Orchard Park by David Burke

Want to eat somewhere in central New Jersey that is unforgettable on every level? Well, Orchard Park by David Burke is one of the more distinctive restaurants in Central New Jersey, combining celebrity chef David Burke’s playful approach to modern American cuisine with an elaborate, French-inspired setting. Located inside the Château Grande Hotel in East Brunswick, the restaurant is designed to feel like much more than a hotel dining room. It is a sprawling restaurant, bar and lounge with an upscale atmosphere that works for everything from a special-occasion dinner to cocktails, Sunday brunch or one of its themed dining nights. Tuesday is Prime Rib Night, something that I have been fantasizing about for months now.

The restaurant debuted in 2021 as part of the Château Grande development, which sits on the grounds of the Park Château Estate & Gardens, a large wedding and events property. The project brought together chef and restaurateur David Burke with designer Andres Escobar, whose firm had previously collaborated with Burke on David Burke Tavern on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Orchard Park occupies approximately 5,700 square feet and was conceived as a modern American brasserie.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The location was an important part of the concept. The restaurant’s owners, Joe and Barry Maurillo and their childhood friend Vito Cucci, were developing the hotel and restaurant to complement their existing events business. Burke has explained that the project gave the design team something unusual: essentially a blank canvas rather than an old restaurant that had been remodeled repeatedly. That allowed Escobar to create a completely new environment rather than adapting an existing restaurant shell.

And the decor is definitely intended to make an impression. Burke describes the architecture as European and compared the overall feeling to Versailles or Paris. Rather than entering a conventional suburban steakhouse or hotel restaurant, guests encounter a dramatic, polished space with a grand, almost theatrical quality. The look combines classic European references with contemporary touches, creating an environment that feels glamorous without being strictly traditional

A Built-In Art Show
One particularly memorable feature is the restaurant’s extensive use of art and decorative objects. NJ native Burke is an avid art collector, and pieces from his collection are displayed at Orchard Park. This is a continual feature with his restaurants in general, where the interiors are often treated almost as an extension of his personality and culinary style. The result is a space with plenty to look at rather than a minimalist room where the food provides the only visual entertainment.

The restaurant also has an especially interesting private dining space known as the Wine Room. It features a wall made with approximately 2,500 Himalayan salt bricks along with European glass globe lighting. The salt-brick element is particularly appropriate for a David Burke restaurant because Himalayan salt is closely associated with one of Burke’s signature culinary techniques—his patented salt-aging process for beef.

The mood changes somewhat as you move into C’est La Vie, the restaurant’s bar and lounge. This area gives Orchard Park a more social, evening-oriented personality, with cocktails, spirits, wine and a bar menu. There is also live music on Fridays, while the restaurant regularly offers happy hour, making it possible to experience the space without necessarily committing to a full dinner.

NOT OVERLY FORMAL
When Burke developed the food concept, he deliberately did not make Orchard Park an overly formal fine-dining restaurant. He describes it as a modern brasserie with food that could be approachable for the surrounding community while still incorporating his more sophisticated techniques and signature dishes. That philosophy explains the unusual range of choices, from pizza and pasta to burgers, seafood and high-end steaks.

The restaurant’s steak program is one of the major attractions. Orchard Park features beef prepared using Burke’s Himalayan sea-salt dry-aging technique, one of his best-known culinary innovations. Current menu highlights include dry-aged New York Strip and Filet Mignon, while the restaurant also features a 34-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse For Two on its Wednesday Date Night menu. The steaks are accompanied by Burke’s signature B1 steak sauce. My personal favorite is the dry-aged New York Strip as it is probably one of the juiciest steaks that you will ever have anywhere and the B1 steak sauce is sweet and reminiscent of Peter Luger’s steak sauce.

LARGE APPS PERFECT FOR SHARING
In terms of apps, the menu includes several dishes that have become associated with the David Burke restaurant style. Clothesline Bacon is one of the signature and most famous presentations, consisting of black-pepper maple-glazed bacon, while other choices include Burrata, Oysters, Tuna and Salmon Tartare, Fried Calamari and the extra-popular Lobster Dumplings. These items give the menu a distinctly Burke-like combination of familiar ingredients, unexpected presentations and playful touches. A couple of apps can fill you up and I noticed that several tables were sharing apps rather than ordering entrees. The bacon used for the playful Clothesline Bacon is extremely thick, flavorful and filling!

SUCCULENT SEAFOOD
Seafood is another major part of the menu, with choices such as seared tuna and raw-bar selections. The current bar menu, for example, includes Oysters with a Charred Apple and Melon Mignonette, Tuna and Salmon Tartare with avocado and crispy potato, and a Burrata and Crab preparation. This makes the restaurant suitable for someone who wants something lighter than a steak while still experiencing the more elaborate side of the kitchen.

The more casual side of the menu is surprisingly extensive. Orchard Park has a Dry-Aged Burger with aged cheddar and an English muffin, Margherita and Pepperoni Pizzas, Rigatoni Bolognese, Chicken Parmesan, Steak Frites and a Short Rib Grilled Cheese. Burke has specifically said that adding pizza and pasta was intentional, allowing the restaurant to offer more approachable price points alongside its premium steaks and seafood.

There are also plenty of Burke signatures and whimsical touches in the dessert and brunch categories. The restaurant has featured items such as the legendary Cake Pop Tree (topped with homemade pink cotton candy), gelato and sorbet, ice-cream sliders and other playful sweets. Sunday brunch is another major component, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and fits naturally with the grand hotel setting and the restaurant’s more celebratory personality.

Orchard Park also keeps the experience lively through recurring dining promotions rather than functioning solely as a conventional dinner restaurant. Current programming includes Monday Burger Night, the aforementioned Tuesday Prime Rib Night, Wednesday Date Night, Thursday Taste of Italy and Sunday brunch. The restaurant also schedules special events such as bourbon-and-cigar dinners, cookbook events and live music, giving the property a calendar that extends beyond its regular menu.

Overall, Orchard Park by David Burke is best understood as a combination of restaurant, lounge and destination dining experience. Its history is tied to the creation of the Château Grande Hotel and the Park Château property, while its identity comes from the collaboration between David Burke and designer Andres Escobar. The European-inspired architecture, art collection, dramatic salt-brick Wine Room and glamorous lounge provide the visual spectacle, while Burke’s salt-aged beef, Clothesline Bacon, seafood, pastas, pizzas and playful desserts provide the culinary personality. It is a restaurant where the surroundings are deliberately as much a part of the experience as what arrives on the plate. It goes without saying that if you bring a family with young kids, they will go out of their minds for the Cake Pop Tree sides with bubblegum whipped cream—but Orchard Park has something out-of-theordinary and super memorable for guests of all ages.

For more info on Orchard Park by David Burke, go to orchardparkbydb.com