Jersey City’s skyline has filled in with the kind of glass towers that house hedge funds, law firms, and corporate headquarters looking to escape Manhattan rents without sacrificing Manhattan ambition. That shift has brought a new kind of clientele to the city’s dining scene, C-suite executives who expect the same caliber of food at lunch that they’d find at a top Manhattan dining room. At 87 Sussex, they’re getting exactly that, courtesy of Executive Chef Brian Walter, a chef whose résumé reads like a tour of the most storied kitchens in New York fine dining.
A Career Built in the City’s Most Legendary Kitchens
Walter’s path started early and set a high bar from the beginning. He trained at New York’s French Culinary Institute before gaining hands-on experience with Chef Mario Batali at Batali’s original restaurant, “Po.” By 18, he had already earned the title of Chef de Partie at the French Consulate, working under French Master Chef Luc Pasquier, an apprenticeship that speaks to just how early Walter’s technical foundation was set.
From there, his résumé reads like a checklist of New York’s most legendary dining rooms. He became Chef de Partie at the world-famous Le Cirque 2000, then moved to Lespinasse at the St. Regis. He went on to serve as Executive Sous Chef at Guastavino’s under celebrity Chef Daniel Orr, and was named Chef de Cuisine of the Union Club NYC the following year, with experience in exactly the kind of exclusive, high-expectation dining environments that now define his work at 87 Sussex.
A Rising Star, Recognized Early
At just 25, Walter was named Executive Chef at Acqua Ristorante in Raritan, NJ, where his cooking earned 3½ stars from NJ.com (then the Star-Ledger) and 3 stars from the New York Times. That run also brought a nomination for the James Beard Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef” award, along with guest chef appearances on Good Morning America, FOX 5’s “Good Day New York,” and NBC’s “Today New York,” national recognition for a chef still relatively early in his career.
Fluency in the Private Club World
What sets Walter apart from many fine-dining chefs is his equally deep experience serving an elite, members-only clientele. In 2009, he took over as Executive Chef of Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Somerset County, preparing haute cuisine for high-end members while coordinating upscale weddings and prestigious tournaments, including the NJPGA, NJCAA, and NJ Scratch events. That private club fluency continued in 2017, when he became Executive Chef and Culinary Director at Metropolitan Golf Group.
In between, Walter took on a very different kind of challenge as Corporate Executive Chef of the MGL Restaurant Group starting in 2011, overseeing multiple concepts including Char Steakhouse, Oh’Brian’s Pourhouse, Seafare Chippery, and Matteo’s Italian Restaurant, a run that earned him a spot on NJ Life Magazine’s “Top 5 Chefs in NJ” list and two “NJ’s Best Burger” titles from NJ Monthly Magazine.
It’s a rare combination: the technical polish of world-class fine dining, paired with the operational range and hospitality instincts required to serve exacting, high-profile private clientele, precisely the skill set that translates into feeding Jersey City’s executive crowd at 87 Sussex.
Times Square to Jersey City
Before landing at 87 Sussex, Walter served as Executive Chef at the iconic Carmine’s Italian Restaurant in Times Square, bringing his fine-dining pedigree to one of Manhattan’s most recognizable dining institutions. But for all the marquee names on his résumé, Walter has said his cooking still traces back to his Brooklyn childhood home, a belief that the comfort of home cooking should transcend culinary boundaries, and that refinement and comfort aren’t opposites but ingredients that belong on the same plate.
That philosophy now shapes the menu at 87 Sussex, where Jersey City’s executives can get a taste of Le Cirque-level technique without ever crossing the Hudson. For a dining scene that has to prove it can keep pace with Manhattan’s best, a chef with Walter’s résumé is a considerable statement. For the C-suite crowd filling 87 Sussex’s tables, it’s exactly the caliber of food they came to expect from their old Manhattan haunts.
