I get two responses when I tell people my favorite restaurant of the moment is Heirloom at the St. Laurent Hotel in Asbury Park: 1) “I love that place!” or 2) “Really? We went there a couple of years ago and never went back.” My answer to both responses is always the same: “Head Chef David Viana is massively talented, let’s go!”
Heirloom truly is Viana’s gastronomic platform for a show of exceptional creativity, versatility and skill in the kitchen, and he creates it all in the coolest space around. From the moment you enter this restaurant, you know it’s worth your night out. The lighting is perfect in the dimly lit bar area. Look to the left and you’ll see a tasteful little library with soft corners, and to the right, intimate seating, perfect for early evening flirting.
Sexy, smoky cocktails are created by masterful bartenders. A tincture of this, a splash of homemade parmesan vodka, and you have a basil martini, for example. One sip and you’re all in. Wine director, Nicole Castro Garro, is one of the best sommeliers I’ve had the pleasure of ordering with. She’s a young, vibrant burst of viticulture knowledge! She is the only sommelier who has managed to entice me to order a Rioja when I asked for all the notes that would lead anyone else to a Bordeaux, but she stretches me and I love her for it.
When she talks about the wines that she has brought to this establishment, you can feel the passion that she has not only for the wine itself but for the stories behind them and the people who create them. Nicole tells the tales of the grapes and the bottles and the people who come together to make the offerings, and she weaves it all in such a way that your enjoyment of the wine flows deep.
To me, that is the true experience and value of having a sommelier on the floor of a restaurant. It’s not only to educate the guests when they have questions about what wine to order, but also to introduce the guests to the winemakers, and the story behind their creations and Nicole knows all the interesting bits. It’s that personal passion that makes a great somm.
Chef Viana, on par with his somm, also never disappoints. He just introduced a new bar menu with stellar small plates that sing with flavor. Whether you want perfectly seared beef or cold fresh oysters or French onion clams with a broth worth tipping the bowl for, there is something for everyone on this menu.
Each bite is delectable and full of freshness. This is the kind of food that is worth the makeup, hair and heels. Heirloom also hosts celebrity chefs each month for food events in the restaurant, because after all, Viana is a celebrity himself starring on Season 16 of Top Chef with an impressive culinary background in New York’s top restaurants, as well as Michelin Star restaurant Villa Joya in Portugal. Viana also leads at his other New Jersey restaurant Lita, a 2024 James Beard nominee in Aberdeen Township.
Not only is Viana an exceptionally talented chef, he is one of the most welcoming and nicest people that I have had the pleasure to meet in the industry. You can tell that everyone who works with him feels the same way. That is the X factor of a great restaurant. It’s the ability to not only carry the culinary skills, but dispense the management with the innate disposition necessary to not only create the dishes but be able to entrust them in the hands of another who wants to craft them with you.
When I go to celebrity chef events at Heirloom, I am always amazed at the open kitchen preparation of approximately 100+ dishes and the precision and care that Viana’s team puts onto every plate to ensure that each guest gets the same flavors, balance, and visual creation that the chefs envisioned and wish to share with their patrons. The respect is evident, and that makes me feel excited and appreciated.
This is the vibe of Heirloom and why I keep going back for more. Every time I visit it’s an experience for the senses and the heart. The last celebrity dinner I attended featured the massively talented Top Chef Winner Nicholas Elmi, from Season 11. Elmi owns the famed restaurants Laurel and In the Valley in Philadelphia. Elmi also studied in Italy and made an agnolotti for the Heirloom chef event tasting menu that I almost stood up and applauded after my first bite.
Viana matched that with his perfectly seared Arctic Char with his Iberian XO sauce, with a brazen wine pairing of a Sicilian red that cut through that richness like a well-honed blade. A bold somm move, but it worked, and I would expect nothing less.
When I have dinner at Heirloom as well it starts delightful. They serve these soft, warm garlic potato rolls that I pull apart from the small cast-iron skillet they’re served in. and when I dip it in the black garlic scallion scampi butter, I wish I had my own skillet so I didn’t have to share.
Thanks to Nicole and Bar Program head Ricardo Rodriguez, along with Bar Manager Dean Hakim, Heirloom’s wines by the glass are excellent. This is a hard find at the Jersey Shore where wine lists are inundated with cheap, overly sweet proseccos as the only option for sparkling by the glass. This always creates sadness for me when I see my aperitif options shriveled to such solitary confinement when there is a wide world of sparklings just waiting to be discovered.
Heirloom offers a beautiful sparkling Lambrusco and a delicious French Champagne you likely haven’t heard of, but once you drink it, you will be trying to find a bottle of it at your local wine store to have it at home. Offering this level of quality by the glass is one more thing that makes this place a favorite. Great options for a glass of wine elevate the experience of a night out. It starts you off knowing that somebody carefully selected great wines not solely for profit, but for pleasure. Heirloom also makes an effort to source many of its wines from vineyards owned by women, another beautiful touch.
Aptly named, Heirloom not only respects the source of its sustenance, but the people who produce it, those who create it, and us who get to enjoy the culmination of it all. I look at it like this; if I’m spending time getting ready, washing my hair, putting my makeup on, selecting my outfit and putting it all together, you better believe that the place I land better be ready to put on some airs, and I expect the place to be able to cook better than I do.
Not only does Heirloom dress for the occasion, they also have the mad skills to serve it up and offer stellar cuisine. The heart of their cooking is also in their old-school generosity to their employees. Every day they cook a family-style meal at lunch and dinner for their employees to gather round and enjoy from their talented chef and his team. An Heirloom tradition that keeps the heart of this restaurant pure gold.
I have to give it my highest rating yet, a 4.8.
Maria O’Donnell is a food and wine writer at the Jersey Shore and you can follow her @foodwritergirl on Instagram and @CookingwithMaria on Facebook
