Thursday, December 20, 2018

French Restaurant Dumonet In Carroll Gardens To Close At End Of The Year

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Dumonet's Jean-Louis with former Red Rose owner/chef Tony Romano

Sadly, Dumonet, the French-American Bistro at 315 Smith Street will be closing at the end of December, after just one year in Carroll Gardens.

Jean-Louis and Karen Dumonet announced the closure on their eatery's Instagram page on Wednesday.

"Although very bittersweet we are excited to announce a new chapter in our lives. DUMONET will have its last service on December 30th 2018. Thank you all for being part of our passion project and adventure this last year. We’re excited for what’s around the corner for us...stay tuned! In the meantime, see you at DUMONET this week and next for its last hurrah!" 

Chef Jean-Louis previously opened Trois Jean Bistro, which he sold in 2000. He joined his mentor Jean-Louis Palladin at Palladin, at The Carlyle Hotel, and in 2003, opened "Dumonet at The Carlyle". Since 2008, Jean-Louis has been the Executive chef of the prestigious Union Club, the oldest private Men’s social club in the US.

The French restaurant opened in the former Red Rose restaurant, which the Romano family operated at this location for 34 years.
Jean-Louis and Karen Dumonet had re-imagined the space, leaving the old familiar wood bar exactly as it had been when it was Red Rose. It seemed like a perfect mixture of the neighborhood's past and present.

We are sad to see Jean-Louis and Karen go, but wish them all the best in their new endeavor.
Bonne chance, vous deux! Vous allez nous manquez!


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not how people eat these days, at least not more than once a year, and was expensive. Sorry they couldn't make it but understand why, not surprised.

Anonymous said...

Too expensive. It would have been nice to see an actual French style bistro here like Lucky Strike or Cherche Midi. An all day cafe. Lucky Strike has been going strong for over 20 years. Now that Prime Meats has shuttered we have no real options except the two diners and just going into manhattan or other neighborhoods. I don’t really consider the boit place a bistro. Oh where is Banania? Loved that place. In any event what will become of this space now? :(

Anonymous said...

We went to Dumonet once in the time it was a open. The food was great and the owners were lovely, but the prices were out of reach for us. We spent $100 on brunch (including tip) for a family of four! It seems to be more of a special occasion type place and I guess that's not sustainable for this stretch of Smith Street.

chance bliss said...

i’m sorry to see them go. as someone who dines out frequently in carroll gardens and the surrounding neighborhoods, the restaurant has been on my to-do list for a while but i could never quite place what dumonet intended to be.

on one hand, the space inside, as well as the vibe, looked very much like it belonged in the neighborhood, as if it had always been here, but on the other hand, the prices seemed out of place - they are high. that’s fine if the quality of the experience matches the expectations raised by such high prices but no one ever spoke about the restaurant in that way, thus it never graduated from “would be nice to check out” to “must try.” to be fair, their menu is really interesting and stands out. i just never heard anyone say whether or not it was good.

it reminds me of dover, where it was on court street: exciting menu with super high prices in a setting that felt carelessly low-rent. in my view, it failed because the food never lived up the hype, while the service fell far short of it.

Ginger Vitis said...

It was too expensive. And yes, for the quality of the food, I'm sure it wasn't overpriced, but for a Brooklyn neighborhood brunch/dinner spot, which is what can survive/thrive in that location... it cost too much to go there casually. Sad to see it go, but not surprised.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to see them closing, but the restaurant was way overpriced for what it offered. Given the standard French fare, it should have been aiming to be a neighborhood restaurant, where someone could afford to eat there once a week or so. The food was okay, but nothing distinctive or exceptional, and, as others have noted, the prices were very expensive. But even places that offer good but not great food at a reasonable price point, as Sunken Hundred did, can't survive CG rents.