
Popular Asbury Park restaurant gets name change and new concept
The face of Asbury Park has been changing at a fast pace. Restaurant goers who went there a couple of years ago have new choices and tastes that were not there on their last trip to the hip city.
One of the most popular and successful restaurants, Heirloom at The St. Laurent, which just opened to great accolades in 2022 and was awarded one of the best restaurants in the Garden State in its inaugural year, and Asbury Park’s top restaurants in 2023 and 2024, will soon have a new name and new concept.
Chef David Viana, who had considerable success on TV’s Top Chef announced that he is changing the name and concept of the Heirloom restaurant to Judy & Harry’s, an Italian restaurant. While not much has been released about the menu or décor, you can bet that it would be worth the try.
I am curious and puzzled why the world-class chef would go Italian when there are staple and proven Italian restaurants with Brando’s, the legendary Jimmy’s, and Mom’s Kitchen on the west side of Asbury Park.
In addition, Porta and Talula’s serve a smaller choice but Italian-themed offerings. Less than a mile from Brando’s you have Vic’s in Bradley Beach making a cornucopia of choices for one of my favorite cuisines and restaurants.
I found that quite a few restaurants established later than 2017 through 2024 have changed their offerings or sadly are no longer there. A good chef likes to mix it up a bit to keep things fresh. Chef Viana is good enough to keep people coming through the doors.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet that his Italian concept will be much different than what is expected.
Happy eating!
Best Pasta in New Jersey
Gallery Credit: Bill Spadea
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.
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