24 places to eat and drink in the strip-mall wonderland of Cherry Hill

Josh Lawler, chef and owner of Cherry Hill's own Farm & Fisherman, recommends this woman-owned steamed-dumpling specialist across the street from the Wegmans. “It was fabulous,” he says. Besides handmade bao (priced at an incredibly affordable $2.50 a pop), there are noodle dishes, steamed dumplings, and Hong Kong-style waffles.

Folks on the South Jersey Food Scene Facebook group gush about this two-year-old bakery, which makes its own flaky baklava and borek, traditional breads, and specialty cakes. I’m planning a return to Cherry Hill for the acma pastry, Turkish breakfast spread, and the chocolate-pistachio cake. The bakery is open from 7 a.m. to midnight every day but Sunday, making it an especially good option for either late-night or breakfast treats.

A family-owned gem attached to the Cherry Hill Mall, this luxe-feeling BYOB is the sophisticated sibling to Moorestown’s Blue Fig Cafe. Everything is prepared from scratch, from the sesame-studded simit rings to the pistachio-enriched Dubai chocolate bars. Go for the enormous Turkish breakfast spread (order menemen or eggs with soujouk sausage on the side) or the lahmacun, an elliptical flatbread slicked with minced beef and aromatics that’s baked in the restaurant’s gilded pizza oven.

In a region stacked with upscale Italian options, this Cherry Hill staple stands out for its size and versatility, with a sommelier, raw bar, and shaded outdoor seating. Scan its many dining areas for South Jersey’s stars (car dealers, TV meteorologists, retired hockey players, etc.).

This sandwich destination is harder to find than most places in Cherry Hill. It’s down an alleyway off Route 70, behind Divorce Center. The cheesy breakfast sandwiches, well-constructed cheesesteaks (including the chicken cheesesteak, a favorite of Craig LaBan’s), and Italian hoagies make it well worth seeking out. If you have any room left, check out Lou and Ann’s Deli further down the road; the venerated 66-year-old sandwich shop is on the market.

Would that every suburb had an Italian market like this. Owner Joe Croce moved to Cherry Hill from Italy and opened this compact grocery store in 1990. He and his family have filled every inch with imported specialties (buffalo milk butter, sweet finocchiona, every shape of dried pasta, etc.). Want a gourmet dinner you can phone in? They make fresh pasta and sauces in house, along with platters of chicken marsala, lasagna, and meatballs. Don’t miss the sandwiches — especially the No. 2, with roasted red peppers, prosciutto, and wonderfully salty fresh mozzarella.

Piping hot soup dumplings in near-translucent wrappers are the star here (they’re Craig LaBan’s favorite in the region), but round out your order with Dim Sum House’s excellent cold appetizers (pork knuckles and ears, marinated duck, and smoked fish) and hot dishes like spicy fried rice and Shanghai-style udon noodles. Plan on bringing home leftovers.

This decade-old establishment in the Sawmill Village shopping center, from South Jersey native Craig Vogt, has plenty of traditional Korean dishes on its menu, including galbi, japchae, kimchi jigae, and soon dubu. But Dolsot House also gets a lot of attention for its shatteringly crisp wings, tossed in your choice of honey sesame, soy garlic, spicy, or diablo sauce.

This bar and restaurant introduced Cherry Hill to the farm-to-table concept in 2013. It has yet to get old. There are meaty entrées like the onion jam-topped industrial burger and rigatoni Bolognese, as well as vegetable-forward riffs like Korean BBQ squash and roasted cauliflower in mushroom curry cream. The drinks are as seasonally inspired as the food. Don’t sleep on the no- and low-alcohol standbys, including the housemade ginger beer and the elderflower spritz.

Numerous people who live and work in Cherry Hill single out this location of Han Chiang’s Sichuan restaurant empire. Josh Lawler, chef and owner of nearby Farm and Fisherman, goes so frequently, the staff knows him by sight. His order every time: crispy cucumbers, scallion pancakes, dan dan noodles, vegetable fried rice, dry-fry-style pork, and mapo tofu.

When he visited this colorful BYOB a couple years back, Craig LaBan was transfixed by Hên chef-owner Andrew Ma’s bánh khọt — crispy-creamy bite-sized half-sphered pancakes made with coconut milk and rice flour and filled with savory nubs of ground pork and tiny shrimp. Pair them with delicate summer rolls, sweet-and-salty bò lúc lac, and fragrant bún bò huế.

This beloved modern Indian restaurant ping-ponged between Philadelphia and South Jersey before nestling in Cherry Hill for what appears to be the long haul. Inquirer critic Craig LaBan has heaped it with praise in past, and locals swear by its innovative renditions of familiar dishes (think grilled chicken tikka chipotle and butter chicken poutine).

One of a few independently owned watering holes in Cherry Hill, this sports bar is the “closest thing we have to a neighborhood bar,” says Josh Lawler, who orders the roast pork sandwich. As a bonus, it’s family-friendly.

The staff at 14-year-old La Cita makes everything daily, including fresh tortillas, guacamole, salsa, and chips. The restaurant thoughtfully offers a taco sampler, so you don’t have to choose between al pastor, birria, and carnitas — you can have them all (plus two more). Be sure to check out El Mercadito next door, where you can buy dried chilies, fresh cheeses, and Mexican baked goods.

Hidden away in an office park off Route 70, this microbrewery churns out a varied selection of well-executed beers and hard seltzers. The bar had 14 beers on draft on a recent visit, including several sours, an imperial pilsner, a rye saison, and pistachio stout on nitro. Seltzer buffs should also make the trip; Mechanical has a dedicated seltzer brewer on staff, coming up with far-fetched flavors like cotton candy and oaked prosecco.

This may not be the best soup dumpling spot in Cherry Hill — the Inquirer’s resident expert awarded that honor to Dim Sum House — but this branch of New York’s Nan Xiang offers an easy opportunity to check out a Michelin-starred restaurant in South Jersey. You can watch the chefs at work in this gorgeous dining room, where I sampled maybe the best string beans I’ve ever had. It’s also impossible to resist the “Lucky Six” steamer, a rainbow-colored set of soup dumplings.

A fixture in the Barclay Farms Shopping Center, the Bitar family has been serving up Eastern Mediterranean specialties — fuul, shawarma, falafel, and much more — to Cherry Hill since 1992. (You might recognize their last name from Bitar’s, the former Lebanese market and luncheonette that lasted 30 years in South Philly; Norma’s was started by one of the three Bitar brothers.) Stop at Norma’s market next door for Middle Eastern ingredients and the restaurant’s homemade baklava and pita chips.

You won’t miss this pizza place as you’re cruising down Route 38: It’s marked by a red-and-white polka-dotted Fiat and housed in a former Pizza Hut (or so its roof would have you believe). Craig LaBan recalls People’s fondly: “I remember particularly loving their stuffed pizzas when I was a hungry young correspondent in the Cherry Hill bureau.” The stuffed-crust beauty is still on the menu today.

Legendary for its status as a see-and-be-seen destination for politicians, Ponzio’s has served millions of customers over its 61 years. The Fifis family knows its way around a French dip and a cookie tray (all Ponzio’s baked goods and desserts are made on-site), but Farm & Fisherman chef Josh Lawler likes Ponzio’s for its low-key bar. “It’s super-old school, but kind of fun,” he says.

Craig LaBan swooned about this year-old restaurant from serial deli-owner Russ Cowan, or as LaBan calls him, “Philly’s pastrami king.” Oversized sandwiches and matzo ball soup are highly recommended.

South Jerseyans are lucky not to have to cross the bridge to get to this Chinatown institution best known for its classic Cantonese fixings. Get egg noodle soup (the best there is), roasted duck, thinly wrapped wontons, and beef brisket, and you’ll have no regrets.

A friend described this chain diner (more commonly found in Maryland and Virginia) as “an Epcot version of a Jersey diner,” but Cherry Hill resident Jay Lassiter endorses it personally. “It’s got all the food that I want to get at a diner, but also slightly healthier options that aren’t bird-food healthy,” he says.

This isn’t as retro as a steakhouse can get (the Pub in Pennsauken is untouchable in that regard), but this old-school charmer ups the ante with tableside Caesar salad service. 

This Japanese BYOB from chef Jae Shin, a Starr Restaurants alum, does a brisk takeout business, but the restaurant’s excellent food and service make it well worth hanging out. Sushi rolls and gyoza are popular choices here, but Zushi Dozo’s mom-and-pop crew also makes ramen, galbi, and rice bowls.