Lehigh Valley restaurant and cigar bar to hold grand reopening with new food menu in Forks Township, Pennsylvania

[JohnS]

Lehigh Valley restaurant and cigar bar to hold grand reopening with new food menu

Ryan Kneller - Apr 21, 2026 

Leaf Restaurant and Cigar Bar operates at 90 Mort Drive in Forks Township. - Ryan Kneller 

FORKS TWP., Pa. – A wide array of appetizers, sandwiches, entrees and more are returning to a longstanding establishment in Northampton County.

Leaf Restaurant & Cigar Bar, offering a premium selection of cigars, craft beverages and freshly prepared food, will hold its grand reopening with a new food menu on Sunday, April 26, at 90 Mort Drive in Forks Township, Leaf Manager Emily Stenger told 69 News.

Leaf is affiliated with and operates at the same site as Famous Smoke Shop, featuring a refined cigar lounge and more than 2,000-square-foot humidor housing thousands of premium cigars.

Ryan Kneller

Leaf’s grand reopening will mark a return to form for the Easton area dining establishment.

Leaf opened in 2011 and previously featured its own, in-house kitchen staff preparing an expansive selection of dishes for lunch and dinner until 2020, according to Sean Brown, Famous Smoke Shop’s retail and lounge operations manager.

For the past few years, the restaurant’s food service was handled by You Got Pork’D, a business specializing in smoked barbecue dishes and homemade sides, which recently moved operations to Dewey Fire Company in Hellertown.

Leaf and You Got Pork’D amicably parted way in March as Leaf’s management team aimed to satisfy a large number of requests from longtime customers seeking a broader variety of food options, Brown said.

“Our partnership with You Got Pork’D was great, and we have nothing but great things to say about our time together, but we were just looking to go back to how we operated prior to the pandemic,” Brown said.

“So, we’re bringing back that full restaurant experience, with a full kitchen staff and a wide variety of dishes for lunch and dinner.”

Ryan Kneller

Leaf’s kitchen staff, led by Executive Chef Corina Werkheiser, will offer appetizers such as fried calamari, jalapeno bacon deviled eggs, a mini charcuterie board and giant pretzel with beer cheese and horseradish mustard; and handhelds (served with truffle fries or sweet potato fries) such as crab cake sliders, a sweet bourbon chicken sandwich, Leaf burger (100% angus beef patty, house sauce, choice of cheese, lettuce tomato and onion) and Leaf cheesesteak (shaved ribeye, fried onions and peppers and Cooper or provolone cheese, with optional house spicy marinara at no cost).

Guests also will be able to enjoy entrees (served with choice of side), including pan-seared miso salmon (glazed with miso brown butter and served with honey garlic green beans), smothered bone-in pork chop (pan-seared and topped with rich mushroom gravy and served over creamy garlic mashed potatoes) and 10-ounce, garlic- and herb butter-basted ribeye (grilled to order and served with horseradish whipped crema and truffle parmesan fries; optional shrimp skewer for an upcharge).

Other menu highlights will include salads such as classic wedge and Caesar; wings by the dozen (with choice of sauce, ranch or blue cheese, celery and carrots); and sides such as risotto, roasted broccoli and vegetable du jour.

Leaf Restaurant & Cigar Bar operates at 90 Mort Drive in Forks Township. - Ryan Kneller 

“It’s very much an upscale gastropub menu with something for everyone,” Stenger said.

“So, we’ll still have wings, but we’ll also have a steak dinner. We’ll also have more unique items like truffle fries, miso salmon and a chicken thigh sandwich with house-made maple bourbon sauce.”

Leaf also will feature a “Lounge Lizard” menu, inspired by a dedicated group of cigar lounge customers who requested certain items, Stenger said.

The Lounge Lizard menu will include selections like an “early lizard” (breakfast sandwich with egg, choice of cheese and choice of meat on a plain bagel or English muffin); “hot iguana” (naan flatbread, house spicy marinara and shredded mozzarella; optional pepperoni for an upcharge); and “sticky gecko” (layers of brownies, Oreos and chocolate chip cookies come together with vanilla gelato, caramel drizzle and whipped cream).

The menu also will feature several gluten-free and vegetarian options, and guests will be able to substitute a Beyond burger patty for any beef burger, Stenger said.

“Our menu will gradually expand in the coming months as the team gets fully accustomed to operations,” Stenger said.

“It’s a whole new menu. However, the sous chef that we are bringing in previously worked here and is going to help us bring back some fan favorites as we expand the menu. We’ll also be offering seasonal or quarterly specials starting in the winter, around the holidays.”

Starting Sunday, April 26, Leaf will kick off its new regular hours of noon to 11 p.m. (late-night food menu available 9-10:30 p.m.) Thursday through Sunday and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays, Stenger said.

Beginning in late summer, the restaurant will extend its hours on Sundays, and it also will introduce Monday hours to coincide with the start of football season, Stenger said.

Leaf Restaurant & Cigar Bar operates at 90 Mort Drive in Forks Township. - Ryan Kneller

Leaf, which allows smoking throughout its bar and dining area, features seating for more than 85 guests at low- and high-top dining tables, lounge furniture and the bar.

There’s also a seasonal outdoor dining patio.

Inside, Leaf features a state-of-the-art ventilation system, along with an electric fireplace and a multitude of TVs.

With the exception of some dining room furniture being repositioned, Leaf’s interior has not changed, Stenger said. 

Guests also will be able to enjoy the same great lineup of craft beer, wines, cocktails and spirits, including more than 40 selections of bourbon, Stenger said.

Various cocktails include martinis such as blood orange, lemon drop and sweet gin; and classic cocktails such as a boulevardier, gimlet, negroni and sidecar.

There’s also a variety of old-fashioned drinks, including a classic, peach, chocolate, chocolate cherry, seasonal offering and signature Leaf (bourbon of choice, Angostura bitters, Angostura orange bitters, Luxardo cherry juice and brown sugar simple syrup garnished with an expressed orange peel and Luxardo cherry).

“We’re also continuing to run our special dinners, usually held once a month, featuring a four-course meal with specialty cocktails and cigars,” Stenger said. “Our next one is scheduled for May 13 and will feature beef Wellington.”

For the latest Leaf updates, follow the business’ pages on Facebook and Instagram. Info: leafcigarbar.com.

Source: https://www.wfmz.com/features/eat-sip-shop/lehigh-valley-restaurant-and-cigar-bar-to-hold-grand-reopening-with-new-food-menu/article_6c4a2c9b-3da3-478d-93c3-be1351543494.html