OPENINGS: Café Brume brings a Chalet Vibe to Montague Street

Brendan Spiro and chef Ian Anderson are behind this new gem in Brooklyn Heights

Café Brume will serve high elevation wines and Alpine fare on Montague Street.

Café Brume, a stunning new restaurant featuring high elevation wines and Alpine-adjacent cuisine, will open Thursday, April 24th in the space that was for decades Theresa’s on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. Brume comes from restaurateur and hospitality consultant Brendan Spiro, who most recently launched North Fork hot spots Anker, Alpina, and Green Hill Kitchen, and chef Ian Anderson formerly of Le Coucou, Lalou, Otway, and Betony.

Brume takes its name from a French word that means mist; it references the soft fog that blows off the waters of the alps and lakes. “It rings the mountaintops at dusk and dawn. It’s a romantic muse for the place,” explained Spiro when we chatted last week.

The restaurant has deep meaning to Spiro and his wife Jennifer, who have lived in Brooklyn Heights for 27 years and raised his kids there over weekly meals at Theresa’s. “We loved the tripe soup and their sausages and we felt it was a missing link giving us something really special on Montague Street,” he said. “I feel like we raised our kids there.”

Spiro fell in love with Alpine cuisine while traveling to Switzerland to research his North Fork Alpina concept and wanted to bring the rustic charm of a Swiss chalet to the Heights. “I love the high elevation wines of Italy and Switzerland, and the wursts, wines, and ciders. The heritage recipes and styles of cooking sink into seasons with a ton of verve and passion,” he said. “I feel like it’s a cuisine that may be misunderstood. It’s not all heavy; it’s so deeply seasonal.”

Café Brume offers two concepts in one – a wine bar space with communal seating and a hand cranked slicer in the back bar, and a full service bistro in front with proper dining and big cozy banquettes in the style of Alpine Tyrolean Inns; the warm woodwork, chalet vibes and construction was built by master carpenter David Trujillo.

The menu includes meat and cheese boards, and one of the best schnitzels in town, along with a slate of hors d'oeuvres – crispy chickpeas, house pickles, an overstuffed breadbasket and broccoli fritos! Small plates include beef tartare, boudin blanc with a celery root remoulade, purple mustard, and apple, and a crayfish tart with asparagus and tarragon mayonnaise.

If you’re going for dinner with friends, you can tuck into a roast chicken with spätzle and carrots, their fabulous Wienerschnitzel with potatoes, lingonberry, anchovy, and lemon; a bavette steak with hen of the woods mushroom, confited shallots and a sherry jus; and steelhead trout with a Meyer lemon beurre blanc with trout roe, and salsify.

The pasta section leans into Northern Italy – agnolotti is stuffed with lamb and greens; Gnocchi Parisienne is a classic with brown butter and sage, and his spaghetti alla chitarra gets reimagined with crispy duck liver and onions.

Spiro can’t wait to welcome his neighbors. “We love Inga’s bar and Noodle Pudding, but it feels like Montague Street is having its time too,” he said. “We have been nurtured by this charming neighborhood for nearly 30 years and it's time to give back to everyone who may be waiting. We want you to come and park yourself here. I am so happy about it.”