If you sit outside, you may find yourself on one of several patios, perhaps looking over a lily pond and bridge, or taking in some of the playful sculptures that seem to pop-up everywhere.

But as you’re dining, take in the decor–it is beautifully curated and fancifully arranged, creating a feast for all the senses. Expect first-class service, some of the best food in NJ, and some of the top prices as well. If you sit inside, you’ll be in one of a beautifully designed series of intimate rooms (with 4-6 tables each) that weave throughout this surprisingly spacious interior. It is named after Ratty, one of the characters in The Wind in the Willows–known for throwing terrific parties with spectacular wine. The restaurant itself has a quirky exterior and a bountiful interior. The whimsical drive up to the restaurant is flanked by sculptures of people strolling in and out of the building. Rats is one of the most exquisitely designed restaurants you will ever enter. In 2000, Johnson opened “Rats Restaurant,” his Monet-inspired, indoor/outdoor fine dining restaurant located on the Grounds for Sculpture campus. He purchased the land that had housed the NJ State Fairgrounds, and by the 1990’s “The Grounds for Sculpture” was a thriving public indoor/outdoor art museum. Seward Johnson created a plan for a contemporary sculpture museum in Hamilton, NJ. ( Covid Update Dec 2021 – in business) In the 1980’s, sculptor J. Gravitas: Decor: Cost: Proximity: One of the sculptural installations you might find on the paths that wend around the retaurant. Rat's Restaurant, 16 Fairgrounds Rd, Hamilton, NJ

Rat's restaurant hamilton township, nj