2 days ago
A Mexican Cantina by Cosme and Pujol Alums Opens in Brooklyn
Bed-Stuy is now a burgeoning epicenter for Mexico City-styled restaurants and bars. Nearby natural wine bar Winona's is opening Dolores come July. This week, there's a newer contender, Olmo, which will open at 103 Saratoga Avenue at Decatur Street on Saturday, June 14.
It's a stretch of the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood with a fleet of new openings this season, including Selune, a forthcoming oyster bar, Badaboom, a French chicken and wine spot, and Lucky Parlor, a gyoza spot from the Trad Room team.
Olmo's co-founders declined to be named, but one has worked in major restaurants such as Cosme; they're overseeing a team with experience from restaurants in Mexico City and New York, such as Pujol, per Brownstoner. They describe the restaurant as a cantina Neoyorquina, Spanish for 'New York cantina' — a casual 850-square-foot space with drinks, food, and hanging out while playing with dice and dominoes.
Opening chef Jael Lopez is running Olmo's kitchen, also an alum of Cosme, as well as Eleven Madison Park, and Atomix. 'I thought it was really important to highlight the idea of nostalgic Mexico City cantinas,' Lopez tells Eater. 'I wanted to make sure to highlight and bring that homey feeling into the dining room, not necessarily in a stuffy way, but in an approachable way where people in the neighborhood can feel excited to come and check it out.'
The crudite made with lacto-fermented plums, tomatoes, and chayote best exemplifies Olmo's New York-Mexico City theme, with tinges of Lope's fine-dining roots. Other dishes she teases include a chicharron preparado, where fried pork rinds are served with cabbage escabeche, avocado, horseradish cream, and salsa roja. 'It's a little bit of a messy dish,' she says, 'but it's fun, tasty, and super-nostalgic.' There's the queso fundido served with chiles toreados, mushrooms, and salsa macha; eggplant Milanesa; and fideo seco, a Mexican dish with dry noodles. Desserts include flan paleta made with sugar crisps and a refreshing seasonal fruit flavor doused in pasilla chile sugar.
Drinks follow suit: There are many agave cocktails, such as mezcal negronis and margaritas. There's also the refreshing Cuba Campechana, made with blanco tequila, Mexican Coca-Cola, and Top Chico; the Piedra, an oft-used hangover cure with tequila, Fernet Branca, Topo Chico, and anise; and an array of micheladas, including one with a paleta made out of Clamato. And instead of serving pours of mezcals with typical orange slices, they'll offer dehydrated lacto-fermented plums.
Artist Alannah Farrell painted a mural on the outside of the restaurant featuring jacaranda and elm trees — its name, Olmo, is Spanish for elm, a tree prevalent in New York City. The Saratoga Avenue address used to be Top Tier restaurant.
For Olmo's first day of service, Mexico City all-day cafe Cicatriz will be running a pop-up, with snacks and mezcal. See More:
