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A new fine dining experience was unveiled Thursday night in the city of Asbury Park, a popular destination for foodies across the County and beyond.

Offered by iStar, the city’s master waterfront redeveloper, and David Bowd of Salt Hotels, The Gallery is a 14-table intimate fine dining experience located inside Asbury Ocean Club, the luxury residential and boutique hotel that opened this summer at 1101 Ocean Avenue.

“We have seen continued interest from the community and Asbury Park visitors in experiencing Asbury Ocean Club first-hand, so we are excited to welcome new guests on property,” said iStar Senior Vice President of Land & Development Brian Cheripka. 

And just as Asbury Ocean Club’s residences and hotel have set a new standard for luxury in Asbury Park, The Gallery brings a new level of fine dining to the Asbury Park culinary scene, organizers said in a written statement. Upon arriving at the hotel lobby, dinner guests are escorted up to The Gallery Bar where pre-dinner cocktails can be enjoyed before being escorted to their seats.

“It’s world-class cuisine in a beautiful setting,” Bowd [shown at right in feature photo] told triCity News this week. “We have this phenomenal space [and] we’re now ready to open it up.”

Executive Chef Michael Dunston [shown below], a Brick native who lives in Toms River, has put forth a modern approach to Eastern Shore cuisine. And while a new menu will debut each season, the opening  Fall / Winter 2019 bill of fare features a curated selection of small plates, greens, sides, larger entrees, and desserts.

“It’s world-class cuisine in a beautiful setting,” Bowd said. “At night when this place is lit by candles it’s spectacular, and it’s with great five-star service. The team is all local [and] the kitchen is xo excited for this.”

The opening fare list includes everything from a one-of-kind Ocean Club Raw Bar featuring east & west coast oysters, half dozen middle neck Virginia clams, half dozen gulf shrimp cocktail partnered with a bloody mary cocktail sauce and blood orange mignonette to a Peppercorn Beef Carpaccio with a shallot mariné, quail yolk, pomegranate pearls, and a whole grain mustard mousse accented with Maldon.

The Bit Plate offerings feature a Sauerbraten Osso Bucco Boston with a lager demi, saffron risotto and espuma [foam], parsnips, tuille and shiso; and a Duck Two Ways entree accented by smooth butternut, Oma’s cabbage and a Blood Orange Glaze.

The personalized dining experiences also features a curated wine list and crafted cocktails, like the Winter Oak, which incorporates the local Asbury Park Distilling’s barrel-aged gin, dry vermouth, fig-vanilla syrup, lemon juice, and Angostura bitters.

The intimate candlelit Gallery was designed by Anda Andrei, in collaboration with Bonetti / Kozerski Architecture. 

Surrounding the circular white marble café tables is seating that features Danish walnut chairs and wide walnut plank walls framed in iridescent green upholstered cushions, all overlooking the pool deck and signature landscaping. The pièce de résistance is an enormous Italian table carved from a single piece of wood, accented by a limited-edition leather chair by Charles Kalpakian and a vintage Ultrafragola mirror by Ettore Sottsass.

As with this collaborative team’s other ventures [The Asbury hotel and Asbury Lanes], great detail was given to the flatware, plates and glassware. Take for instance the wine glasses that boast a stiletto-heel style stem and the stone plates.

The Gallery is open daily from 6 to 10 p.m. Reservations can be made via phone at 732.825.6000) or through their website. Residents and hotel guests will be given priority reservations. For more information, visit asburyoceanclub.com/hotel/restaurant.

[Feature photo courtesy of triCity News]

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