The North End Grill in New Rochelle, NY: The Kosher Restaurant Westchester Needed
- Mark Vogel
- Aug 6
- 8 min read
Kosher Meat Bar & Restaurant in New Rochelle, New York ✈
The North End Grill is a new kosher restaurant in New Rochelle, New York, and it’s part of a noticeable upswing in kosher dining in Westchester County. Full disclosure: this is my sister-in-law’s brother’s restaurant. The place soft-opened for takeout in late September 2024 and started dine-in service the following month. It sits at 1301 North Avenue at the Quaker Ridge Shopping Center, an address locals already knew from the space’s previous life as North End Tavern. The old sports-bar bones are still there—TVs, a real bar, and a layout that works for families as well as small groups—now matched with a full OU-certified meat kitchen.
That history matters because it explains why the room feels ready for service and not like a work-in-progress. Given that North End Tavern announced a sale in June 2024 and closed at the end of that month, the new owners inherited a space already built for casual dining and drinks. Rather than gut it, they leaned into what already worked—bar seating for people who want to catch a game, tables for families, and a footprint that makes sense for weeknight dinners and Sunday crowds. The key change is behind the scenes: a kosher operation with the Orthodox Union’s certification, a staff that knows the drill, and a menu aimed at the local community’s tastes, from burgers and wings to salads, steaks, and tacos.
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“As a new kosher restaurant in Westchester County, the North End Grill opened at a smart time and in a smart place.”
New Rochelle, for anyone who hasn’t spent time there lately, is a Westchester city that is a nearby suburb of New York City. The Metro-North New Haven Line stops right in town, and express trains to Grand Central take roughly a half hour. That’s one reason the dining scene is more active than some people expect; there’s a steady flow of residents who work in Manhattan and return home looking for places they can use on a regular basis. The city has grown quickly in the last decade, especially downtown, and that growth has spilled over into the north end corridors where families live and shop. North Avenue is one of those corridors, and the shopping center location gives the restaurant practical advantages: parking, foot traffic, and visibility from the road.
There’s also a long-standing Jewish community here, which is a big part of the picture. Westchester County as a whole has a large Jewish population, and New Rochelle has a mix of synagogues, schools, and community infrastructure that make kosher restaurants feasible outside the five boroughs. You feel it in small ways—the way families slide tables together without a fuss, the mix of ages in the room on a weeknight, and the ease of running into people you know from shul or school events. The North End Grill is clearly built with that neighborhood rhythm in mind. There is a full bar with beer on tap and televisions tuned to sports, which gives parents a place to decompress while kids go for chicken fingers, fries, or a burger.
On my visit, I started with a blueberry martini. It’s not a drink I order often, but it fit the evening and it set the tone for the rest of the meal—simple, a little sweet, and made without fanfare. From there I moved into a bowl of chicken soup. The broth was well-seasoned, with carrot, onion, and celery, and it did exactly what chicken soup is supposed to do. I like ordering soup early on a first visit because it’s a good barometer for the kitchen. If a place gets the basics right, there’s a better chance the rest of the menu will fall into place.
I followed the soup with wings tossed in barbecue sauce. The wings arrived hot, crisp on the outside, and the sauce leaned more smoky-sweet than spicy. This isn’t one of those places that tries to impress you with a heat level; the goal is wings you can eat while talking and watching a game without setting your mouth on fire. They were the kind of wings I could easily order again, and I liked that the kitchen will grill them on request if you prefer that texture. On another night I might try them with sesame-BBQ or sweet chili, but barbecue was the right call for this visit.
The headline dish for me was the North End Sub. It’s a two-meat sandwich—pastrami and schnitzel—stacked on fresh bread with the right amount of crunch and chew. The schnitzel was cooked evenly and stayed crisp against the warm pastrami. The point of a sandwich like this is balance and build, and the kitchen nailed both. Everything held together without falling apart, the seasoning didn’t fight itself, and the portion size was generous without being a stunt. I also tried the french fries on the side, which were hot and salted properly. I’m picky about fries; if they’re mealy or cold, it’s hard for me to get past that. These were solid.
For dessert, I went with the dairy-free three scoops of ice cream—chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. It’s always good to see a parve ice cream that doesn’t taste like a compromise. The texture was smooth and the flavors were clean, not artificial. If you’re here on a weeknight with kids or you’re looking for a sweet finish after a heavier main, this is an easy choice that won’t weigh you down.
