My spouse and I dined at
Notch Kitchen and Bar three times, the first two times for Saturday lunch (in
September and October 2019) and the third time for dinner (November 2019).
Notch is open daily for lunch and dinner. Plans to begin a Sunday dim sum
brunch are in the works. Happy hour specials are also available. Diners can book a table using the Resy reservation system.
Notch opened in mid-August
2019 on Hamilton Boulevard in Lower Macungie Township, next to Ethan Allen
Furniture (guests can use that parking lot if the lot at Notch is full) and
across the street from the Hamilton Crossings strip mall (with Costco, Target,
Dick’s Sporting Goods) in the former Berkshire Hathaway realty building. The
restaurant shares ownership with White Orchids Thai Cuisine in Center Valley at
The Promenade Shops.
Notch occupies a two-story,
200-seat building with multiple places to dine, including a 20-seat oval bar
with adjacent banquette seating, the main dining area with high-backed booths, and
stand-alone tables (some of which are suitable for the handicapped).
Seasonally, guests can dine on a partially covered al fresco deck (some tables
are covered by an open-air pergola, and others are completely protected by a
roof). A small private dining room with windows to the kitchen is available
(called the “chef’s table”), as well as overflow seating and private event
space on the second-floor mezzanine (no elevator is available). Black-and-white
toile-looking tile flooring, slate blue walls, golden-hued walls, patterned
banquettes, and pendant lighting complete the chic look.
Notch serves Asian cuisine. Its
chef previously worked at The Bayou and Emeril’s Chop House. We have tried some
of the restaurant’s small plates as starters (the cauliflower is great, as are
the carrots, the shishito peppers, and the salt-and-pepper fries with kewpie
mayonnaise dipping sauce). We have also sampled several of the “wok shop”
dishes including the bibimbap, drunken rice cake with chicken ragout (this is a
most unusual dish, not containing any alcohol as the name would imply nor any
rice cake, but instead hard solid noodles similar in size to ziti), carrot massaman
curry, and fried rice. On our most recent visit, we sampled some entrees
including the scallops, the pork belly, the rament, and the fried chicken. Guests
can add various proteins to any dish for a small supplement (the pork belly is
“to die for”!). We have tried the pineapple cake for dessert (yummy) as well as
the rice pudding (very different than expected). As at Thai White Orchid, main
dish prices are not inexpensive, but at Notch, the portions are large enough
that you’ll have some to take home for a midnight snack. A full liquor license
of wine, beer, and cocktails is available, including some reasonably-priced
mocktails in which patrons can choose tastes/flavors or ask the bartender to
choose.
We will definitely visit
Notch Kitchen again; the location is ideal for us, as are its hours and its
varied menu.
October 2019:
