Sinner's Is Bringing Its Church-Stained-Glass Steakhouse Drama to Kenilworth on Sept 26
Some restaurants serve dinner. Sinner's serves dinner inside what feels like the most beautiful chapel you've ever been allowed to eat steak in. And now the Point Pleasant Beach original — the playfully named Seafood and Steakhouse that's been a chic Shore dining destination for nearly five years — is opening a second location in Kenilworth on Saturday, September 26.
The new Sinner's is taking over 572 Boulevard in Kenilworth, the former home of Boulevard Five72. And if you've never been to the original, let me paint the picture, because the room is half the story here. You walk in past a church-inspired clock on the exterior, and then it's red uplighting, black walls, red leather banquettes, a 15-foot chandelier hanging over the dining room, showstopping stained glass, arched windows, gas-lit flames, and ceilings designed to look like the night sky. It's dramatic in the way a great Broadway set is dramatic — every angle is intentional, every corner has something to look at. Co-owner Matthew Kohler, who runs the restaurant with his brother Michael Kohler and Bill Woehlemann, put it simply: "Everywhere you look, there is something unique to see in the restaurant. There is no lack of attention to detail." You can feel the obsession the second you sit down.
The space itself is massive — two dining rooms, an 18-seat bar, and a glass-enclosed private room lined with bottles of wine for the nights you want to feel extremely important. The whole aesthetic traces back to Kohler's visit to Marsha Brown in New Hope, Pennsylvania — the beloved restaurant in a former church (it now houses Oldestone Steakhouse) with the arched ceiling, the stained glass, the oversized church-inspired mural, the candlelight. That DNA runs straight through Sinner's, from Point Pleasant Beach to Kenilworth.
And then there's the food, because a room this dramatic would be a crime with a boring menu. The Kenilworth menu will mirror the original: American wagyu strip steaks, seafood towers stacked like edible architecture, lobster gnocchi, scallop mushroom risotto. This is decadent, special-occasion, order-the-tower-and-don't-apologize food — the kind of menu that turns a random Saturday into a story you tell people.
Here's what makes the timing perfect: the Shore location has been packing them in for nearly five years, and Central Jersey has been waiting for a room like this. Kenilworth is getting a destination restaurant — the kind of place that makes people from three towns over plan their anniversary around it, the kind of place that becomes the answer to "where should we go for her birthday?" The Shore-to-Central-Jersey pipeline is real, and Sinner's just gave it a flagship.
A few practical notes so you can plan the pull-up properly. The restaurant opens Saturday, September 26, and the first two days — September 26 and 27 — are walk-ins only. Reservations open starting Tuesday, September 29, which tells you everything about how they expect that first weekend to go: get there early or be prepared to wait, because word travels fast. Regular hours are 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. And if you're the type who likes to do homework before a big night out, the full menu and details are at sinnerssteakhouse.com.
My honest take? A room this intentional deserves a menu this indulgent, and Kenilworth deserves a restaurant this fun. Go for the wagyu, stay for the stained glass, and book the private wine room the first chance you get. Sinner's doesn't do subtle, and that's exactly the point.