An Evening at Due Mari in New Brunswick
One of the things I love about New Jersey is how many amazing restaurants there are. I recently got to visit Due Mari in New Brunswick, along with some active instagrammers, for an amazing seven course meal.
I had never been to Due Mari before, which is odd since I’ve been to both restaurants next door to it. Having said that, I don’t think this will be my last visit to this beautiful Italian restaurant located in downtown New Brunswick.
We started our meal with delicious wine and a beautiful Charcuterie plate. How beautiful is this presentation?
I was also amused since our group all got up to take a picture before we started eating. Gotta love eating with social media influencers!
Due Mari also makes their own focaccia bread which was DELICIOUS! It was very hard for me not to fill up on cheese and bread before our meal even began.
Our first course was “Barbabietola” – salt roasted baby beets, candied walnuts, figs and sheep’s milk ricotta. Another beautiful presentation!
Due Mari translates to “Two Seas”, so 4 out of the 7 courses contained seafood. Our second course was “Capesante”, seared scallops with romanesco, celery root puree, truffle vinaigrette, and maitake mushrooms. Their scallops are locally sourced from New Jersey.
Next we had a pasta dish “Garganelli”, quill-shaped pasta with an 18-month aged prosciutto cream (AMAZING), oyster mushrooms, and truffle butter. The pasta is served al dente, and between the cream and the truffle butter I was in heaven. All of their pasta is housemade as well.
Our 4th course was “Creste”, squid ink pasta with mussels, seafood, shrimp, tomato, bread crumbs, and calabrian chilli. I had never had squid ink pasta before, it’s very unique.
Next on the menu was my favorite dish, although they were all fantastic, the “Brodetto Di Pesce”. The meal was an Adriatric style seafood soup with calamari, head-on shirimp, scallops, mussels and clams. It was spicy and delicious, and the seafood was cooked perfectly.
After that we had a meat entree, the “Agnello” which is a pan-roasted Austrailian lamp chop, served with a romanesco celery root puree, and pistachio olivada.
And of course, last but not least…dessert! At this point I was so full…but how can you not eat dessert? They served us their “Semifreddo”, a sweet cream and espresso frozen custards, pumpkin cake, and pecans. One final dish with another beautiful presentation.
Overall I was impressed with the quality of their food, their service, and their presentation. This is a fabulous restaurant!
For more information on Due Mari:
Due Mari offers pan-Italian regional cuisine in the heart of New Brunswick, New Jersey. Translated to “two seas” in Italian, the restaurant keeps true to its name by offering the freshest seafood from around the world, in addition to Chef Michael White and the Altamarea Group’s authentic Italian cuisine. The menu also features a wide selection of Chef White’s signature handmade pastas and choice grilled meats.
The kitchen at Due Mari is overseen by Executive Chef Bill Dorrler, led daily by Chef di Cucina Cesar Ramos. The beverage program at Due Mari offers guests a varied selection of wines from the major regions of Italy, as well as selections from France and the United States. Our extensive wine list is also complimented by an irresistible and innovative cocktail menu, curated by Sommelier John Canvin.
Address: 78 Albany St, New Brunswick, NJ
Phone: (732) 296-1600
Website Facebook Instagram
