St. Moritz Grill & Bar

Wood, Smoke, and Fire

You smell it from the plaza before you reach the door. Oak and applewood burning down to embers in the grill that gives this kitchen its name. Keith Holmes took over the St. Moritz Grill & Bar in 2012, a longtime landmark at 9 White Deer Plaza, and built the menu around that fire. Hardwoods get matched to the protein, oak and poplar, applewood and cherry, and the smoke reads as seasoning rather than a stunt. Even the build-your-own burger comes off the grill with a genuine char behind it, smoky but never overwhelming. On a warm evening, with a cocktail on the patio and the grill working a few feet away, the smell is half the reason to sit outside.

What to Order

The Chicken Schnitzel

Ask around Sparta and this is the answer. A thin chicken cutlet, breaded and fried, plated with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetable, and a lemon beurre blanc that is quietly the best thing on the plate. Order extra sauce. It comes as a half or a full portion, and the full portion defeats most people, which is what sharing and to-go boxes are for.

Off the Grill

The Reserve Pork Chop is wood grilled and comes with molasses-glazed sweet potato, braised bitter greens, and a local peach-tomato jam. Steaks, salmon, shrimp, and burgers mostly pass over the same fire. Start with an old fashioned at the bar while you decide.

A Different Night Every Night

Monday is Burger & Brew Night from 4pm. Tuesday brings Oyster Night with craft beer flights, three six-ounce pours for $15, plus a newer Oyster Hour from 4 to 5pm with $2 oysters on the half shell, grilled and fried oysters, and shooters. Wednesday is Margarita Flights, three for $22. Thursday is Lobster Night, a 1.25-pound coldwater lobster with seasonal vegetable and house fries, and the last Thursday of each month is a full boil with peel-and-eat shrimp, clams, mussels, kielbasa, potatoes, and Jersey corn. Lobster nights are reservation-only by phone, booked by 4pm the Tuesday before. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday 3 to 5pm and all day Sunday, and Sunday brunch is 11am to 3pm.

Private Rooms, Kids, and the Walk After

Four spaces take private bookings. The Garden Room, greenhouse-style with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the Biergarten and a stone fireplace, seats up to 50. The Alpine Room and the newly renovated Lounge sit just off the bar and hold 30 to 35 and 20. There is a kids menu, and children at dinner are ordinary here. Afterward, Alpine Creamery is directly across White Deer Plaza and will out-vote dessert most nights. The Lake Mohawk Boardwalk is a few steps further. Water, ducks, ridge line, then home.

You’ll find the St. Moritz Grill & Bar at 9 White Deer Plaza in Sparta, open seven days: Sunday 11am to 8pm, Monday through Thursday until 9pm, and Friday and Saturday until 9:30pm, with valet parking Friday and Saturday evenings from 5pm. Call (973) 729-5677 or check stmoritzgrill.com for current hours, the week’s events, and party bookings.