Moutarde Out, Bistro In
We’ve been following a Chowhound thread about the Park Slope bistro Moutarde since early March, when the restaurant had “closed for renovations”—or so said the hand-written sign in the window. Yesterday, we spotted this new signage, but we don’t have much info on the place. Chowhound famdoc is in the dark, too: “New owners? Don’t…
We’ve been following a Chowhound thread about the Park Slope bistro Moutarde since early March, when the restaurant had “closed for renovations”—or so said the hand-written sign in the window. Yesterday, we spotted this new signage, but we don’t have much info on the place. Chowhound famdoc is in the dark, too: “New owners? Don’t know. New name? Apparently. New Menu? I hope.” Anybody have the details on Le Bistro de la rue?
I recently became part of the Brownstoner community and I have had the pleasure of reading your comments and numerous questions about Moutarde.
Moutarde has been my home away from home for the past 4 years, first as one of its servers, and now, as the new manager.
In order to shed some light on your different points and questions, I would like to share with you a few secrets about the anticipated, new Moutarde.
First, I would like to say that Moutarde will always stay true to its roots and will keep its original charming name, so all of you can keep a smile on your faces while saying it. After all, there is no other condiment sounding more French than ‘the Moutarde’!
I also would like to clear up some confusion about the ‘double naming’ of your restaurant. “Le Bistro de la rue” will not stay on the walls of Moutarde, it was set to give a first hint to our dear patrons as to what the concept of the new Moutarde will be.
Now let me explain. “Le Bistro de la rue” literally means ‘Street Bistro’. It is a concept imagined by the owners of Moutarde, who were inspired by a developing trend they witnessed in the streets of Paris, consisting of adapting the foods served by culturally diverse street vendors and bringing them inside the walls of a Bistro setting.
We really hope you will be as captivated by our exciting menu as we were in imagining it.
You will also find other surprises at your new restaurant, like an artistic scenery, which we hope will invigorate your right side of the brain; or a simple and extensive menu utilizing only the freshest seasonal ingredients, which are brought to you by selected local producers. Furthermore, and with the desire of offering comfort to all its customers, including those only coming to share a drink with us, Moutarde decided to renovate its bar. Soon, you will be able to experience original cocktails inspired by our best customers as well as little delicacies, specially developed to be eaten with your fingers.
We definitely understand the frustration of having so much time pass by before the re-opening of our favorite French local restaurant. We are also a little anxious and eager to welcome you all back with us. Unfortunately, we had to deal with a lot of setbacks and did not want to open the doors before being fully ready.
I would like to thank all of you for being so patient and please, rest assured that we will do our best to make your new Moutarde the most comfortable, reasonably priced and exquisite place it could be. We also would like to thank Kara Zuaro for this beautiful photograph. We love to see visual work about Moutarde, so don’t hesitate to send us more photos!
All The Best,
Krisja, Manager, Moutarde.
AOC, then
Belleville, then, (last)
Moutarde / Bistro of the Street
Service and food at Moutarde was always subpar … then came the bistro competition (AOC, new chef at Belleville) and I’m sure that hurt them.
Hope they get it right this time.
Pretty boring name, after all that effort to change the signage. Hope the facelift/reopening works, though didn’t think the interior needed anything done!
who thought the color of the exterior paint was a good idea?.. it’s the same color as something AFTER you eat it.
I ate there maybe once or twice a year, and it was always quite good (though Cocotte was better). Prices were a little high for the area, but I didn’t mind paying a bit more now and then for the ambience. I hope the new place isn’t too different.
Park Sloper, it’s true the interior was authentic looking. So much so it was used in the film Julie & Julia for a scene where Julia Child dines with her sister and husband in Paris. I always liked the interior too, especially the glass wall sconce lights I covet so much. For food, I liked their lunch menu, good food good deal. Unfortunately the waiters were so so slow it made the place absolutely impractical for lunch. Lunchtime in hardworking America means people eat in a hurry; hope they figure that out in this new incarnation.
My kid and her friends attended MS 51 and after this place opened, “mo-tard” became their favored insult for most of seventh grade.
I hope they didn’t change the inside much, which I’ve always enjoyed as it’s a fairly authentic rendering of a real French bistro. Liked it for brunch, but never liked the dinner menu, so a change there can only be an improvement.
Zoot Alors!!