On a Friday night on North Van Brunt Street, the marquee at bergenPAC is lit, the valet stand at Sofia is busy, and the sidewalks on Palisade Avenue are full an hour before curtain. Plenty of Bergen County towns have a nice block or two. Englewood has an actual downtown, with a 1,365 seat theater in the middle of it, and that changes how the whole place feels.
I bring buyers here who assumed they had to choose between suburban space and a real cultural life. Englewood, a city of about 30,000 on the eastern side of the county, is my answer to that. Grand homes on the East Hill, condos near the shops, a magnet school program that draws attention from across Bergen County, and three good ways into Manhattan. Here are the five reasons I tell people to take Englewood seriously.
1. Three Legitimate Ways Into Manhattan
Englewood sits about four miles from the George Washington Bridge, and the commute options are the best kind of boring: proven, frequent, and fast. The NJ Transit 166 runs straight through town to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a one seat ride of roughly an hour and ten minutes that regulars treat as rolling reading time. If you work in Midtown and want speed, the 178 to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station is the local move. An indoor walkway connects the station to the 175th Street A train, so you never step outside, and the full trip to Midtown runs about 50 minutes.
Drivers have it even simpler. Route 4 feeds the bridge directly, and on a clear morning you can be over the Hudson in minutes. Downtown workers ride the 178 and take the A express toward Fulton Street. Three routes, one town, and none of them requires a park and ride lottery.
2. bergenPAC and a Downtown People Actually Use
The Bergen Performing Arts Center opened in 1926 as a movie palace, became the John Harms Center for the Arts in 1976, and was revived by the community as bergenPAC in 2004. Today the 1,365 seat theater on North Van Brunt Street books national touring acts year round and runs a performing arts school for local kids. No other town in Bergen County has anything like it.
The theater anchors a downtown that works the way downtowns are supposed to. Palisade Avenue and the Dean Street blocks around it hold restaurants, bakeries, and longtime local shops, with enough evening foot traffic that the town feels alive after 8 pm. That is rarer in the suburbs than most buyers realize, and it is the single thing Englewood transplants tell me they would miss most anywhere else.
3. Housing Stock With a Genuine Range
Most Bergen County towns offer one product at one price band. Englewood offers a spread. The citywide median sale price was around $678,000 in early 2026, up 5.7 percent year over year, which buys a solid colonial or split on a tree lined street. Condos and townhomes near downtown come in below that, which is why I can put first time buyers and downsizers into the same zip code as estate properties.
Then there is the East Hill. The neighborhood climbing toward the Englewood Cliffs border holds grand stone and brick homes on deep lots, with recent sale averages around $1.25 million and landmark properties well beyond that. It has drawn prominent residents for a century for a reason. Few towns let you start in a condo, move up to a colonial, and finish on the Hill without ever changing your dry cleaner.
4. The Academies at Englewood
The school conversation here centers on a program many buyers have never heard of until I explain it. The Academies at Englewood is a tuition free, college preparatory magnet program on the Dwight Morrow High School campus, organized into five tracks: Medical Science, Business and Finance, Legal Studies, Computer Science, and Engineering and Technology. Niche currently ranks the school 19th among New Jersey Standout High Schools and 47th among the state’s most diverse public high schools.
I will be straight with you. Englewood’s district asks for more homework from buyers than a one size fits all suburb, and families here also weigh strong private options, including the well regarded Dwight-Englewood School right in town. But for a motivated student, the Academies delivers a specialized education that towns twice the price cannot match.
5. A 150 Acre Forest Inside City Limits
Flat Rock Brook Nature Center protects 150 acres of oak and hickory forest on the western slope of the Palisades ridge, with 3.6 miles of trails passing a cascading stream, wetlands, a pond, and old quarry cliffs. It sits two miles from the George Washington Bridge, which still surprises me every time I walk it. The trails are free and open dawn to dusk, and the center has run environmental education programs since 1973.
