Bay Leaf offers brick oven pizza
With a brick oven and an expansive menu, the Bay Leaf Restaurant is trying to become a local hotspot in Milton.
Located in the former location of the Blue Ocean Restaurant and the Milton House Family Restaurant, owner Ismail Sivaz has recruited chef Muhamed “Mo” Bejta to help create a menu aimed to satisfy every palette.
“I used to own this restaurant when it was Milton House,” said Sivaz, who also owns Mill Pond Family Restaurant in Millsboro. “The other guys didn’t make it. I know [Bejta], so he left Dover Downs and we’re doing it together.”
Bejta previously worked at Frankie’s in Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, which offered many similar menu items such as brick oven pizza.
Bejta came to the U.S. in 1999 from Kosovo and opened his own bakery before working at five-star restaurant, 821, in Wilmington for five years.
Among the many noteworthy accomplishments in Betja’s career was cooking for Dale Earnhart Jr. at Dover Downs and Delaware Speaker of the House Terry Spence.
The Bay Leaf opened just prior to Mother’s Day weekend and has been a big success, Manager Christine Igo said.
“We haven’t done any advertising and it’s full almost every day,” she said. “Usually when somebody comes back they come with someone else. We had a lady who said she had been here a couple of times, but wanted to bring [her friend].”
As a cost-cutting measure, Betja and Sivaz renovated the entire restaurant themselves, everything down to the booths.
In addition to its main dining room, Bay Leaf also has a party room that seats about 120 people. If folks are looking for something special on the menu, Betja said he’s willing to work with them to make anything family style.
Everything on the menu is made from scratch in house, Betja said, including some local favorites like chicken dumplings, chicken pot pie and shepherd’s pie.
Igo said the cheesecake is the best she’s ever had.
“It melts in your mouth,” she said. “[Betja] makes everything from scratch, so it’s really good.”
Sivaz believes brick oven pizza and bread could be Bay Leaf’s best offerings.
“Everybody loves the bread and the pizza,” he said. “It’s different when you cook it in the brick oven. I’m not saying that because we have it, but you can really tell the difference.”
The Bay Leaf Restaurant is located at 200 Broadkill Road in Milton. It’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and can be reached at 302-684-5200.
Nick Roth is the news editor. He has been with the Cape Gazette since 2012, previously covering town beats in Milton and Lewes. In addition to serving on the editorial board and handling page layout, Nick is responsible for the weekly Delaware History in Photographs feature and enjoys writing stories about the Cape Region’s history. Prior to the Cape Gazette, Nick worked for the Delmarva Media Group, including the Delaware Wave, Delaware Coast Press and Salisbury Daily Times. He also contributed to The News Journal. Originally from Boyertown, Pa., Nick attended Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He’s won several MDDC awards during his career for both writing and photography. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, going to the beach with his family and cheering for Philadelphia sports teams.
