Talula’s, a restaurant and bar offering specialty pizzas, bread, and dishes made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients opened in the downtown Asbury Park business and shopping district in New Jersey.
Chefs and owners Steve Mignogna and Shanti Church, corporate expats, apply their passion for family, community, and the local food system in the creation of Talula’s with a mission of bringing people together around great food.
Planning to wed this spring, the couple decided to call the restaurant Talula’s, the name they planned for their (future) first daughter.
Talula’s will serve brunch, lunch, and dinner with a full bar offering daily specialties including classic and quirky pizzas and artisanal sourdough breads. All of Talula’s bread is baked fresh in house every morning using organic and locally sourced grains from a mill in upstate New York.
Pure water from their custom filtration system aids in the wild fermentation process of their sourdough bread and pizza dough.
The menu of deceptively simple dishes will include sourdough and other breads by baker Josh Stewart; sourdough pizzas and toasts made with seasonal and sometimes unexpected toppings; fresh house-made pastas; salads; baguette sandwiches; and a small dessert menu.
Vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian options are prevalent throughout the menus with signature dishes that include:
- Ploughman’s Lunch-cheese, bread, preserves, pickled egg, pickles, and nuts
- Local Wild Mushroom Toast- robiola, garlic, shallot, parsley
- Bread Salad- Burrata, little gem lettuce, herbs, pomegranate molasses
- Beekeeper’s Lament Pizza- tomato sauce, hot Calabrian soppressata, fresh Mozzarella, local honey
- Spud Mackenzie Pizza-garlic mashed potatoes, sharp cheddar, fresh mozzarella, Benton’s bacon, buttermilk, chives
- Saltie Pizza- Feta, fresh Mozzarella, pickled vegetables, farm egg, fresh herbs, capers, pimentón
House made seasonal desserts will be offered with rustic style pastries, fried-to-order doughnuts, and house-made ice cream including items such as:
- Milk + Honey Panna Cotta-honey gelee, oat amaranth crumble, bee pollen brittle
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse- olive oil, sea salt
- Apple Cider Donuts- salted caramel, fresh whipped cream
A selection of homemade ice creams is available and will be used in Affogato, an Irving farm double shot of espresso over two scoops of the daily ice cream pairing.
Talula’s full bar and beverage program will offer local craft beers on tap with several domestic bottles and cans. It will also have two house wines on tap and a thoughtfully curated bottle list as well as a handcrafted cocktail menu, Boylan all-natural sodas, and Irving Farm espresso drinks.
Entering Talula’s, guests are met with an open space with long, white oak communal tables and benches and a bar created with silver-veined soapstone and aged barn wood in soft greys. Vintage brass lamps using low energy lighting and other decorative elements provide a light setting. The Woodstone oven, the lifeblood of Talula’s is where the day begins with Josh baking sourdough bread and then pizzas for lunch and dinner.
