A BERNARDSVILLE MIXOLOGIST AND HIS TALENTED TEAM ARE THE STARS OF THE SHOW AT THIS POPULAR STEAKHOUSE

BY ERIK SCHONING • PHOTOS BY ROBERT NUZZIE

At Red Horse by David Burke, excellence is an expectation. This modern American steakhouse, nestled into the acclaimed Bernards Inn, is a destination for locals and travelers alike in the Bernardsville area. Of the restaurant’s many draws, its bar, led by Sergio Mora, ranks high on the list.

The bar is in many ways the centerpiece at Red Horse: a freestanding, octagonal space that draws the eye from the moment guests walk in. And behind the sticks on any given night you’ll find Mora, head bartender, often with a shaker in hand. Mora is modest, but his experience in the hospitality business spans a decade, and that expertise shows.

“I’ve worked every role: front-of-house, server, back waiter, food runner, busboy,” Mora said. “You name it, I’ve done it, but I’ve been bartending for over five years now.”

Since training in mixology in 2019, Mora has straddled the line between stepping into management and working behind the bar, a mix that suits him perfectly as head bartender. He is able to ensure perfection at every level, from making the simple syrups to keeping a busy Friday night service running smoothly.

David Burke is known for his brand of culinary creativity, and the chef ’s penchant for experimentation also informs Mora’s work behind the bar. The cocktail menu at Red Horse is full of classics, but Mora encourages his bartenders to invent their own cocktails as well, many of which debut as rotating specials.

“I have a very creative bar team,” Mora said. “For example, one of our past specials was a Mexican Coffee Margarita. I have to give all the credit to my bartender, Drew Taveroni. He came to me with all the ingredi – ents, and I helped him with the finishing touches. So the menu may lean classic, but we also do creative and complex cocktails as well.”

Mora himself often makes off-menu cocktails; he is an avid tequila fan, often substituting tequila for vodka or bourbon in his recipes, as in the Don Julio Reposado Old Fashioned, a twist on a time-honored classic by which he swears.

In fact, this fall/winter season marks the first time Mora has spearheaded a menu at Red Horse. In keeping with the restaurant’s name, equestrian phrases and clever puns abound: the Stable Mule, a rum and apple number with maple syrup and lemon; Millicent’s Pipe, a dark and smoky blend of Woodford Reserve, walnut liqueur, and chocolate bitters; and the Gallop & Gaze, a blend of Tanqueray, ginger liqueur, and rosemary-sage syrup. And while a couple drinks are popular holdovers from previous menus, the season’s cocktails are the result of Mora’s putting his own stamp on the restaurant.

“It’s a cool feeling,” Mora said. “When I was promoted, I knew I would be tasked with creating new cocktails for the fall/winter menu. I love it when I see people ordering the drinks, recipes that I came up with. It’s nice.”

The bar is visible from just about every seat in the restaurant. That means Mora and his team are responsible for setting a lively, fun atmosphere, one that matches the exciting nature of Burke’s signature cuisine.

“We’re kind of the center of attention,” Mora said of the bar and his team. “Everyone’s watching us. We’re the show. We all have a really good relationship with everyone that comes in. Some of our regulars, they used to sit at tables but then they started sitting at the bar. Last week, a couple told me that they’re going to start sitting at the bar from here on out because they love the experience.”

As head bartender, Mora wears many hats at Red Horse: on Sundays you’ll find him managing the front of house, while on Fridays and Saturdays he’s mixing drinks at the service bar. Of course, there is so much behind-the-scenes action that goes into running a popular bar, work that customers will never see. For Mora, the goal is consistency: crafting the same drink, every time it’s ordered. Anyone who’s ever worked in hospitality knows this can be a tricky feat: it requires great attention to detail at every stage of the process. But the David Burke patron would expect nothing less.

A Jersey native, Mora feels his hospitality journey has come full circle: after stints in Pennsylvania and New York City, he is finally home. As he kicks off his captainship as head bartender, he’s excited to explore where he can take things moving forward. But the fundamentals of the business, he noted, remain the same.

“We’re there to make our guests feel at home and comfortable, to serve really good drinks and get them fed,” Mora said. Sometimes, a good bar can be as simple as that.

Red Horse by David Burke –Bernards Inn

27 Mine Brk Road, Bernardsville

908.766.0002 / redhorsebydb.com