A fine-dining restaurant inside one of Cape May’s historic hotels is getting national attention as one of the best hotel restaurants in the country, according to a new 2025 guide from OpenTable and KAYAK.
The Ebbitt Room, located in The Virginia on Jackson Street, keeps its menu fresh and local by sourcing ingredients from nearby Beach Plum Farm. Just minutes away, the farm provides everything from Berkshire hogs to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, so the kitchen’s offerings shift with the seasons.
Guests can pick from an à la carte menu or choose a prix fixe option that changes nightly to highlight what’s freshest. The dining room mixes white tablecloths with a laid-back, business casual vibe. On weekends, live jazz adds a little extra ambiance. The wine list has earned multiple awards from Wine Spectator and focuses on boutique and hard-to-find labels.
Beyond the regular dinner service, The Ebbitt Room hosts special events that bring guests closer to the farm-to-table experience. “Late Summer Harvest” invites diners to enjoy a meal right on the farm, paired with local wines and spirits. The “Wild Game Dinner” features hearty dishes like duck, venison and quail. “Flavors of Fall” offers cozy plates built around the farm’s cooler-weather harvest. These events start at $225 per person.
OpenTable and KAYAK created their list using diner reviews, booking data and five-star ratings. Their research shows 73 percent of Americans would return to a hotel because of a strong restaurant. Nearly half have planned trips around dining. Over the past year, 60 percent of hotel restaurant diners were visitors from out of town.
The Ebbitt Room makes it clear that a hotel restaurant can stand on its own as a destination.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.