A look inside Chef David Burke’s third Red Horse restaurant at former Bernards Inn
Opening its doors at 5 p.m. each day, the Red Horse follows the ambiance of two other Red Horse locations in Rumson and White Plains, New York.
- Celebrity chef David Burke is taking over The Station restaurant in Bernardsville.
- The restaurant will feature a new tavern-style menu with items like a beef tallow-cooked burger and rotisserie chicken.
- Burke has redesigned the interior to enhance its vintage railroad station theme.
- The Station will officially relaunch under Burke’s management on April 18.
Two and a half years ago, celebrity chef David Burke — known for designing his whimsical restaurants himself and serving creative New American fare — baked new life into the formerly sleepy Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, now known as the Red Horse at the Bernards Inn.
This month, Burke will do the same to another Bernardsville landmark.
The Station restaurant, across the street from the town’s train station, will relaunch under Burke’s stewardship — but with the same casual, tavern-style atmosphere that has defined the spot for decades.
The Hampshire Companies, which owns The Station, tapped Burke to infuse new energy into the 44-year-old restaurant following his success at the Bernards Inn.
The Station will debut a new, warmer look and a seasonal menu on April 18, expanding on the restaurant’s vintage railroad station lounge theme. The restaurant has not closed — and will not close — during the transition.
The new menu is designed to be smaller and easier to navigate, featuring items such as a $17 burger cooked in beef tallow; $17 rotisserie baby chicken prepared in a rotisserie built into the bar; a $24 crispy pork cutlet Cordon Bleu with mashed potatoes and broccoli; steak frites with chimichurri; and Bavarian pretzels. The food is prepared in a newly opened kitchen, while keeping The Station’s prices relatively modest.
The 20-seat bar will feature 12 beers on tap, along with seasonal signature cocktails and mocktails, plus boozy milkshakes.
Housed in an 1860s building that began as a private home before becoming the Claremont Hotel in 1878, The Station has also received a Burke-designed facelift. White walls are now dark blue, accented with crown molding, red faux-leather booths, murals of steam trains, brass sconces, train engine bells and a vintage Union Pacific Railroad chandelier with Mason jar-style lamps.
Burke’s favorite design element, however, is a framed 1970 New York Times story featuring his father, also named David Burke — known as Red — who worked as a train motorman.
Go: The Station reopens under Burke on April 18 at 45 Mine Brook Road in Bernardsville. Call 908-204-1227 or visit stationtavernbydb.com.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, although she’s a lifetime Jersey girl who considers herself an expert in everything from the Jersey Shore to the Garden State’s buzzing downtowns. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.
