All the guides at Princeton Tour Company live, work and play in Princeton so we know all the ins and outs of pairing the perfect restaurant with your customized tour. If you’re looking for a historic pub, craft brewery, a locals-only insidery vibe, or James Beard/Michelin rated fine dining experience, we know these restaurants will fit the bill!
Yankee Doodle Tap Room
Princeton’s oldest and most iconic full service pub. The “quintessentially Ivy League” decor includes the famous Princeton Alumni Wall of Fame, open fireplace and the largest Norman Rockwell painting ever created adorning the walls.
On the tour, your guests will learn why the tavern is named the Yankee Doodle Tap Room and why the original owner’s wife demanded the commissioned Norman Rockwell painting hang directly over the bar!
Graduate by Hilton
Treat yourself and be immersed in local history, legends and Tiger traditions, as creative interiors and college nostalgia come together for an experience that’s undeniably Princeton. Located in the city’s historic district, steps from the Princeton University campus, Ye Tavern is an upscale Pinterest worthy stop.
On the tour, you’ll learn more than you can imagine so you’ll feel right at home with the insidery vibe and luxurious decor. (This is more of a lounge with yummy apps – not a full service restaurant. Just so y’know!)
Triumph Restaurant and Brewery
This craft beer paradise is a wonderful choice for groups who want an upscale meets casual brewery inside a gorgeously renovated post office building. Think live music, full bar, solid menu in the heart of gorgeous Palmer Square.
Mistral Restaurant and Bar
Offering a stunning mix of taste, style and atmosphere, Mistral is recognized for its James Beard decorated chefs and food activists Scott Anderson and chef de cuisine Joe Mooney and the superlative emphasis they place on fresh.local ingredients and artistically plated dishes. Groups of 50 or less especially enjoy the heated outdoor fireplace area.
elements
The sister restaurant to Mistral, elements boasts an exceptional culinary team of movers and shakers looking to revolutionize the restaurant industry time and time again.. Having spent time in kitchens around the world, both Chef Anderson and Chef de Cuisine Mike Ryan are eager to bring an openness to inventive cuisine featuring international influences that marry local ingredients with global flavors. For customers with adventurous palates, elements has no competition in Princeton.
Tour guides will reveal why this location is perfectly situated, not only for convenience but also because it has historically attracted rebellious and early disruptors – just like the current chefs!
Witherspoon Grill
Princeton’s neighborhood steak house features all-natural Prime Angus Beef, local-sourced poultry and fresh fish and seafood from Nassau Street Seafood Company. Steaks are hand-selected and custom cut and include dry-aged Prime Ribeyes, Filet Mignon, wet and dry-aged Strip Steaks and 48 oz Porterhouses.
Kristine’s
Next door to Witherspoon Grill is the JM companion restaurant, Kristine’s, Princeton’s only authentic French restaurant featuring classic selections by Chef Nicholas Demerge.
Both restaurants are located on Hinds Plaza which provides opportunities for larger groups to reserve both restaurants and meander between both full service bars while enjoying live entertainment.
The names Witherspoon and Kristine’s are namesakes for some of Princeton’s most beloved residents. You’re getting the message, our tour guides will share it all with your guests!
Mediterra
Terra Momo owners Raoul and Carlo Momo tap into the extraordinary cuisine of the nearly 2 dozen cultures surrounding the Mediterranean with extra emphasis toward Italian and Spanish cuisine to create New Jersey’s highly sought after modern italiannate menus.
Eno Terra
Eno Terra, also within the Terra Momo family of restaurants, is founded on the principles of regionalism and seasonality drawing from local farmers, fishermen, grass fed beef and poultry producers and three season harvests from its Eno Terra Canal farm.
On the tour, guests will see some of the finest architecture in America while learning about the italian immigrants who were responsible for such amazing feats. Many descendants of those stonemasons still live in Princeton and have shared stories not available in any history book! On the tours, we share it all!
The Perch at Peacock Inn
The Peacock Inn was actually the speakeasy to F Scott Fitzgerald. (You read that right, this was THE speakeasy to one of Princeton’s favorite drop outs!)
Small, intimate bar with adjoining full service restaurant. This gem is a 3-4 minute walk from downtown next to Princeton’s toniest neighborhood – the Western Section.
Dinky Bar and Kitchen
The Dinky Bar and Kitchen is a welcoming and simple bar offering locally sourced, ingredient-driven snacks, small plates and more.
Roots Ocean Prime
A companion restaurant to Dinky Bar and Kitchen sits next door and offers an upscale and thoughtfully constructed menu geared toward groups in need of both indoor and outdoor expansive dining space.
Both restaurants boast views of sculptures by Picasso, Aei Wei Wei and Maya Lin. When arriving at the picturesque location guides will regale stories of undergrads arriving by train to what F Scott described the “grandest country club of all”. The site is also the last train robbery in America! Yep, you read that right and, yes, guides will break it all down before entering either unique location.
Ivy Inn
Many corporate groups like to treat guests and clients to the locals favorite watering hole, Ivy Inn.
Located on Nassau Street down from the famous Hoagie Haven, Ivy Inn can provide karaoke, trivia nights, bingo, dart board competitions, pool tables and incredibly well selected juke box options.
Upon arrival to Ivy Inn guests will learn what beautiful mind loved to study here as well as why the Ivy is named Ivy Inn even though there are no rooms at the location!