We discovered Publick House during the pandemic. It’s located in Mountainside, New Jersey just off of US-22 (as so many things around the area are.) We have ordered from there a number of times but had never gone there in person. Until yesterday!
We took a Lyft over and opted to dine outside in the tent they have set up on the back side of the restaurant. We’ve only booked outdoors before with Summit House and Stirling Hotel, so it’s very nice to have another option for us! The tent is nice and open and they are using what seems to be inside tables – so it didn’t feel like we were losing out on a nice dining experience by eating outdoors.
It was a high of ninety degrees yesterday and it was still quite warm when we arrived yesterday a bit after 8PM. I think that helped inform what we ended up ordering, which was heavy on the appetizers, skipping the main courses for the day. We started with the octopus appetizer, which was prepared with red pepper hummus, fried garbanzos and pickled zucchini. The octopus was cooked nicely — not too chewy — and the slight punch of the hummus really made this dish for me.
We also ordered the seared tuna, which was prepared slightly differently from other times we’ve ordered from Publick House. This time, it was prepared with tomato water, cucumber, radish and herb oil. We also got the grilled prawns (above), which were with Calabrian chili, lime, radish and spring onion.
We also ordered the grilled baby raddichio salad, which was made with manchego, pickled fresno, lemon chili vinaigrette and fried onions. The vinaigrette was a bit strong but I am always a fan of manchego and I would have loved a lot more of those fried onions!
We ordered the zucchini blossoms (that and squash blossoms are some of my favorite things) but sadly they ran out. We ordered the pub board instead. The grilled bread somehow managed to be both crispy and soft. The jamon serrano was nice but I preferred the Biellesi pepperoni, which was super thinly sliced. The board also had Buttercup brie, buffalo mozzarella, local NJ honeycomb and pickles. For a last minute swap in, it ended up being a nice addition to the meal.
And of course, dessert was a must. I was so bummed that they were out of our first choice — corn pudding. Can’t say I’ve ever had it before. Theirs was served with blackberries and brown sugar whipped cream. Unfortunately though, it sold out by the . Hopefully at some point, it will make another appearance on their menu. Instead, we had the wild berry cobbler with streusel and vanilla gelato. It made for a nice finish to a very warm summer day.
Overall, it was a lovely anniversary meal and I’m already dreaming of our next date night out!
Publick House – 899 Mountain Avenue, Mountainside, NJ – 908-233-2355
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