The Chart House in Lincoln Harbor is a tremendous establishment with great service and excellent food.
Located at Pier D/T in Weehawken overlooking a panoramic view of the New York City skyline, Chart House is a full service restaurant that offers catering facilities, fresh fish and seafood specialties, tender and juicy steak selections and sensational desserts.
Founded in Aspen, Colo. in the early 1960s, Chart House has expanded to more than 50 locations throughout the country. The Weehawken spot opened its doors in the summer of 1994, and it immediately became a phenomenal establishment, according to manager Hans Nielsen.
“We believe in great service and catering to our customers,” Nielsen said during a recent visit to the restaurant. “Make it happen, that’s our motto.”
And they do make it happen. With a large first floor dining room area capable of seating more than 100 patrons, the first floor also features a trendy cocktail bar area and an exquisite balcony with outdoor seating. The view is enviable. Chart House burnt down in 1998, but a few years later they opened their doors to offer daily dinner and catering to private meetings, breakfast, luncheon and dinner events for over 400 people. It features three large banquet rooms on the second floor. The building also has a lighthouse that shines a beam of light from Battery Park to Washington Heights.
"We renovated it to look as great as possible," Nielsen said.
In addition to the luxurious ambiance, the restaurant offers terrific entrees. The most popular dishes include sesame crusted salmon with stir fried vegetables and rice noodles, with tangy coconut sauce; Macadamia crusted Mahi Mahi with warm peanut sauce, mango coulis, and ginger rice; herb crusted sea bass with garlic mashed potatoes and pommery mustard sauce; miso glazed salmon on Asian stir-fry, ginger soy broth; pan-seared sea scallops in a soy-ginger broth with spinach, bok choy and jasmine rice; coconut crunchy shrimp with a tangy mustard sauce and sweet plum sauce and ginger rice; Chart House cut prime rib with sweet potato strings in au jus; and tenderloin medallions marinated in teriyaki and grilled with sweet potato strings.
“Nothing mattes if the food is not excellent,” said executive chef Gene Scola.
My Meal
I began my meal with an apple martini ($7.25); and a tuna poke ($7.50) for an appetizer. The tuna was delicious and served in delicious balsamic. Other appetizers include the colossal shrimp and rock shrimp served in a gazpacho style cocktail sauce; calamari served fresh and lightly fried with Thai chili citrus sauce; and lobster tails tempura served with chipotle chili ketchup. I also enjoyed a Caesar salad ($4.50) along with the Chart House’s award winning New England style clam chowder ($4.95). Perhaps one of the best soups I’ve had, it was creamy, delicious and warm. I strongly recommend it.
For the main course I enjoyed a terrific New York Strip ($24.50). The char grilled piece of meat was prepared medium-well and it was brushed with steak butter and it was served with onion rings. The steak was tender, juicy, and beautifully presented. I enjoyed it with a tall glass of red wine, suggested by the very knowledgeable waiter. I also tried the large one-and-a-half pound steamed Maine lobster. It was served with drawn butter, and it looked impressive. Order it if you have the appetite because it was enough for two.
To finish my great meal, I enjoyed a wonderful hot chocolate lava cake ($7.95). It was molten chocolate cake with Godiva chocolate liqueur topped with vanilla ice cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce and Heath bar crunch. If you love chocolate, you must have it. It was thick and sweet.
The Chart House is spectacularly located on the Hudson River directly across from Manhattan in Lincoln Harbor, in Weehawken. They operate Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information call (201) 348-6401 or visit them on the web at www.chart-house.com. q