New Lakeside Restaurant Opening In Asbury Park Spring 2024

This is exciting news, a new lakeside restaurant is coming to Asbury Park!

If you ever ate at the now-shuttered Medusa Stone Fired Kitchen on the corner of 4^th Avenue and Main Street in Asbury Park, then you may be familiar with Aimee McElroy, one of the restaurant’s owners.

Medusa closed its doors after 6 years of serving the community crunchy pizza, crusty homemade bread, hearty soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts all cooked in their wood-fired oven.

On February 28, 2022, Aimee and her business partner, Lauren Castellini closed the doors to Medusa for good.

Just a few days prior, their social media post read: "It is with heavy hearts we share the news that Medusa Stone Fired Kitchen will be closing.”  "We plan to celebrate our closing every day until then by serving up dinner with lots of laughter and gratitude for everyone’s support through these six amazing years."

It’s definitely not over for Aimee. In fact her amazing journey continues. It'll be better than ever, as she is about to open another restaurant in the space that was once occupied by the legendary Sunset Landing Luncheonette, the little house on the lake where customers enjoyed meals from 7am to 2pm most days.

Sunset Landing luncheonette was sold last year, and this Spring, Aimee will re-open as, “Catbird”, which will feature  wood-fired entrees, pizzas, naturally leavened breads and more, just like her former restaurant, Medusa.

Aimee’s pizzas were highly praised by nearly everyone who’s eaten them. Like her pizza at Medusa, her new place will feature a  crust that lies somewhere between a New York style and a Neapolitan thanks to slow fermentation.

According to NJ Digest,  What’s more, CatBird—which is a BYOB—will feature a full list of Non-Alcoholic drinks.  “I’m really excited to have that space to offer NA drinks,” says McElroy of the menu. She’s deeming the beverage program “MockingBar,” get it? In addition to dinner, CatBird is poised to offer breakfast and brunch on weekends. With its behemoth of a pizza oven and sweeping outdoor patio looking over the lake, Asbury Park’s dining scene is about to get even better.

Catbird's website reads: Catbird will be a sit down year round, casual dining, 46 seat restaurant with additional outdoor seating overlooking Deal Lake. Focusing on artisan wood fired pizzas and a seasonal rotating menu including daily specials. Fresh baked breads out of our wood fired oven will be available for special order. We are also excited to introduce and highlight a rotating selection of non-alcoholic spirits, sparkling and botanical beverages. We look forward to seeing you this Spring. Eat In / Take Out / BYOB / No Reservations.

Catbird is located at 1215 Sunset Ave. Asbury Park

https://wrat.com/listicle/the-best-cheesesteaks-in-monmouth-county-are-found-in-these-places-august-2023-edition/