Restaurants in Toms River

Through a set of solid mahogany doors, the dining room at Remington’s teems with seasonal dishes inspired by the Jersey Shore. Executive Chef Dominick Rizzo gathers ingredients from farmers, fishmongers, and local cheese makers from the tri-state area, letting the harvest inform his constantly changing menu of upscale American cuisine. Recent dishes have included locally caught fluke sautéed with yellowfoot chanterelle mushrooms and served with lentils and a drizzle of chive oil. For libations, Remington’s sommeliers refer to a long list of wines from Europe, South America, and California. All this good cooking comes with good scenery to match—there’s a 5-foot freshwater aquarium decorating the dining room, alongside hand-painted murals of beaches, ocean scenes, and Moondoggie’s leash.

What started as a simple café is today an all-encompassing food emporium and market, all under the Juana Banana moniker. Within the crisp golden crust of the café’s classic empanadas, the chef seals in beef, potatoes, or spinach, forming just one of the traditional Colombian-inspired choices on the versatile eatery’s café menu. Whether guests stop in for lunch or to browse through Juana’s produce section, panini sandwiches make a popular treat with their fresh-baked bread and warm ham, chorizo, roasted pork, or vegetable fillings. As guests sip on Colombian coffee, they may catch notes of caramel and ripe berries, making the blend a complementary companion for the bakery’s sweet pandebonos—bread made with cheese and cassava starch. Customers may enjoy their meals at either table or lounge seating, using the free wireless Internet access to work or to pull up slideshows of palm trees to complete the tropical ambiance. Catering is also available to help customers bring Juana’s take on South American cuisine home.

Michael Scotto draws on his native Italian heritage and knowledge of traditional recipes at Jester’s Cafe’s, which serves classic Italian dishes crafted to pair with a deep, international-wine menu. Italian and Australian varietals of red and white complement high-grade poultry and filet mignon delivered fresh daily, creating worldly meals without the pulpy aftertaste left after chewing through a road atlas. The eatery fosters a cheerful ambiance with a wide array of specialty cocktails mixed with top-shelf vodkas, rum, and even champagne. Jester’s Cafe also provides a semisecluded back room for private parties as well as off-premises catering services for wedding parties and postdivorce luaus.

Whether crafting breaded bites of chicken parmesan, molding hearty gnocchi, or layering lasagna, Annabella Restaurant's chefs adhere to the tenants of homestyle Italian cooking. They fan layers of eggplant, prosciutto, and fresh buffalo mozzarella over veal scaloppine and dispatch it to a softly lit, mauve dining room. When not busy studying walls filled with vintage family photos and colorful depictions of Italy, patrons swig libations they brought from home and dive into plates of pasta with forks they bought from a wandering tinker.

Tomato sauce basks in lochs of extra-virgin olive oil atop the tomato pie, a thin-crust creation that Pomodoro’s channels from the osterias of Italy. Sicilian-style and mozzarella-spotted margharita pies round out the menu’s pizza selection alongside a variety of Italian cuisine, from gourmet pastas and handheld paninis to desserts such as homemade profiteroles. Crimson walls reflect off Formica tabletops within the cozy dining room, where an exhibition kitchen enables diners to view the chefs’ culinary prowess or to engage them in games of peekaboo.

The chefs at Ume No Hana II draw on Chinese and Japanese influences to craft a lengthy menu of Asian dishes, ranging from specialty sushi rolls to Chinese lo mein to spicy szechuan beef. A BYOB eatery, Ume No Hana II also readies its cuisine for delivery and takeout, where the burden of service lies on friends forced into being your butler after losing a bet.