Grand Tavern has been one of the Jersey Shore’s most quietly exceptional restaurants for a decade. Now, it’s entering a new chapter.
The restaurant, led by Chef-Owner Paul Holzheimer, has refined its approach even further—leaning harder into technique-driven cooking, sharper execution, and a menu that feels more confident than ever.
But, where Grand Tavern excels the most is in its approach. Nothing is fussy. The plates aren’t unnecessarily adorned. There are no dots of fluid gel in the way, or foams masking the fare. Instead, it’s just delicious food—with perfect execution—on a plate. The way it should be. The way it was always meant to be.
And that makes sense for the Neptune City restaurant. After all, Grand Tavern is… a tavern. The wrap-around bar is the centerpiece of the dining room, where cold beer and playful riffs on classic cocktails flow. Behind the bar is a window into the kitchen, where diners get a glimpse of the action, but not the entire game. It’s busy at dinner time. Reservations are encouraged, but you’re just as welcome to pop into the bar and have a quick bite to eat.
Grand Tavern is a living, breathing restaurant. It’s open seven days a week, it doesn’t require a dress code, and locals still make up a majority of the dining room on any given night. In many ways, it’s a glimpse into the dining world before social media took over. Before eateries became bullet points on a list rather than functional establishments with a purpose beyond trends.
So, when I caught word that Holzheimer would hire an Executive Chef for the first time in 10 years, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t skeptical. Back in February, Chef Aishling Stevens silently took the helm at Grand Tavern. She brings with her a wealth of industry experience, including years as the Executive Chef and Culinary Director for Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg.
Honestly speaking, I wasn’t sure it would fit the mold. I had no doubt in her cooking ability, but I feared it could change the things that I loved so much about Grand Tavern to begin with.
I’ll cut straight to the chase: I was wrong. So very wrong. Chef Stevens’ menu is firing on all cylinders—a perfect embodiment of the Grand Tavern ethos. That means simple food, seasonal ingredients, and a technique-first approach to it all.
I didn’t think it was possible. Somehow, Grand Tavern just got better.
It’s the Same Great Restaurant
The best way to describe the food at Grand Tavern is easy for me: it’s food you crave. And that concept has not been lost, even with a changing of the guards. Plus, you can still find Holzheimer at the bar some evenings running quality control—or is he just there for the same reasons we are?
There’s a border-free approach to cooking that goes down here. A meal might take you from the bustling streets of Vietnam to India, then the South of France, with a stop in Italy, before landing back at the Jersey Shore. Some dishes have no national allegiance at all. Others fuse cuisines together.
Clams come steamed in white wine and aromatics with creamy butter beans dispersed throughout. The beans—similar in size to the meat of a clam—find their way into the shell, which has a playful way of tricking you as you eat it.
Grilled bread on the side is the mop, soaking up all of the butter-rich sauce and adding a subtly charred flavor to the party.
The legume acts as both an accent and a co-star, creating a perfect chorus of flavor and texture. That might be my favorite part of dishes like this. It isn’t clams with beans. It’s clams and beans. An equal opportunity showcase for two beautiful ingredients. And it’s a theme that reappears throughout the menu.
In a similar vein is the warm squid salad. The plate is made up of four primary components: flash-cooked cubes—not rings—of squid, creamy fried potatoes, crispy cured pork, and fresh garbanzo beans. Neither yells over the other. Instead, they sit shoulder-to-shoulder as equals.
Fresh chickpeas are only available this time of year. They’re bright green and taste more similar to an English pea than the pale tan legumes that come from a Goya can. Together with a punchy salsa verde, they add a much-needed burst of freshness to what would otherwise be a rich plate of food. It’s a skill to make a dish that is nearly half fried meat and potatoes taste fresh, light, and of Spring. But that’s the type of culinary bewilderment that Stevens specializes in.
The contrasting temperatures are pleasant to navigate, and the aroma screams of the season. If I’m being candid, the colors alone were enough to pull me out of my Winter slump. A visually arresting plate of food that is—like I alluded to before—not fussy. It doesn’t rely on tricks or garnish. Just ingredients. On a plate. Telling a story of the season.
