One of Jersey City’s hottest new restaurants has begun a midweek breakfast and aperitivo hour plus a weekend brunch service as Maxwell Alley is now a fully open concept.
Launched in June at 12 Coles Street, the restaurant is named for the block-long alley on which it sits. The one-story former garage once housed Maxwell Rope Walk in the 1800s and has a diverse history, being used as a live poultry market in the early 1900s and as an auto-body shop more recently.
Maxwell Alley comes courtesy of Mark Censits, who founded local wine favorite CoolVines. The menu at Maxwell Alley comes from Chef Alex Tronstad, who was formerly the Head Chef at the acclaimed Rivertown Lodge in Hudson, New York.
Their dinner service had been offering a seasonally rotating menu that highlights locally sourced produce and ingredients, but their Sunday brunch menu recently got up and running.
Highlights include a mushroom frittata with caramelized leeks, goat gouda, and side salad, a steak sandwich with stracciatella, harissa aioli, pickled fennel, and salted chiles, and a pain perdu pudding with cardamom, cultured cream, and maple.
The brunch beverage program includes cocktails such as a red miso Bloody Mary, a fluffy orange Garibaldi, or an espresso martini with Pedro Ximénez sherry.
Besides Sundays, Maxwell Alley is now offering aperitivo program during the week Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. featuring small bites such like marinated olives, sourdough bread, and homemade potato chips. The restaurant’s cousin, Butler Café, also operates at the property from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. serving espresso drinks, drip coffee, teas, matcha, and fresh house-made pastries like scones and cookies.
The restaurant sports seating areas in both a garden room and on their patio when the weather is nice. Reservations can be booked through their website and the restaurant can be followed on Instagram at the handle @maxwell_alley_jc.
