In Montclair, you get the best of both worlds: a small-town, suburban feel with all of the perks of living so close to New York City, including a very diverse dining scene. Montclair boasts restaurants of Cuban cuisine, Italian food, Mexican eats, and many more. Faubourg {pronounced foh-boor}, Montclair’s newest modern French brasserie, is the eclectic menu in an elevated setting we’ve all been waiting for and Montclair Girl chatted with owners Dominique and Olivier about the unique concept behind the restaurant. Read on to learn more about Faubourg, this chic spot located at 544 Bloomfield Avenue.
The Story
Faubourg was opened in June of 2019 by Dominique Paulin and Chef Olivier Muller. During their twenty or so years working in New York City, the co-owners were both mentored by Chef Daniel Boulud, the restauranter best known for his NYC restaurant Daniel which has earned an impressive two Michelin stars.
The Bloomfield Avenue space was formerly a theater and even before that, a bank. The two owners took on a project that would more than pay off in the long run, but which took almost two years to complete from start to finish.
Many wonder where the unique name of Faubourg came from. A faubourg, which is to them, “even Montclair itself when you walk around Church Street with the theater gives a feel of a Parisian faubourg.”
The Space
As soon as you spot the facade of Faubourg on Bloomfield Avenue, you know it’s unlike any ordinary restaurant. Large glass windows and statement lights greet you from within. As you enter from the street, you step into an outdoor dining paradise, all before actually setting foot in the restaurant itself. A large outdoor bar on one side is balanced by outdoor booths and fire pits on the other. No matter the season, outdoor dining at Faubourg will not disappoint.
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Rachel Wyman
When asked where the inspiration for the flow and design came from, the owners explained, “When we first visited the place we saw the mezzanine and pictured the restaurant right away. Fortunately, we connected with an amazing restaurant designer from Brooklyn right away, Craig Shillito. It’s beyond what we expected. We’ve opened enough restaurants, we know the key elements, you want an outdoor that needs a decent connection with the indoors as well. You need bars and good placement for the bar.”
Then there’s the interior which, we might add, is very COVID-friendly with spaced tables and standing plexiglass shields between each. The natural light that floods in through the floor-to-ceiling windows is not only aesthetically pleasing, but highlights the natural wood accents, the contrast of white brick walls to dark oak floors, and multi-level seating.
How did Dominique and Olivier manage to convert a space that was formerly a bank and a theater to what we see today? “The demolition was quite interesting. It was quite an empty space. The vault of the bank was still in the back and took a whole month of jackhammering to get it out. We also opened the basement to make it more reasonable. Even the mezzanine has been made a little wider.” Diners can enjoy multiple levels of the space, including a cocktail lounge upstairs where they can enjoy a drink either before or after dinner.
The Menu
Faubourg is categorized as a French brasserie and the menu lives up to its hype of seasonal French cuisine. “You wouldn’t cook the same thing in the spring that you would cook in the summer and so on. We have a couple of different suppliers and trusted vendors from our time in New York and good connections all around for every product and season.”
Dining at Faubourg for brunch and dinner, however, are two different cuisine experiences. The brunch menu, including a prix-fixe with two courses and your choice of cocktail, includes dishes such as the duck + fig terrine, french toast {which is the perfect balance of crispy outside and fluffy inside}, and beef bourguignon, to name a few.
The variety provides a little something for everyone’s taste buds. The dinner menu is slightly more complex and elevated with some evident French dishes including tarte flambeé, mushroom veloute, snails + chicken oysters fricassée, and coq au vin. While different, you do not want to miss out on an opportunity to enjoy both menus at some point in time.
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Adjusting to COVID-19
Faubourg, like so many other dining establishments, had to pivot their business plan due to the pandemic. As is the case in so many other restaurants, Faubourg incorporated contactless ordering with scannable QR code menus as well as plexiglass separators between each table, ensuring an extra level of safety from other patrons.
When the pandemic hit, Faubourg was unable to be open to the public so they did takeout, pickup, and deliveries almost immediately. Now, you can enjoy both indoor and outdoor dining in their beautiful space.
Faubourg constantly has its finger on the pulse of what residents are looking for in a dining experience. You can make reservations on the website and according to the owners, “we are going to start wine dinners soon. We actually just advertised a champagne dinner that sold out in one day.” So keep an eye out for these dining experiences coming soon on the website or Instagram.
