These restaurants serve the best corned beef in New Jersey

🍀 St. Patrick's Day is usually celebrated all month long in New Jersey

🍀Many pubs and restaurants will be holding parties and celebrations

🍀Here are some of the best places to get corned beef

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here—Sunday, March 17, and soon it will be time for New Jerseyans to don some green, drink beer and Irish whiskey, and dine on a traditional corned beef and cabbage meal.

Fun fact about corned beef: Did you know that President Abraham Lincoln chose corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes as the meal for his first Inaugural Luncheon, which took place on March 4, 1861, less than two weeks before St. Patrick’s Day? It’s true.

While many people, Irish-American or not choose to cook their own corned beef at home in a pot of boiling water, along with cabbage, potatoes, and homemade Irish soda bread, many choose to go out to their favorite pub or restaurant to revel in the St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

So, where can you get the best corned beef in New Jersey? There are tons of Irish pubs in the Garden State. Many serve the salty cured meat on the menu all year long and others only make it special for St. Paddy’s Day.

This is a list of 15 of the best New Jersey restaurants and delis (in no particular order) to get some great corned beef.

Kelly’s Tavern

43 NJ-35, Neptune City

Kelly’s is a community favorite all year long, but on St. Patrick’s Day, the Jersey Shore Irish tavern really gets into the spirit.

Right now it’s “Irish Wednesday” at Kelly’s. Grab a corned beef, cabbage, and potato platter for $18. But the platter is served anytime. The corned beef is lean and cooked and sliced daily. You can also choose from a hot corned beef sandwich, plain or with melted Swiss, and a Reuben.

They will have bagpipers playing on Sunday, March 3 (The Belmar St. Patrick’s Day Parade) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and March 9-10 and March 14-16 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. On Sunday, March 17, there will be three shows: 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

St. Stephen’s Green Publick House

2031 NJ-71, Spring Lake

Named after a famous inner city Publick Park in Dublin, Ireland, Irish roots run deep at St. Stephen’s. You want corned beef? St. Stephen’s offers it. Their Dublin Rolls feature pulled corned beef, braised cabbage, and vegetables wrapped in egg roll skins with Guinness mustard dipping sauce. The place also serves a Tipperary Reuben sandwich (grilled corned beef, Russian dressing, melted Swiss, and saurerkraut on rye bread), and a Corned Beef Sandwich (8 oz. of grilled, lean, corned beef, served on rye bread).

Dublin House

30 Monmouth St, Red Bank

Another great restaurant in New Jersey to score yourself some authentic Irish fare is the Dublin House in Red Bank. Their corned beef platter for $20 features corned beef in a brown sugar glaze and mustard sauce, served with assorted vegetables, and creamy mashed potatoes.

The Rail

157 Main St, Whitehouse Station

March is a month of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at The Rail with parties, bagpipers, live music, dancing, and more.

Patrons say the corned beef and cabbage dish is amazing here plus they have other Irish dishes that are worth trying. Plus, you can pair them with some Irish whiskeys and Irish beers, as well. The Reuben sandwich costs $16 and includes corned beef, pastrami, or turkey, Swiss, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on fresh, toasted bread.

Finnagel’s

1531 NJ-31 S, Clinton

The Irish pub has been around since 1981 serving up authentic fare. Finnagel’s serves up a fan favorite: hot corned beef with melted Swiss Cheese on fresh rye bread. Add Russian dressing and sauerkraut and you have yourself a hearty Reuben.

Irish Pub

164 St James Pl, Atlantic City

“The Irish Pub in Atlantic City has been raved about by almost everyone who has ever stepped in the door. Called by some major magazines, ‘America’s Greatest Pub,’ the pub is one place you don’t want to miss when in Atlantic City,” according to its website. Enjoy Irish favorites like its corned beef sandwich and the corned beef special (cole slaw, and Russian dressing). Both are served on your choice of rye, white, or whole wheat bread with steak fries and cole slaw.

St. James Gate Publick House

167 Maplewood Ave, Maplewood

Grab a Guinness or an Irish whiskey and sit down for an authentic Irish meal at St. James. The Tipperary Reuben is a hot corned beef sandwich with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian dressing on rye for $14. The hot corned beef sandwich costs a dollar less and it’s an 8 oz. cut of corned beef on seedless rye bread.

Arthur’s Tavern

700 Speedwell Ave, Morris Plains

This might be a steakhouse but don’t let that fool you. Arthur’s Reuben and hot corned beef entrees are worthy of trying. These overstuffed sandwiches are served with Arthur’s homemade cole slaw, and made to order with Boar’s Head products.

