A guide to South Asian food in Edison and Central New Jersey
Edison sits at the heart of one of the largest Indian-American communities in the United States. Middlesex County's South Asian population grew steadily from the 1970s onward, and the food scene grew with it: sweet shops, chaat counters, banquet halls, vegetarian thali houses and late-night biryani spots, many of them run by the same families for decades. Our Edison listings cover the town itself and the places nearby that locals drive to without a second thought, from Iselin and Piscataway to Somerset, South Plainfield and East Brunswick, plus Jersey City's India Square to the north.
Oak Tree Road: where to start
If you only have one afternoon, spend it on Oak Tree Road, the stretch running through Edison and Iselin that most people mean when they say "Little India" in New Jersey. It is dense enough to walk: grocery stores, jewellers and sari shops sit between restaurants, and on weekend evenings the sidewalks are busy with families shopping for weddings and festivals.
A few of the highest-rated places in our listings sit right on this road. Saci Indian Bistro (1734 Oak Tree Rd) is one of the best-rated sit-down spots in the area. Eggholic (1679 Oak Tree Rd) takes a narrower brief, Indian street-style egg dishes, and does well with it. Further along, you will find sweets counters, dosa houses and chaat stalls in nearly every strip mall.
Beyond Oak Tree Road
The best meals in the area are not all in one place. Some worth knowing about:
- Route 27 (Lincoln Highway) runs through Edison, Colonia, Franklin Park and Somerset and carries a long line of Indian restaurants. Punjabi Rasoi in Somerset is a small, simple room focused on tandoori dishes and vegetarian North Indian curries. Chatpati Delhi in Franklin Park keeps a long menu of familiar favourites, including dosa and thali. Utsav Grand in Colonia is another highly rated option along the same road.
- Somerset and South Plainfield have some of the area's strongest vegetarian cooking. A2B Indian Veg Restaurant in South Plainfield began as a sweets and snacks shop and grew into a full vegetarian menu.
- Jersey City's India Square, around Newark Avenue near Journal Square, is the other major hub in the state. It is older and more compact than Oak Tree Road, and it rewards a walk.
- The Madina Fountain BBQ & Grill in Edison is a halal option for grilled meats, curries, biryani and falooda.
Dishes to look for
Central New Jersey cooks across the whole subcontinent, but a few things are especially easy to find here: