You know when you keep meaning to get to a place? I’ve been aware of Heirloom Kitchen for most of the time I’ve been living down the shore. I’m on their email list, I attended an Asbury Park restaurant photography tour that they planned last spring (led by Phila-based photographer Mike Persico, who did the Zahav cookbook), and I’ve just been meaning to check the place out. Last night I finally got there–and I’ll preface this by saying I have no personal connection nor stake in the place, but I’m excited to have found something like this within reach of my still-new home.
Located in what I’d dub a suburban “we’re not a strip mall because we tried to look more boutique than that” strip mall (there’s a Dunkin’ Donuts, people), I swear HK is an oasis when you open the door. Bright, (mostly) white, a stunning open kitchen/chef’s counter, a communal table that can comfortably seat 14, and plenty of smaller tables, I thought it was gorgeous.
Their newish Exec Chef is David Viana, whose resume is impressive. I’ve had his food at Barrio Costero here in AP and separate from visually stunning plates hitting the table, everything I tried was VERY good (oh, that octopus…). It appears David has fully left Barrio to pursue this chef’s table/weekend restaurant/cooking school concept, and I think Old Bridge just got VERY lucky.
They sell far less merchandise than I thought based on what I’ve seen on their social media post, but there’s a modest collection of cookbooks, glassware, tableware, and the like.
I was there for a focus group, so I didn’t have any of the HK menu items, but I will most certainly be back. They’re opening the restaurant tonight and it appears they still have seats available this weekend. Well worth checking out, imo!
It’s near us and pretty to look at, but (for example) I can’t find anything that tells me what this dinner would cost, even on the reservation page. (And given their other prices, I suspect it’s more than I want to pay.)
I see via Twitter and Facebook that Heirloom Kitchen has received 3-1/2 stars from the Star-Ledger’s Cody Kendall. Searched the newspaper’s website NJ.com, but the review doesn’t seem to be posted yet. I presume it will be at some point. Whoever finds it first, please post a link.
I love when I scoop first! I saw that HK had an Instagram post about it this afternoon but they didn’t include a link, so maybe it’s not going to be up until Sunday?
As I said above, I figured it would eventually be posted on NJ.com though they really should do it simultaneously with the hard copy version. In any case, glad you found it.
We just went tonight for dinner and it was amazing. Seriously. Best dining experience we have had in years. The food is incredible and the service is on point. They are extremely well staffed with enthusiastic owners, chefs and waiters.
We sat at the 2nd tier chefs table. You can see everything that is being cooked but are slightly removed at a higher bar. Everything looked meticulously clean and labeled. I love that. They started us with a little taste of a celery root puree, proscuitto and blood orange. YUM. Then we ordered a broccoli salad and we wanted sourdough bread, but they told us they were out. Ok, no problem, something to get next time. One of the owners chatted with us a while and she told us that she makes the sourdough each morning (which of course made me want to try it more). When I told her I also make bread but have fallen off the sourdough bandwagon. She found us a piece of bread (not enough for a full order but totally more than enough) AND she gave me some of her starter! I am so excited. Broccoli salad was delicious but we thought it would be nicer warm.
There was a slight delay getting mains out. We didn’t really notice since a large… colorful group was seated in front of us. But, regardless they sent out a clam with a little bit of pasta. More yum. The mains were another planet. My husbands duck was one of the best things I have ever had. I ordered lobster ravioli which was packed with a robust lobster flavor.
Dessert, lemon curd was extremely creative and expressive. They then gave us another dessert which we would have enjoyed much more if we weren’t already stuffed. THEN the pastry chef came out with chocolates and tiny pastries. I feel like I might pop!
TOTAL - $90 pre tip. You can buy wine bottles there or BYOB. They plan to change items around on the menu every week or two. It is a really cool concept and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as we did!
We went back this past weekend and happy to report the food was again super delicious. I was sad that they ran out of scallops but ordered chicken (which I never do since I make it so much at home). My chicken is never as juicy or flavorful as theirs was so I got over my disappointment. Only criticism from the night: they need to work on timing as dinner took way too long. They apologized profusely, but dinner took 3 hours.
On a side note, I am equally curious where the patrons are from that I have seen here both times. People look like they are about to have a big night in Atlantic City. Ladies in their most expensive garb and the guys in loud button-up shirts.
LOL re: the patrons! When I was there I did get the feeling that half the group knew the owners/staff and they had certainly been there before, as they talked about having been there opening weekend…
Just curious–were you at the chef’s counter again, or at a table? Seems like the counter would be the place to be, unless you go w a group and take part/all of the community table.
@CurlzNJ I felt like some people knew the owners the first time, but not as much the second time. It did seem like the customers knew each other. Maybe that explains the matching outfits, red bottom stilettos and Chanel bags?
Anyways, this time we were at a table (WITH A LAZY SUSAN!) We had 4 in our group this time, so it is easier to chat when everyone can face each other. I love to watch cooking so next time we will be back at the counter. They had 3 or 4 big parties that were seated before, during and after us so I understand why things took as long as they did.
Sounds like I should give this place a try. Are the prices/menu the same at first and second tier chef’s table? Is it a la carte or a prix fixe type thing?
The menu is the same throughout the restaurant. It isn’t a huge menu 4-5 apps, 4-5 mains, 2 desserts. I prefer this since I can’t imagine that anyone can do 40 dishes really well. You can check out their menu on their website. It is a la carte. I did see on their instagram they did a prix fixe menu but that seemed like a one time thing.
I saw that HK had an Instagram post about it this afternoon but they didn’t include a link, so maybe it’s not going to be up until Sunday?