Hailey’s Harp and Pub

400 Main St, Metuchen

A staple in Metuchen since 2009, Hailey’s Harp and Pub is known for its traditional Irish and pub fare served in a family-friendly atmosphere filled with music. Enjoy Hailey’s corned beef and cabbage entrée for $17. It’s made with Guinness-braised corned beef over a heaping bed of cabbage, with potatoes, and carrots. Too much? Then try the corned beef sandwich (Hailey’s Guinness-braised corned beef topped with melted Swiss cheese, and homemade spicy Irish mustard, and served on toasted rye bread) for $13. There is also classic Reuben. This includes Guinness-braised corned beef, pastrami, and sauerkraut, topped with melted Swiss, and Russian dressing, and served open-faced on toasted rye for $15.

Klee’s

101 Boulevard, Seaside Heights

The Ocean County’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Seaside Heights is Saturday, March 9, and Klee’s which is located right on the boulevard will be ready to serve parade-goers.
Enjoy a cold Irish beer with a hot corned beef sandwich made with lean, thinly sliced corned beef on rye bread for just $12.99. It is served with a choice of french fries, cole slaw, broccoli slaw, or potato salad. But you can substitute sweet potato fries or onion rings for $1.99 extra.

Harold’s New York Deli

1173 King Georges Post Rd, Edison

“Home of the world’s best corned beef, pastrami, and cheesecake,” according to its website. If you’ve never been to Harold’s, come hungry and seriously think about splitting the food among a few people. The portions are ginormous. The mile-high corned beef sandwich is packed with a lot of meat. Served on rye, white, whole wheat, pumpernickel, Italian hero, Kaiser roll, or bagel, the junior sandwich costs $24.95. The large, which serves 2 to 4 people costs $44.95, and the X-Large, which serves 5 to 8 people, costs $95.95.

The one-pound corned beef platter feeds two people and features 10 slices of rye bread. That costs $98,50 and comes with a pound of potato salad and a pound of cole slaw. Triple-decker corned beef sandwiches at Harold’s feed 9 to 12 people.

Don’t forget to raid the massive pickle bar and if you can squeeze in a bit more room, end the meal with a slice of one of Harold’s cakes. Word of warning: A slice is so big, it feeds two to four people. Choose from chocolate fudge layer cake, red velvet, carrot, black and white, cheesecake, and so many more flavors.

You’ll have leftovers, for sure.

Dowlings Irish Pub and Restaurant

117 Chestnut Street, Roselle Park

There are lots of corned beef dishes to choose from at Dowlings. As an appetizer, there is the Irish Nachos dish. This includes homemade potato chips, covered with shredded corned beef, Dowlings house-crafted beer cheese, scallions, diced tomato, and topped with crushed bacon and sour cream for $12. Another appetizer is the Reuben rolls. For $10, these pastry rolls are filled with corned beef, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese served with Russian dressing.

For some more pub grub, try the $11 Reuben sandwich (house-cooked tender corned beef on toasted rye with sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and Swiss cheese. The $14 corned beef and cabbage entrée is house-seasoned and roasted tender corned beef with steamed cabbage, and a choice of mashed potatoes or chips. It’s also served with a choice of soup or salad.

Maloney’s Pub and Grill

119 Main St, Matawan

Sink your teeth into the $20 Reuben made of thinly sliced corned beef, sauerkraut, melted Swiss, and Thousand Island’s dressing on rye bread.

O’Connors American Bar and Grille

1383 Monmouth Rd, Eastampton Township

The Baked Reuben is a specialty sandwich served at O’Connors. It’s an open face sandwich on rye toast with either corned beef, pastrami, or both, topped with sauerkraut, Russian dressing, and Swiss cheese, served with french fries, cole slaw, and a pickle.

The Shannon Rose Irish Pub

1200 NJ-17, Ramsey

98 Kingsland Road, Clifton

The Shannon Rose is holding a monthlong St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Check out their calendar on the website to see what’s happening each day. From drink specials to live music and trivia, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

During St. Patrick’s Day weekend, March 16-17, The Shannon Rose will offer some popular corned beef favorites such as Corned Beef Spring Rolls with whole grain mustard, a traditional corned beef and cabbage platter with white potatoes and Irish soda bread, and the corned beef Reuben made with corned beef, NY cheddar cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing on rye bread, served open-faced. However, these dishes are also featured on their main menu.

Wherever you go in New Jersey to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you’ll be sure to find corned beef, bagpipers, green beer, limericks, and hopefully a huge pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Erin go Bragh!

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