Upland

Built around a California-style culinary philosophy that takes heavy cues from the seasons, Upland balances a familiar rusticity with a smart global approach, all enhanced with a New Yorker’s eye for detail. The restaurant offers an artful array of starters, entrees and sides, each plate accented with chef Justin Smillie’s enticing and urbane touch. The wine program, overseen by beverage...

Upland’s owner and impresario-in-chief, Stephen Starr, has opened jostling, thumping, nightclub-slash-restaurants as well as intimate stages for chefs. Upland occupies the middle ground, a big restaurant that has enough set dressing to feel like an event without competing with the food. For the kitchen Mr. Starr recruited Justin Smillie, whose intensely flavorful spins on Italian cuisine at Il...

Born in Upland, California and raised in rural Hunterdon County, NJ, Justin Smillie’s early environment informed the kind of chef he is today, one with a passion for the bounty of local farms, bold flavors, and the simple expression of extraordinary ingredients.