While the bustle of Nassau Street has always been home to many of Princeton’s beloved eateries, a new contemporary American restaurant from two New York City transplants is hoping to make a name for itself in a quieter section of town.
Last month, a new endeavor called The Meeting House launched at 277 Witherspoon Street. The restaurant was created by co-owners and couple Amar Gautam and Amanda Maher, the former of which owned the now-shuttered bar The Archive that operated out of 36th Street in Manhattan for many years.
The pair moved to Princeton two years ago and fell in love with the town so much that they decided to leave the hectic pace of the Big Apple and open their next culinary venture closer to home. Gautam puts his longtime tenure as a Manhattan bar owner to use at The Meeting House, which imagines classic cocktails through creative mixology to create a tempting bar menu.
For the food, the owners brought in chef Carmen Gonzalez, a Top Chef Masters finalist who cut her teeth at New York’s The Quilted Giraffe before opening Carmen the Restaurant in Florida. Every element of the restaurant’s dishes is made in-house, from sauces to fresh-baked biscuits. Entrée highlights include a fried chicken with apple coleslaw or Point Pleasant sea scallops with roasted cauliflower puree and a winter pesto sauce.
The Meeting House has a separate bar space that features ten taps pouring local beers from the likes of River Horse, Carton, Kane, and Cape May Brewing Company. A bar menu sporting charcuterie and cheese boards alongside a grill short rib sandwich or house burger is available for those seeking a less formal, social experience.
But to keep the inclusivity high, The Meeting House has created a place at their restaurant where kids are welcome for an early dinner and also has a private event space inside the property’s lower level. They additionally feature a weekend brunch service that commences early at 9:00 a.m. and looks to showcase live music and other events as they establish themselves during the coming year.
The Meeting House is now open on Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Their hours on weekends run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for brunch service before re-opening from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner. You can find them on Instagram too: @meetinghouseprinceton.
