Customshop — a well respected, 12-year-old restaurant in Elizabeth — quietly reopened on Saturday night with a new menu and completely renovated space.
Chef Trey Wilson (the brains behind Flourshop as well) closed Customshop for a four month renovation and completely revamped menu. It’s going to payoff for him. I’m bullish.
Inside, you’ll find a completely renovated open floor plan which includes a mix of marble, wooden butcher block, booths and wooden tables — along with a circular table centered on the back wall for larger groups. You’ll also find a new four-seat bar in the center right of the restaurant and a new lounge seating area in the front left. It’s more of a date spot than a larger group spot.
Customshop’s hours are Monday through Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5-11 p.m. and closed on Sundays. They use Opentable for reservations and their exact address is 1601 Elizabeth Avenue (near Earl’s Grocery).
Customshop’s two best house cocktails: Safforon Sour ($13, left) – Knob Creek Rye, Solerno blood organge liqueur, Fernet Branca, blood orange and fresh sour; and Cucumber Basil Smash ($12, right) – Hendrick’s Gin, Bittermans earl grey bitters, cucumber, basil syrup, lime and St. Germain.
Customshop’s new focused menu offers 18 dishes — 13 small plates and 5 entrees
If you’re going there on a date, my advice is to order 2-4 small plates and then split an entree.
The perfect two-person date order (split everything) is the yellowfin tuna ($14), trumpet mushrooms ($14), goat cheese mousse ($10) and then the hand-cut fancy fries ($8) with the black garlic-rubbed bavette steak ($30).
Yellowfin Tuna ($12) – blood orange, calabrian peppers and almond kefir
Trumpet Mushrooms ($14) – truffled pancetta and taleggio cream
Burrata di Bufala ($14) – fermented cranberry and cherry relish
Crispy Duck ($15) – frisée, walnuts, and sweet and sour squash
Squid Ink Strozzapretti ($18) – nduja, shrimp, tomato and mint
Hand-Cut Pommes Frittes ($8) with house aioli
Black Garlic-Rubbed Bavette Steak ($30) – cipollini onion and diablo sauce
With Customshop’s improvements and Chef Trey Wilson leading the kitchen, this popular Elizabeth restaurant belongs in the mix as one of the best restaurants in our city.
