CatBird opens in Asbury Park with pizza, mocktails and waterfront dining

It's been over two years since Asbury Park's Medusa Stone Fired Kitchen closed. But fans of that popular pizzeria will be happy to hear that former co-owner Aimée McElroy has opened a new spot: CatBird.

"This is a solo venture," she said. "I was presented with the opportunity to take over this space and I did not hesitate. I was absolutely thrilled because I live around the corner and when we closed Medusa, I pretty much said I wouldn't open another restaurant unless it was in Asbury Park."

The new location is in a cabin on historic Sunset Landing, which has been perched on the banks of Deal Lake for more than 100 years.

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"I kept as much of the integrity and original structural components of the cabin as possible," McElroy said.

McElroy began baking more than a decade ago, leaving a career in New York City's art world to become an apprentice and assistant bread baker.

She began her journey at Il Bucco Alimentari in the city, before moving to Asbury Park, where she worked at Porta and Talula's while taking classes at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan.

At Medusa, McElroy and former co-owner Lauren Castellini made everything in a pizza oven; there was no stove. Since Medusa closed, McElroy's pizza oven has been in her backyard.

But it's found a new home.

"I am a bread baker and pizza maker," she said. "I work out of a 100% wood-fired oven, and while bread and pizza are obviously a big part of what I do, the oven is more than that. We cook almost everything in the oven, from roasting to daily specials, all of it."

You can order classic pies like Margherita or white, but McElroy is known for her specialties. Try the Local Mushroom Trio, which is a white pie with ricotta, mozzarella, rosemary and thyme; or the Puttanesca, with tomato sauce, white anchovies, capers, chopped garlic, cured black olives and grated parmesan.

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The menu also offers salads like the Charred Kale, with cherry tomatoes, rainbow carrots and shaved parmesan, or the Arugula with blueberries, pumpkin seeds, balsamic glaze and shaved Parmesan. Sides include bites like marinated olives with olive oil, toasted fennel, chili and orange peel, as well as blistered Shishito peppers with Maldon salt.

All pizzas, which are 12-inch square pies, are hand-stretched and cooked at 850 degrees, then finished with Maldon sea salt, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil.

While McElroy plans on expanding the pizza and drink menus, as well as adding a list of seasonal, rotating specials, she wants to keep the menu "small, fun and playful."

The new restaurant is not only a BYOB artisanal pizza shop, but also a mocktail bar.

The "Mocking Bar" includes botanical beverages like the Pathfinder, with Fever Tree Club Soda, lemon juice and twist of lemon. The hemp-based, citrusy drink can also be served neat or on the rocks. If you're a fan of a classic Italian Apertivo, try the Aperitif Spritz with Fever Tree Club soda and a twist of orange.

"This is not your parents' mocktail, this is not seltzer with orange juice and cranberry juice," she said. "They are botanical, zero proof spirits and they're absolutely beautiful."

CatBird, which does not take reservations, operates on a "one time wait system." Customers place their order and pay at the counter upon arrival, where they'll receive a table marker. After placing orders with the drink server and being served food, you are free to leave whenever you wish.

Open from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, the restaurant is named after the Gray Catbird, prominent in New Jersey in spring and summer.

With a little black cap, a rusty red rump, and a playfully personality, the bird has a musical call of chirps and sounds that are almost cat-like.

You can find them in trees and shrubs around Asbury Park, or maybe on CatBird's deck.

"Being on the lake is ideal," McElroy said. "There are catbirds everywhere. They land on the building and in the garden with the rest of the birds ... We have an abundance of wildlife here, ducks, geese swans, fish, egrets ... It's beautiful."

Go: CatBird, 1215 Sunset Ave., Asbury Park, open 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays (note that hours may change); catbirdap.com, instagram.com/catbird_ap.

Gabriela L. Laracca joined the USA Today Network New Jersey in 2021 and eagerly brings her passion for cuisine and culture to our readers. Send restaurant tips to glaracca@gannett.com. Follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park restaurants: CatBird pizzeria opens with mocktail bar