At Meeting House in Princeton, Tasty Dishes Delight the Whole Family

In Princeton, where the elite university defines this decidedly upscale town, there are plenty of dining establishments, from high-end restaurants like Elements to down-and-dirty places that students frequent, like Hoagie Haven.

For a mid-priced spot where your kids are welcome—and even feted—Meeting House is the perfect choice. From the pleasing decor to the attentive service to the menu that has something for everyone, there’s a reason this spot was recommended to me as a can’t-miss place to dine in Princeton.

Owners Amanda Maher and Amar Gautam Photo: Courtesy of Meeting House/Rachel Vanni

Amanda Maher and her husband, Amar Gautam, who live in Princeton, opened the restaurant five years ago.

“We wanted a place that was approachable, but that was really well done,” says Maher. “The idea was to have a menu of simple American dishes like fried chicken, roasted chicken and burgers. Nothing overly complex, but done really well.”

The Meeting House burger, with bacon and herb aioli Photo: Courtesy of Meeting House/Rachel Vanni

They only use high-quality ingredients and try to source locally whenever they can, she says. Meeting House has a local purveyor for the meat in their burgers (Lima Family Farms in Hillsborough) and for cheeses (including Grove Farm in Lawrenceville). Lillipies Bakery, right in town (and one of NJM‘s favorite bakeries), provides the English muffins for the restaurant’s famous eggs Benedict.

That attention to detail shows in the cooking as well as in the decor, which is what one might call New Colonial, blending contemporary touches with traditional American style. The owners perused antique shops in Pennsylvania to decorate the restaurant, buying inexpensive but unusual art for their walls.

The restaurant’s decor features locally sourced antiques and unusual art. Photo: Courtesy of Meeting House/Rachel Vanni

Gautam had more experience in the dining world—having owned a cocktail bar in Manhattan for 11 years called the Archives, and wanted to bring the same feeling of a sophisticated bar to their restaurant.

But they also wanted a place where people would feel comfortable bringing their children. The couple had moved from New York City, where they loved being able to go out to dinner with their kids and have a great meal and a glass of wine.

Gautam says he and his wife wished to create a restaurant that would appeal to people of various incomes. “We lived in town for a year before we opened, and when we met people, we asked them what they liked in a restaurant. We have great restaurants in our town, but many of them are expensive. We want people to come here and have a great meal and not feel intimidated. It was really important to make it accessible and healthy—a place where you can get a meal for under $100,” he says, adding that he and his wife eat there with their three kids a few times a week.

Meeting House’s chicken fingers are always made to order and never frozen, ensuring that kids are eating real food at the restaurant.

On the evening I tried Meeting House, I brought two of my kids—we were in town for the day touring Princeton. Although they are teenagers, they still can be picky, but everyone found something they wanted on the menu.

My vegetarian son ordered the margherita flatbread pizza, which was a generous portion and came with house-made mozzarella. It had just the right amount of cheese and tomato sauce, and we all fought over a bite. The fried chicken beckoned my other son; it was brined ahead of time and served with apple coleslaw, their famous buttermilk biscuits and chili honey. The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

The delicious oak-leaf salad Photo: Courtesy of Meeting House/Rachel Vanni

I chose the Atlantic salmon, served with black lentils, spiced carrots and a romesco sauce. It was tender and flavorful. We also had an oak-leaf salad as a side, and it was generous; it came with baby beets, orange segments, pomegranate seeds, mint, Parmesan and a lemon-oregano vinaigrette.

For dessert, we ordered the warm blueberry cobbler, which was a crowd pleaser—though we probably would have been happy with any of the desserts on the menu, including the s’mores tart or the carrot cake.

The next time we’re back in Princeton, we’ll know exactly where to go for a meal.

[RELATED: How to Spend a Weekend in Princeton] 

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