Warm smoked-salmon pastrami is one of chef Joey Sergentakis’s culinary fusion items at Revell Hall in Burlington City. Photo: Courtesy of Revell Hall
Joey Sergentakis has spent more than two decades honing his culinary skills, first alongside Michelin-starred chefs like Daniel Boulud and Alain Ducasse, and later working with legendary chef Gray Kunz to open more than a dozen restaurants in Europe and Asia, racking up accolades like “best new restaurant” in Hong Kong and “best Asian cuisine chef” in Singapore. Never mind that Sergentakis grew up in Manalapan and is of Greek and Italian descent.
After many years living abroad, Sergentakis came back to New Jersey in 2022, moving with his Singaporean wife, Tararussy, and their three children to Millstone. He helped launch restaurants in Montclair, Allendale and Waldwick, but was eager to put his own stake in the ground. So, when his high school friend Andrew Palmieri told him about a large riverfront restaurant space in historic Burlington City that was becoming available, he jumped.
In March 2025, Sergentakis, Palmieri and two other business partners purchased the site previously occupied by Riverview Restaurant and opened Revell Hall. The 10,000-square-foot restaurant, which opened in December, brings a new level of sophistication to this working-class city on the Delaware River, providing an eclectic menu that combines Sergentakis’s classical training with his years of international cooking.
“The technique is driven from French cuisine,” says the 42-year-old chef, “but the flavors are seasonal and incorporate the many Asian ingredients I submerged myself in for so long.”
That fusion approach, which shows up in dishes such as baked oysters bathed in black-garlic miso, ponzu-marinated tuna tartare, and Korean-barbecue pork belly skewers, draws customers from as far away as Princeton and Philadelphia.
“Whether we like it or not, we’re a bit of a destination,” says Sergentakis. “Rather than offering food that is safe, I’m doing food that I love, that I think is interesting and something worth traveling to.”
While many are drawn to Sergentakis’s inventive cuisine, others come for the crafted cocktails of mixologist Steve Mazzuca, whose artistry was on full display with the tangy cranberry-rosemary margarita I sampled, and more recently, when I stopped by for happy hour and tried his take on the classic Bee’s Knees, a honey-and-lemon-infused gin cocktail.
With its dark-painted interior and muted lighting, Revell Hall’s 60-seat dining room is a good setting for romantic dates, and those diners typically vie for the tables that line the large windows overlooking the river. Large groups gravitate to the long, communal table facing the open kitchen, or grab seats around the lively three-sided bar. The restaurant’s second story is used for catered events, as well as overflow on busy nights.
Despite its sleek appearance, Sergentakis says the restaurant welcomes families. To that end, he’s created a kids’ menu featuring a choice of meat or fish, a pasta, and a milk bun, served bento-box style.
In January, the restaurant started its Social Therapy happy-hour program with reduced-priced cocktails and small plates, available Wednesday through Friday. Sunday brunch was added in February, and when the weather gets warmer, the restaurant will open up its 15,000-square-foot patio for outdoor dining and special events, and possibly start an herb garden. Having launched so many restaurants for others, Sergentakis is well aware of what it takes to roll out a large project like Revell Hall.
“We’ve been really strategic about how we handle this opening,” he says. “It’s all about building the strongest team and executing consistently so that everyone who comes here has the best experience possible.”
HOW WE REVIEW: Restaurants are chosen for review at the sole discretion of New Jersey Monthly. These unstarred reviews of more casual restaurants are written after a critic visits once, with a guest; the magazine pays for these meals.
Dining and Cooking