New Princeton Restaurant Focuses On Sustainable Eating

PRINCETON, NJ – Located at the corner of Nassau and Olden Street is Princeton’s newest restaurant, Ficus Above. The restaurant opened in October, right above its predecessor, a take-out and café.

“We do a lot of creative dishes – our focus is on fresh produce and food,” said owner Quinta Li.

“The downstairs the concept is more aligned to ‘fast food.’ So, if you want to just grab a quick bite and opt for take-out, this is it. The second floor, I would say more upscale, more fine dining.”

The target customer for the café is obviously university students, said Li. The cafe serves bubble tea, smoothies, sandwiches, salads, and bowls.

Meanwhile, the restaurant on the second floor, Ficus Above, serves modern American cuisine with French techniques.

“Our focus is on healthy and sustainable eating. Even at the café, we use fresh ingredients. Everything is locally sourced,” said Li. The restaurant also serves vegan and vegetarian dishes.

A graduate of Princeton High School, Li has been living in the Municipality for the past 10 years.

“I went on to study abroad in the UK and back to The United States for grad school at Columbia. Although I'm more like from the art background and from the teaching program, I always wanted to have a café or restaurant,” said Li.

While the Café opened in January, Li did face some issues of labor shortage around May, right when she was in the midst of preparing for the October opening of Ficus Above.

“It was a hard time for us to hire people when we were preparing to open the second floor. But I have a really small team with my amazing chef, who helped me a lot,” said Li.

Ficus Café is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant, Ficus Above is open Wednesday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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