s sleek hardwood floors, and vibrant orange walls rescue eyes from the strain of tracking doner kebabs’ RPM.

Dishes of salmon tartare and bacon-fried rice glide through the dining room of The Red Crane, as if imitating the flight of the restaurant's namesake. They land atop crisp white tablecloths, which cover tables dotted with glowing tea candles. In the kitchen, chefs prepare other contemporary renditions of classic Asian cuisine, using traditional recipes to create teriyaki sauce and enhancing other dishes with modern design principles. Brimming with tuna, salmon, hamachi, and three types of vegetables, the chefs' signature rainbow ceviche is more colorful than a sunset during a paintball tournament.