The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1347392
Built in the center like an escape through an enchanted forest in the South of France, Rat's Restaurant stands as the old-world inn with cobblestone roads, villa -style architecture, and a toolbox of upscale, charming French-cooking fused with the fresh farm produce, familiar atmosphere, and vibrant spirit of the Garden State. Upon entry, the faint, amber glow of several lanterns lining the driveway welcomes you, setting a mysterious, yet captivating atmosphere under the ink black sky. But beyond the mystery of the park's enigmatic nature stands Rat's Restaurant tucked away like the hidden gem of the farmland estate. And within the first wondrous glances of the garden, you wonder if there had been a spellbound portal casually connecting New Jersey to an enchanted faraway land of a European fairytale. Seward Johnson's quest for creating Rat's became an architectural competition set between six of the prestigious firms in the Greater New York and Philadelphia areas. First garnering the aesthetic and architectural inspiration from abroad, Johnson rented Monet's notorious Giverny, a small village from Normandy. The soft garden greens inspired the famous impressionist painter of the late nineteenth-century, and similarly, Johnson observed the village to fully encapsulate the feeling of a painting into his project at home. After clear deliberation, Johnson chose New York-based architect and landscaper Brian Carey's "Belgian Village" design, closely emulating the artistic nuances from the past trip to France. Within three years, Rat's Restaurant opened to the public, in January of 2000. The interior takes on the warm, and cozy aesthetic accompanied with the inviting scent of crackling firewood burning in the hand-crafted stone fireplaces and the intricate wood finished furniture. Between the velvet green seating upholstery, blue stained glasses, and faint table-top candlelight glow, to the jovial greetings from staff, the first steps into Rat's Restaurant emulate the beginning, middle, and end of a storybook from start to finish. Whether your first time or fortieth, every guest is treated like the talk of the town. Looking to muse at the back pond? Dine outside on the patio accompanied with multiple space heaters to keep the chilling frost of late winter away while appreciating the white snow V U E N J .C O M 156