Now for everything I didn’t eat that still deserves mention. The menu is designed to cover family needs and weeknight decisions without making you dig through a binder. Starters include some fun moves like pastrami croquettes and grilled maitake mushrooms. There are baby chicken poppers for the chicken-nugget crowd and street tacos if you want something smaller with a little snap from jalapeño-lime sauce and cilantro. Salads range from a basic house mix to an avocado salad and a taco salad bowl with black beans and rice. Sandwiches go beyond the North End Sub with items like a steak baguette and a “Great American” chicken sandwich. Burger choices include a house deluxe and builds with beef bacon and pickled peppers. If you came for steak, there’s a ribeye and other cuts, and there are fish plates as well; salmon shows up with sides like sweet potatoes. None of this is trying to reinvent dinner. It’s meant to be the kind of menu you can use every couple of weeks without getting bored.
The bar program fits the room. You’ll find beer on tap and a run of cocktails that skew approachable. The goal here is to give you something to sip while you eat wings and a burger, not to stage a mixology show. The bartenders are comfortable handling a weeknight crowd, and they pace well with the kitchen. If you’re the person in your group who wants a drink and a plate of food while a game is on in the background, you’ll be happy. If you’re here with family and don’t care about the TV, sit away from the bar and it fades out quickly.
Service was attentive without being intrusive. The staff moves through the room with purpose; they take orders, clear plates, and keep things moving. Food came out in a reasonable sequence, the bar ticket didn’t lag the kitchen, and hot dishes arrived hot.
A quick note on kashrut and timing. The North End Grill is certified by the OU. That gives many diners clarity on the supervision and lets the restaurant draw from a broader customer base in Westchester and the Bronx. Hours have evolved since opening and can shift seasonally, including Saturday nights after Shabbat in the winter. Before you go, check the website or social channels for the current schedule, especially if you’re planning a late dinner or an event. The room is also set up for parties, and the catering options cover the basics for office lunches and family gatherings.
Location is one of the restaurant’s quiet advantages. If you’re coming in from elsewhere in the county, you have easy access via the Hutch or I-95, and there’s parking on site. If you’re coming from the city to visit family, the Metro-North stop puts you within a short drive or ride-share of the restaurant. New Rochelle’s growth downtown has been getting a lot of attention, but the north end neighborhoods—where people live, send their kids to school, and run errands—are still where many meals actually happen. That’s the lane this place aims to occupy.
What I appreciate most about the North End Grill is that it fills a practical gap. Westchester has had kosher pizza, bagels, Chinese, and deli for years, but there aren’t many kosher places where you can get a proper burger or steak, wings, a salad, and a drink in a sports-bar setting without driving to the city or waiting for a Sunday night pop-up. Here, you can make a last-minute decision on a weeknight, get a table, and eat a full dinner without spending your entire night in the car. It’s the kind of address that becomes part of your regular rotation if you live nearby.
Could the kitchen push further? Sure. Given the size of the room, I’d like to see a seasonal salad special that changes monthly and a rotating fish plate to keep things interesting for regulars. A wings-of-the-month flavor would also be an easy way to draw people back in. But none of those are complaints; they’re directions that make sense for a place with the space and staff to handle them. The base is solid, and the early read is that the team knows its audience.
If you’re planning a visit, my move would be to start with wings, split a salad if you’re with someone, and then decide between a burger, the North End Sub, or a steak depending on your mood. If you want something lighter, the tacos are an easy win. For dessert, the dairy-free ice cream is better than you might expect. And if you’re only stopping in for a quick bite at the bar, a burger and fries with a beer while a game is on checks the box without dragging out your night.
As a new kosher restaurant in Westchester County, the North End Grill opened at a smart time and in a smart place. The community is there to support it. The room is set up to handle families and small groups. The menu hits the targets people want on a school night and still gives you enough to build a Saturday night plan after Shabbat. The history of the space explains why it already feels lived-in. And yes, I’d say all of that even if I didn’t have a family connection to one of the people involved. It’s a good addition to the local kosher landscape and a useful option for anyone passing through New Rochelle who needs dinner with friends or family.
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