Clemmy’s, a Cozy Farm-to-Table Gem in Waretown, Is Well Worth the Wait to Get In

Clemmy’s, a tiny gem of a restaurant in a Waretown strip mall, opens at 4 pm. By 3:30, there’s a group of customers happily waiting outside for a table at this cozy, farm-to-table destination in Ocean County.

Early birds who secure a table or a spot at the counter of the 26-seat restaurant smile at each other as they take their places, sharing in the triumph. Clemmy’s does not take reservations. The buzz on this place began on opening night, last August. “Our first night of business, we served 28 dinners,” recalls chef Allen Walski, who owns Clemmy’s with his wife, Carolyn. “It was 57 dinners the next night. And two weeks into it, 50, 60 dinners every night.”

The sweet design of Clemmy’s—named for the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Clementine—begins with a logo of a chubby citrus on the sign and the menu. Inside, houseplants and dried flowers are displayed on shelves and on the counter, where there is seating. Tables are decorated with fresh flowers in bud vases hand-painted with clementines. The botanical motif reflects Walski’s emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients, sourced locally whenever possible.

Take, for example, his salads, odes to simplicity and freshness. Crushed walnuts, cara cara orange segments, and bite-sized chunks of New Jersey’s Valley Shepherd cheddar nestle in endive leaves, topped with fresh dill and torn mint leaves. Seasonal ingredients appear in multiple dishes on the menu, which is tweaked weekly.

Walski started working in restaurants when he was 13. The Surf City native later worked as chef de cuisine at the Arlington in Ship Bottom. He developed his sensibility as a line cook at Pumpkin BYOB, a 26-seat restaurant in Philadelphia.“When you’re working in a small setting, you have the luxury of taking your time and doing it right,” Walski says.

Roasted chicken with white bean purée, asparagus and pickled ramp. Photo: Rebecca McAlpin

That experience inspired his approach at Clemmy’s. During the pandemic, he left Philadelphia, bought a house in Waretown, where Carolyn had grown up, and started envisioning Clemmy’s. The menu is limited, with six starters and six entrées. The dishes can be deceptively simple.

“We’re not groundbreaking,” Walski says. “We do traditional things. But the beauty of being small is that farms can supply us, and we have a relationship with farmers and fishmongers.”

Expect more fish and seafood on the menu. Viking Village in Barnegat Light supplies “pretty much all our fish,” Walski says. “Our menu is based on their availability.” The menu changes frequently to reflect seasonality and local sourcing.

Long Island duck breast with pine-nut honey, orange and turnip. Photo: Rebecca McAlpin

Walski enjoys cooking poultry, too. “It has to be cooked to perfection,” he says. “It’s something I pride myself on.” His roasted chicken is succulent, an airline chicken breast with crisp, honey-glazed skin, served with black-eyed peas and collards. It is both comfort food and fine dining. Long Island duck breast is another mainstay at Clemmy’s. During one visit, the tender duck was enhanced by crisp, sautéed scallions, chunks of sweet potatoes, and fresh dill and parsley.

Cacio e pepe frequently appears on Clemmy’s changing menu, and it’s one of the few entrées that might require a doggie bag for leftovers. Spaghetti, served in a shallow bowl nearly the size of an LP record, is blanketed by fluffy grated Pecorino Romano in a silken cheese sauce. Perfectly executed at Clemmy’s, it is as light as air, neither starchy nor sticky.

Grammy’s Famous Orange Cake with vanilla gelato. Photo: Rebecca McAlpin

Desserts include Grammy’s Famous Orange Cake, dense with orange flavor and topped with vanilla gelato. Also irresistible: the sticky toffee pudding, drenched in butterscotch and served with the ingenious addition of coffee whipped cream; and the flourless chocolate cake, served with tart dried cherries and cream.

Because of its small size, Clemmy’s requests that customers limit their visit to 90 minutes. Come midsummer, however, there should be more elbow room.

Walski planned to spend the spring expanding the restaurant, taking over the State Farm office next door. “The space is going to double in size,” he says. “We’ll go from 26 crammed seats to up to 40 spaced-out seats. Realistically, I could fit 50, but I want to keep it small.”

Regardless of the crowd, you won’t feel rushed, and you won’t have to wait long for your meal. The pleasant wait staff is efficient and attentive. Walski says staff morale is a high priority for him, and he’s fine with having a waitress’s little girl hang out at Clemmy’s until her dad can pick her up. “We all have a lot to juggle—I get it,” says Walski.

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HOW WE REVIEW: Restaurants are chosen for review at the sole discretion of New Jersey Monthly. For our starred reviews of fine-dining restaurants, our critics visit a restaurant at least twice with two diners, always maintaining anonymity to avoid preferential treatment, and the magazine pays for their meals. Stars are assigned by the dining section editor in consultation with the reviewer.

Four stars = extraordinary; three stars = excellent; two stars = very good; one star = good; half a star = fair.

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