It’s a frigid night in the dead of winter—the streets of Jersey City are unusually empty. What better way to warm up than a good meal? Not just any meal will do, though. I want big flavors. I want dishes that leave an impression. I want to forget about the cold outside and melt into the dinner as the courses pass me by, aided by hefty pours of wine along the way.
I seek refuge inside of 87 Sussex, a new-to-me restaurant that’s putting out a menu rife with flavors from across the globe—centering on French techniques and presentations. Along with a gorgeous two-floor space, diverse bar selection and exceptional service, it might just become one of your new go-to spots.
87 Sussex is hard to miss. It’s right in the heart of Paulus Hook—a quaint residential JC neighborhood decorated with brownstones and historical monuments. Illuminated by fires on the patio and floor-to-ceiling windows in an otherwise quiet part of town. Inside, the liveliness grows. Dark wood floors and accents of gold dot the space. Blue-backed leather chairs, a marble bar top and decidedly funky lamps hang from the ceiling. The second floor is loft-style, opening up the space in a way uncommon for multi-floor restaurants.
Opposite the bar is a beautiful blue-and-gold granite surface that runs along the entirety of the stairs-side wall. It’s not all new construction, though. Pieces of the original architecture peek through, like a classic brick wall near the kitchen pass. This mix of old and new helps to avoid visual fatigue—something I think many modern restaurants miss the mark on.
It’s an interior design that’s hard to pinpoint and, in some ways, a nod to restaurants past. Almost as if a big-money Wall Street restaurant you’d see in a film was plopped in the center of a quiet neighborhood. It’s era-spanning yet conceptually defined.
It’s a first impression that sets the table for the meal to follow, which follows a similar style. Chef Brian Walter has crafted a menu that centers proudly around French technique and presentation. However, the flavors aren’t solely grounded in Europe—not even close. Instead, he pulls influence from flavors and ingredients found across the globe.
Opt for the bluefin tuna appetizer—a tartare packed on top of a brick of crispy sushi rice and garnished with thinly sliced avocado. A ponzu and sesame dressing lightly flavors the tuna without overpowering its clean and luscious flavor. The rice is chewy and warm, starkly contrasting to the cold fish. A few leaves of mache—a buttery winter lettuce sometimes called lamb’s lettuce. It’s a dish with several bold components, each one working in harmony with one another to create a memorable balance of flavor, texture and temperature.
Fried frog legs—a delicacy usually associated with French cuisine—get a touch of global flair with a Korean BBQ glaze and wok’d scallion. Chef Walter ditches the dimpled plateware and garlic butter for escargot in favor of a crispy wonton wrapping and black garlic marmalade.
Then, there are the truly luxurious bites. The Black Tie Scallop is an homage to a dish made famous by Chef Daniel Boloud at his famous NYC institution, Restaurant Daniel, for example. It’s a dish that has had a profound influence on the culinary world, though is extremely tricky to replicate. Chef Walter does it justice. Thinly sliced scallops and truffles are layered and encased in spinach and puff pastry, baked to a golden-brown hue and presented cut in half to highlight the beautiful layers of black and white. A server pours a truffle-flavored veal jus around the plate tableside.
Talk about big flavors—this dish is buttery and earthy, with a clean sweetness from the scallop, which delicately cooks inside of the pastry. It’s a fun contrast to the usual hard-seared scallop on menus nowadays. Moreover, it’s an accessible way to try a legendary dish. And you can stay right here in Jersey to have it.
A vegetarian fricassee of hen of the woods mushroom, chestnuts, hon shimeji broth hits the table. Despite being meatless, the mushrooms pack a profound meatiness and umami, which is perfect served over a creamy kale risotto. It’s a winter dish that won’t leave you missing meat even a little bit.
In fact, 87 Sussex has several vegetarian options that sing to the same tune. Anything but an afterthought. Like the butternut squash agnolotti that sits on the current menu. Tender pasta, stuffed with a silky and buttery puree of squash. The pasta is served sauced in nutty brown butter with amaretti cookie crumble, slivered almonds and butter-fried sage. Pappardelle sauced in braised rabbit and olives shows off more of Chef Walter’s chops when it comes to fresh pasta.
In true stick-to-your-ribs fashion is a Barolo-braised short rib, served over a white sweet potato mash with Chinese long beans, which coil around the short rib like snakes in a garden. The meat is fall-apart tender and unctuously flavored. In contrast is the white sweet potato puree, which is obviously sweet, but not as coying as your typical orange sweet potato or yam.
Crispy-skinned Daurade—a sea bream native to the Mediterranean—comes crusted in olive tapenade, pine nuts and breadcrumb. Daurade itself is quite mild, so the briny olive crust makes for a great enhancer. Dried white grapes bring a burst of sweetness and contrast, while tender purple potatoes sit underneath the fish, soaking in all of the flavors. It’s a hard-to-find fish in the area, and Chef Walter executes it with near perfection.
87 Sussex brings Jersey City diners a timeless marriage of French technique and global fare. Whether it’s Japanese-inspired tuna tartare paired with a yuzu-and-plum-spiked whiskey cocktail, or a meaty short rib alongside a glass of full-bodied Syrah, the Paulus Hook restaurant offers a concept that is malleable to your needs. No matter the occasion, Chef Brian Walter’s decade-spanning career as a chef is on full display. Corporate private dinners, date night, a solo dinner at the bar—it’s all welcome at this casually luxe eatery.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
