On November 4, OpenTable released its Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2026, and The Saddle River Inn at 2 Barnstable Court is on it. NJBIZ reported the news the next day. It noted that the ranking drew on reviews from more than 11 million diners, along with the share of reservations made in advance and five-star feedback, between September 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026. This is the fourth straight year the Inn has made the list.
The Inn occupies a barn beside the mill pond in the center of town. That setting exists because the Packer family's industrial buildings found a second life after the factories closed, and because local citizens bought the Packer homestead in 1954.
Four lists in a row
OpenTable's list changes every year. It covers the whole country, and this year's 100 restaurants span 21 states and Washington, D.C. California has 19 of them, New York City 15, Chicago 12, Philadelphia eight and Denver seven. A single Bergen County borough holds one of those spots, and it has held one for four straight years:
| Year | List released | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | November 2023 | OpenTable's 2023 list names The Saddle River Inn among its New Jersey honorees |
| 2024 | November 19, 2024 | NJBIZ reports the Inn and Stella Restaurant in Ventnor, both repeats from 2023 |
| 2025 | November 18, 2025 | OpenTable's 2025 announcement includes the Inn |
| 2026 | November 4, 2026 | NJBIZ reports the Inn on the newest list |
OpenTable's 2024 listing describes the Inn as French and steakhouse cuisine in a fine-dining style. In its 2026 report, NJBIZ credited the restaurant's standing to its French-inspired cuisine, romantic atmosphere and "historic barn setting." That setting predates the restaurant by more than a century.
A plow works on East Allendale Road
According to the Borough of Saddle River's own history, the Packer family arrived in 1866 when they bought the Woodruff Foundry. Within a decade, W.W. Packer and Son was producing plows and farm implements on a large scale. The family then moved into carriages and sleighs and became the largest dealer of carriages and sleighs in the county.
The National Register of Historic Places nomination for Saddle River fills in the rest. William and Christian Packer bought the foundry and expanded plow manufacturing, and the family built a large complex of buildings around the foundry and across East Allendale Road. The Packers also owned a basket factory. In the mid- and late 19th century, the Saddle River area was known for its fruit, especially strawberries, and local baskets carried that fruit through picking and shipping.
The Inn's own history page says its building was operating as a sawmill and basket-weaving factory as early as 1840. New Jersey Monthly's 2013 review described the structure as a handsome barn dating to 1790.
The industry faded at the turn of the 20th century. The National Register text explains that small hydropower businesses without railroad access could no longer compete, and that W.W. Packer and Son became mainly a seller of sleighs and carriages, and later automobiles. By 1915, the borough's small industries together employed 22 men.
What happened in 1954
Once the factories closed, the cluster of buildings around the mill pond might easily have disappeared. The borough history records what happened instead:
"The Packer Homestead and out buildings were acquired by concerned citizens in 1954 and the area is now known as Barnstable Court."
The National Register nomination records the result. In the 1950s, a number of former Packer buildings were adapted to commercial uses, with the mill pond at the center of the project and the historic character of the area deliberately emphasized. The nomination calls Barnstable Court "an important landmark in preservation in Bergen County" and places it within the Saddle River Center District.
The borough's 2010 master plan still lists the pieces individually. The William Packer House and its accessory buildings are at 71 East Allendale Road, along with a mill pond, a dam, part of a raceway and an island in the Saddle River. The Packer showroom is listed separately at 73 East Allendale Road. The borough history notes that the red Packer Showroom still stands in the center of town, across the street from the Hardware Store.
When diners book a table "nestled along the banks of the Saddle River," as the Inn describes itself, they are booking the 1950s adaptation of the Packers' 19th-century works.
Three decades of French cooking in a former factory
The restaurant came almost three decades after the preservation. The Inn's history says Hans and Imelda Egg opened the Saddle River Inn in 1981 and set a standard for French fine dining. In January 2013, Jamie Knott and Peter Liloia bought the business. New Jersey Monthly reviewed the Inn that July, during the first year of the change in ownership, and gave it three stars out of four.
Today the Inn calls itself a contemporary French restaurant. Its menu changes twice a season and is built on prime dry-aged beef, line-caught sustainable seafood and local organic produce when available. The posted menu lists appetizers, entrées, sides, butcher-block items and desserts, each priced individually. According to the restaurant, it has received an "Excellent" rating from The New York Times and 3.5 stars from both The Bergen Record and The Star-Ledger.
The same owner later added a second restaurant a short drive away. Knott and business partner Robert Palmer founded The Saddle River Cafe in 2018. NorthJersey.com covered its opening that July. The Cafe is at 171 East Saddle River Road.
Booking around the holidays
OpenTable's ranking gives weight to the share of reservations made in advance. During the holiday season, that means planning ahead. Here is what the Inn currently posts on its hours and location page:
- Address: 2 Barnstable Court, Saddle River, NJ 07458
- Reservations: Tuesday through Thursday 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 9:30 p.m., Sunday 4 to 8:15 p.m.
- How to book: by phone at (201) 825-4016 or through OpenTable
- Late arrivals: during busy services, tables are held for 15 minutes after the booking time, and guests running late are asked to call ahead
- Dress code: the Inn describes an upscale atmosphere and does not permit shorts
The Inn's OpenTable listing describes it as BYOB and lists both BYO wine and BYO liquor. Holiday hours can change, so call the restaurant to confirm before planning around a specific date.
The Cafe is the more casual option, and its schedule fills the hours the Inn leaves open. Its OpenTable listing shows lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., brunch Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. The listing marks it as BYO wine.
For Thanksgiving, The Saddle River Cafe is taking orders from a 2026 holiday menu. The order deadline is Sunday, November 22, and pickup is Wednesday, November 25, the day before the holiday.
If you plan the dinner around a visit to the area, the rest of the Packer story is a few steps away. The borough lists the mill pond and dam with the Packer house at 71 East Allendale Road, and the red showroom at 73 still faces the Hardware Store.
Historic buildings in the Saddle River Center District carry stories like this one, and they shape how a property is presented and how buyers understand it. If you own a home near Barnstable Court or anywhere in the district and want to know how its history can be documented and shown to buyers, Christian Di Stasio Group can help. Schedule a white‑glove consultation.
