We'll be spending a Friday night at the Newark Wyndham before flying out on Saturday to Florida. It's a park and stay place with free parking for our 9 day trip, so we will have a car.
Any great suggestions for a nice dinner somewhere near there? I've not been to the Ironbound section of Portuguese restaurants -- are they all incredibly loud? We really prefer a quieter place if possible -- where people talk, not scream, and you can actually have a nice conversation without yelling at each other.

IMO, the Ironbound is full of places offering huge quantities of mediocre food. If you like rice, that's your destination. Otherwise, …

Have the hotel van take you to the Newark Airport NJTransit Station, and hop a train into Penn Station in Manhattan, about 20 minutes away. There are a bazillion places to eat, at any price point or cuisine, in NYC. One of our favorites is Red Cat at 10th and 23rd. Get a cab or take the E down to 23rd and Eighth and walk two blocks west.

I've had a few business dinners here:
Spanish Tavern
103 Mcwhorter St, Ste A, Newark, NJ 07105-1359

And while it's been "lively", I didn't find that I had to shout to be heard.
Since ur arriving on a Friday...go early, between 5 & 6, if you want to beat the crowds/"noise".

BUT, NYC is certainly great too!

Neo, knowing that you know NYC pretty well that would be my suggestion as well

Well, no. We go to NYC plenty. But picking up Peter after work in Somerset about 5, driving to Newark, having dinner, and getting a good night's sleep before an early Saturday morning flight is the goal. Adding in a trip into the city just to eat, really doesn't seem very logical to me.
We have booked at Adega Grill, a rather new place that gets some mixed reviews but sounds like fun -- and they do have parking, which seems to be unusual in the Ironbound district. And it's only about a 10 minute drive I think from our airport hotel.

But I've been surprised in my search. Other than the Ironbound District, it seems Newark really is devoid of much of anything in the way of restaurants. Really?

Really.

Patrick, did you search on Chowhound? There are quite a few non-ironbound recommended there.

Too bad Vesuvius on Bloomfied Ave is gone! Loved that place, and I mean the old Vesuvius! Food delicious and loved the characters.

Patrick, you may want to investigate the Skylark Diner on Route 1 in Edison, perhaps on your way from Somerset to the Wyndham. Craig Shelton, formerly of the Ryland Inn, a highly-thought-of, now-closed restaurant in Whitehouse Station, consulted for the place when it opened.

BTW, did you notice that the reviews on Adega's website are ten years old? I wouldn't call it "rather new."

Montclair isn't very far from Newark airport, and has a pretty lively restaurant scene. Haven't been for quite a few years though, so have no specific recommendations. Try chowhound, or maybe the savages on yelp.

Montclair: Lorena's, Fascino, Blu
Millburn: Basilico