Mackay Park adds the practical side: a swimming pool, an ice skating rink, ball fields, and playgrounds that keep families busy through every season. Between the forest, the parks, and the Palisades trails minutes away, Englewood’s outdoor life punches far above what a commuter city usually offers.
Where to Eat in Englewood
Englewood eats like a city, not a suburb. The restaurant row along Palisade Avenue, Dean Street, and the blocks around bergenPAC turns over the way real dining districts do, so I verified that every spot below is open and serving as of this writing. The current lineup runs from a dry aged steakhouse to scratch made Thai, most of it within a short walk of the theater.
Sofia
Sofia on Engle Street is the town’s fine dining flagship, an Italian steakhouse with dry aged prime cuts, house made pasta, and a curated Italian wine list served in a room that feels lifted straight out of Manhattan.
It sits steps from bergenPAC, offers valet, and fills up on show nights, so book ahead on OpenTable or Resy. This is where Englewood celebrates anniversaries, closings, and everything in between.
Why locals love it: Special occasion dining without crossing the Hudson or paying for parking twice.
Akai Lounge
Akai Lounge on North Dean Street has been Englewood’s modern Japanese standard for years, with fresh fish delivered daily, a full bar of martinis and sakes, and signature plates like Chilean sea bass alongside serious sushi and sashimi.
The room is sleek and low lit, built for date nights, and the sushi bar seats put you in front of chefs who will steer you toward whatever came in freshest that morning.
Why locals love it: Sushi many regulars rank among the best in Bergen County, close enough to walk home from.
Lulu Mediterranean Grill
Lulu on Nathaniel Place blends Greek and Turkish cooking into one lively Mediterranean menu: warm pita, fresh spreads, grilled lamb chops, and kebabs that come off the fire exactly right.
The cocktail list is strong, the patio has hookah, and the kitchen runs late, which makes it the natural landing spot after a bergenPAC show lets out.
Why locals love it: Dinner here has a way of turning into the whole evening, and nobody minds.
Patisserie Florentine
Patisserie Florentine on South Dean Street is a French artisan bakery and brunch café from chef Tomer Zilkha, pairing European technique with Garden State produce in a rustic, modern room.
Mornings mean laminated pastries and proper coffee. Weekends mean a brunch crowd that shows up early and lingers. Take a box of croissants home and you will be back within the week.
Why locals love it: It is the downtown ritual, the place where Saturday in Englewood officially starts.
Khao Thai Cuisine
Khao Thai Cuisine on East Palisade Avenue is a small, family run dining room turning out scratch made Thai food, and its owners have quickly earned a reputation as some of the friendliest people in town.
The space is modest, maybe fifteen tables, but the curries and noodle dishes arrive fast and taste like someone is cooking for you personally, because someone is.
Why locals love it: Honest, authentic Thai at neighborhood prices, two blocks from the theater.
What Englewood’s Food Scene Says About the Town
A steakhouse with valet, a serious sushi bar, a Mediterranean grill with late hours, a French patisserie, and a family Thai kitchen, all within a few walkable blocks, tells you exactly what Englewood is: genuinely diverse, culturally confident, and strong enough to support a downtown that stays awake past dinner. Towns with one diner and a pizzeria sell you quiet. Englewood sells you a life you do not have to leave town to live.
Ready to Make Englewood Home?
Englewood rewards buyers who know its neighborhoods block by block, because the East Hill, the downtown condo market, and the west side are three different conversations. I know all three, and I know how Englewood stacks up against neighbors like Tenafly next door. Tell me what your life needs to look like and I will tell you honestly whether Englewood is your answer.
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Tom Lee | NJNest
Phone: 848-565-1425
Email: tom@njnest.com
Website: njnest.com
Tom Lee is a licensed real estate agent with 2Win Realty, specializing in Bergen County residential real estate. With deep local expertise and a client-first approach, Tom helps buyers and sellers across all 70 Bergen County municipalities make confident real estate decisions.
