Judy & Harry’s spotlights chef David Viana
- David Viana’s Judy & Harry’s is getting fresh attention as the chef’s newest Asbury Park restaurant settles in after replacing Heirloom at the St. Laurent. - The hook is the mash-up: Italian comfort food, Jewish cues, and a companion bar named for Neilly Robinson’s parents inside a 21-and-over hotel. - It matters because Viana’s 2026 James Beard semifinalist nod turns a local rebrand into a bigger New Jersey dining story.
A restaurant profile can sound like décor and vibes. But this one lands because Judy & Harry’s is really about a chef trying to turn a hotel dining room into something more personal — and more legible — than the restaurant that came before it. David Viana and Neilly Robinson didn’t just open a new place in Asbury Park. They remade Heirloom at the St. Laurent into a two-part concept that feels easier to grasp at first glance: Judy’s for dinner, Harry’s for drinks, both rooted in Robinson’s family and Viana’s cooking style. ### What actually is Judy & Harry’s? It’s a restaurant-and-bar pairing inside the St. Laurent hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Judy’s is the dining room. Harry’s is the companion cocktail bar. The whole thing is run by Robinson and Viana, the same team behind Heirloom Kitchen and Lita | La Otra, so this isn’t a first swing — it’s an expansion of an already established New Jersey restaurant group. (thelocalgirl.com) ### Why the two names? Because the concept is personal before it is culinary. Judy and Harry are Robinson’s parents, and the hotel says they inspired both the menu and the design. That matters because the branding isn’t random nostalgia — it gives the place a point of view. Even the line on the restaurant site, “A Jewish woman who thinks she’s Italian,” tells you the joke and the menu thesis in one shot. (judyandharrys.com) ### So what changed from Heirloom? The big shift is from a restaurant that read like a chef-driven fine-dining project to one with a clearer story. Robinson said they spent about a year developing the new concept, and local coverage framed it as a rebrand of Heirloom at the St. Laurent rather than a totally separate opening. Basically, the team kept the talent and the address but changed the pitch — more Italian comfort, more personality, more flexibility between dinner and drinks. (thestlaurent.com) ### What does Viana bring to it? Viana brings résumé, sure, but more importantly he brings range. The St. Laurent says his background includes Eleven Madison Park and Villa Joya in Portugal, and he’s also known from Bravo’s *Top Chef*. That helps explain why Judy’s isn’t trying to be a red-sauce throwback. The menu is described as Italian classics with international flair — familiar enough to pull people in, but loose enough for Viana to riff. (thelocalgirl.com) ### Why does the James Beard nod matter? Because it changes the frame. In January 2026, Viana was named a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, and New Jersey Monthly tied that recognition directly to Judy & Harry’s. Once that happens, the restaurant stops being just another Shore-season opening and starts reading as one of the state’s prestige dining rooms — especially since Viana has been nominated before and already has multiple well-known restaurants in New Jersey. (thestlaurent.com) ### What’s the food angle? The most interesting part is the blend. Coverage around the opening and the Beard nomination keeps returning to the same idea: traditional Jewish dishes meeting Italian classics. Think matzo ball soup on one side, roast chicken Savoy and pasta on the other. It’s not fusion in the gimmicky sense. It’s more like a Jersey identity rendered as a menu — immigrant overlap, family shorthand, and comfort food with polish. (njmonthly.com) ### Why is Asbury Park the right setting? Because Asbury already rewards places that feel social, stylized, and a little scene-y. A 21-plus boutique hotel with a separate cocktail bar gives Judy & Harry’s a built-in rhythm: drink first, dinner second, or the reverse. Robinson explicitly described it as a “choose your own adventure” night out, which is a smart fit for a town where people want destination dining without full formality. (njmonthly.com) ### Bottom line? The reason Judy & Harry’s is worth paying attention to isn’t just that David Viana can cook. It’s that he and Neilly Robinson found a cleaner, more memorable way to package what they already do well. The restaurant gives Viana’s ambition a warmer frame — and the Beard semifinalist nod makes that frame easier for everyone else to notice. (njmonthly.com) (thelocalgirl.com)
