“I was lucky when we were doing the buildout doing COVID-19 (because) I got to see what people were doing,” Jew said. One of the few benefits of opening a restaurant in the middle of a pandemic is that - time and finances permitting - it can allow for some recalibrating, Jew said.

While the coronavirus pandemic may have thrown off his original plans, it did give the chef some time to reevaluate. Dinner service will likely take longer to launch. Now the chef is eyeing a mid-May soft opening for breakfast and lunch at the restaurant at 400 Sixth St. Petersburg was first announced last spring, and Jew - fresh off a five-year stint running the kitchens at BellaBrava and Stillwaters Tavern - was initially shooting for a fall 2020 opening. PETERSBURG - Lingr, the highly anticipated new restaurant from local chef and former Top Chef contestant Jeffrey Jew, is a bit behind schedule. The wait is almost over for one of 2021's most-anticipated restaurant debuts. We look forward to seeing everyone starting June 14. Since this article was published, Lingr made the decision to be open for dinner only for the time being. (On one visit the sauce was searingly spicy but pretty tame on the next.Thank you to Helen Freund and the Tampa Bay Times for this great article about Lingr. Depending on the evening, the kitchen might use a heavier hand with the last ingredient. Both sets of dumplings arrive swimming in a spicy sauce made with soy, garlic, sesame seeds and a hot chili oil.

Guests also have the option of nonvegetarian dumplings, which are made with a spicy Key West pink shrimp medley ($15) and have more dimension than their vegetarian counterpart, flavored with garlic, shallots, ginger, broad bean paste, Aleppo chiles and tamari. (The restaurant was constructed at the height of the pandemic.) The menu also does a good job of describing any allergens and ingredients that might affect dietary preferences and features a healthy selection of vegetarian-friendly and vegan dishes.Ĭhar sui-style shiitake mushrooms and steamed gai lan (Chinese broccoli) are delivered inside a pillowy bao bun ($5), and smoked potato- and asparagus-filled dumplings ($12) come flavored with dill and fennel pollen. Lingr is a modern and progressive restaurant, reflected as much in the dining room’s minimalist decor and sleek aesthetic as it is in Jew’s overall approach, which includes touting COVID-19 safety protocols like advanced air purification and an HVAC system lined with UV lights. Smoked lion's mane mushrooms are served on Sami bread with hawthorn cream and brunost cheese and garnished with chili oil and sea buckthorn.

It’s garnished with chili oil and sea buckthorn, and each bite features layers of flavor and texture.

The bread is made with nigella seeds and burnt leeks and arrives topped with smoked lion’s mane mushrooms, hawthorn cream and brunost cheese, a Norwegian whey cheese that’s creamy and the color of light caramel. Definitely don’t skip the homemade Sami bread ($14), an impressive and creative starter that features the puffy round bread named for the indigenous group inhabiting portions of Norway, Finland, Sweden and parts of Russia. Breadhouse Bakes’ pan seeded and round rye breads served with a whipped fish roe butter ($7) is a nice accompaniment to some of the following dishes. There’s no bread service, but a plate of local bakery Jamison B. The pieces of fish are topped with thin wisps of crispy-fried lotus root chips and dusted in a bright crimson dried cranberry powder - a simple and beautiful start to a meal here. Explore all your optionsĪ dish like the hamachi crudo ($16) features thick slices of the silky fish swimming in a tangy citrus and buttermilk sauce, flavored with Sichuan peppercorns, orange and dill oil. Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Lingr menu