Other standouts bounce from table to table. A crispy pressed oxtail shows a glimpse of Stevens’ fine dining chops, while the Laksa curry that comes underneath it exhibits her global tilt with ease. And sticky pork ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender, with unctuous chili caramel, and roast peanuts that keep us in the broad realm of Southeast Asia.
The Bar Program
The food at Grand Tavern demands something worth drinking alongside it, and the bar program is more than up to the task.
Weaved in between bites of oxtail and squid is a thorough cocktail list that has become just as much a part of the Grand Tavern experience as the food itself. Bar Director Erin Lamb’s list is far-reaching, striking a balance between classic and contemporary bartending that is hard to find in Jersey. You’ll see the likes of clarified milk punches and simply shaken sours—next to bold, stirred Manhattan riffs and martini plays that make a statement.
Beyond traditional cocktails is a zero-proof list that isn’t an afterthought, and a spread of fun, actually tasty shooters, playfully dubbed Glamour Shots. Try the Fever Dream, a daring mix of herbaceous Green Chartreuse and Ancho Reyes—a liqueur made from chilis. A mix of New and Old World grapes make up the wine list, while cold draft beer comes with two options: light or dark.
Crispy Cod, Roast Chicken, and a Top-Rated Burger
And while Grand Tavern could be a drinking location alone, the food always pulls you back.
Look around the room and you’ll see dozens of burgers dotting the tables. And for good reason. White American cheese, creamy dijonaise, red onion, pickles, and a sesame seed bun make it a perfect version of the American classic. And with the arrival of Chef Stevens’ new menu, the burger remains one of the few mainstays from the Holzheimer era. Makes sense—the locals might riot if it were taken off.
But Grand Tavern goes beyond the burger. This was true before, and it remains true now.
Crispy cod schnitzel perhaps shows the plainest example of why I love this restaurant so much. A filet of breadcrumb-coated fish—still flaky on the inside—comes atop a pool of beurre blanc that sits somewhere between a tartar sauce and a piccata.
It’s bright, creamy, and bejeweled with briny capers, which add a burst of salinity. The sauce perfectly coats the crispy breading, making a fried piece of fish somehow taste light. It’s as if proper pub stodge met elegant coastal fare—taking only the desirable parts of each and forging them together.
At its core, it’s really only a few components: fish, sauce, a wedge of lemon. But the story isn’t told on paper—it’s told on the plate. And that’s a story that’s simple, yet complex. Impressive, yet effortless. It’s the reason Grand Tavern stays near the top of my recommendations, and Chef Stevens clearly gets it.
In a starkly different realm, a version of butter chicken breaks all the rules. Forget simmered chunks of breast meat. Stevens is doing things a tad differently. That means a half chicken—on the bone—with crispy, charred skin and juicy meat.
The butter chicken sauce, however, keeps it classic. Silky smooth, a bright orange hue, and loaded with flavors of yogurt, tomato, and curry spices. To go with it, a fresh-cooked piece of naan bread to soak up the excess, and a cold, spicy cucumber-and-mint salad bring a zippy crunch to the mix.
It’s an excellent half chicken entree. I opted to put the fork and knife down halfway through, getting to know the dish better with my hands. Tear a piece of bread, dip it in the sauce, pick up the bone, gnaw on it—that kind of thing. Don’t worry, no one is looking. I promise.
Don’t Skip Dessert. Actually, Get Two.
As your second stomach opens—the one meant for dessert—it’s time for something sweet. Sticky toffee pudding is the current offering, and you need to order it. Cloying toffee sauce, a dense cake made with dates and dark brown sugar, and tangy whipped cream make it the perfect send-off for a meal at the tavern.
And if there happens to be a dessert special—which there often is—you should get that too. Notice I said “too” and not “instead.” How about bay leaf-infused panna cotta, topped with vibrant rhubarb jam? A custardy, not-so-sweet pudding that will keep your spoon coming back for more until there’s nothing left in the dish.
Grand Tavern Keeps it Moving
Grand Tavern has been doing this for a decade—quietly, confidently, and without needing the spotlight. Somehow, even after all these years, the restaurant is still leveling up.
Chef Aishling Stevens brings a wealth of experience and culinary panache to the local favorite. And in many ways, it feels like it’s just getting started.
Neptune City’s best-kept secret may not stay that way much longer.
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.
