A fairly new restaurant in Monmouth County has been getting a lot of attention over the past year.
The editors at Esquire magazine included Lita, an Iberian restaurant in Aberdeen Twp., on its 50 Best New Restaurants in America in 2023 list. Its Garden State Martini was one of the 50 Best Martinis in America for 2023, also according to Esquire: It has manzanilla sherry instead of vermouth, tomato water, strawberry white balsamic and olive oil. And earlier this year, Lita was a semifinalist for the 2024 Restaurant and Chef Awards from the James Beard Foundation.
Now it can add another accolade: La Otra, the intimate neighborhood bar located next door, has been named to Esquire’s 42 Best Bars in America list for 2024. Its globally inspired cocktails are created by Bar Manager Ricardo Rodriguez, and the editors loved The Tzatziki, which uses vodka, aquavit, cucumber, dill and yogurt; the Nordic Old Fashioned, which includes smoked butter; a boulevardier made with coconut oil; and the Spanish martini, with a bit of piparra brine and saffron oil.
Lita opened in the spring of 2023, the third restaurant from Neilly Robinson and Chef David Viana, who worked together on Heirloom Kitchen Chef’s Table & Cooking School in Old Bridge, and the award-winning Heirloom at The St. Laurent in Asbury Park. Lita is named after David’s mother, Rosa Lita, and is a celebration of the culinary legacy of his family, who immigrated from Portugal to Newark in the 1970s.
Its top menu items are the paella, lightly fried pieces of Manchego and tuna tartare.
Lita is located at 1055 Rte. 34 in Aberdeen.
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