French bistro opens in North Salem, inspired by Marseille

France, in particular the city of Marseille, where husband and wife Andrea Calstier and Elena Oliver grew up, is the focus of their new bistro Cenadou Bistrot. It opens Friday (June 2) in North Salem.

Calstier went to culinary school in Marseille and worked at various Michelin-starred restaurants in France before coming to New York and working with Celebrity Chef Daniel Bouland. He and Oliver opened their own restaurant, Papilles, in Manhattan’s East Village in 2018. It has since closed.

Fine Dining: Alive and well in the Hudson Valley

Equus: Opens in Tarrytown after three year hiatus

Hello, Westchester: More Manhattan restaurateurs are opening in the 'burbs

Being French, French cuisine is their passion. As veterans of the restaurant business (13 years for Calstier; seven for Oliver), they're excited to introduce diners to the kinds of food they grew up with. To that end, their staff includes a French pastry chef (Andy Chorda) and sommelier (Adrien Cascio).

Sourcing local and relying on area farms are a big part of their mission and one reason the couple chose to move north. "We were in the city for many years and loved it," said Oliver. "But at some point, with the vision we have and what we're trying to create, moving out and being closer to nature and to the farmers while also having proximity to New York is what really drove us."

Part of the experience of the 45-seat space, in the spot that used to house the French restaurant Vox (since torn down and rebuilt as a new structure), is interactivity. That means an open kitchen where diners can watch Executive Chef Calstier, Chef de Cuisine Tyrone Nelson and their staff in action. It also means a menu designed around sharing. Case in point: the baked black sea bass for two with saffron potatoes, grilled fennel and a vierge sauce or the 16 ounce grilled Wagyu chuck flap with grilled bone marrow, green salad, pommes boulangeries and Béarnaise sauce.

The sea bass is a Marseille specialty, as is the Chickpea Panisss with smoked espelette coulis. Other items sure to get Francophiles salivating include mushroom risotto, with mushrooms from Stewart-Watson farm; halibut with oranged scented barigoule; roasted rack of lamb; and beet salad.

Hors d'oeuvres such as eggs mimosa poutargue (with North Salem farm eggs) and homemade pâté en croûte are designed for sharing. Appetizers have their own billing and feature items such as big-eyed tuna crudo, escargots and moules à la provençale. There are also sections devoted to salads, sides, cheese and desserts, the latter of which include organic lemon tarte meringue and profiteroles.

Just like home

Everything has been meticulously planned. The restaurant, after all, took almost three years to create, from concept to build-out.

"Our goal is to create a space where people feel good and want to spend time," said Calstier.

It's in the restaurant's very name. "Cenadou," explained Oliver, "means, in Provençal, a room in a home where you can spend time with friends and family sharing a meal and making memories."

The decor has been designed to reflect that goal with a cozy yet sophisticated seven-seat bar to the right catching your eye upon entry. The dining room, featuring an arched entryway reminiscent of a prewar building, is immediately to your left and consists of an airy, minimal space accented by big windows that look out to the backyard greenery, blue chairs, wood tables and fanciful white lights. The most noticeable feature is the open kitchen in the back with Cenadou etched into glass. Here, diners can watch Calstier and his team plating roasted rack of lamb or charcoal-grilled chicken breast.

There's also a nice-sized patio to the right of the building, just beyond the bar, featuring an assortment of loungey sofas and high-top tables.

Fine dining downstairs

And there's more to come. The couple plan on opening a second restaurant downstairs later this summer. La Bastide by Andrea Calstier will be a very different concept focused on a tasting menu. It will feature two separate seatings of 12 to 16 people and will be open for dinner only.

Like Cenadou, it will rely primarily on seasonal ingredients as well as ingredients inspired by Calstier's world travels. "We're very focused on the experience," he said, which also includes "a beautiful wine selection."

First things first, however, and that means getting their ducks in a row with Cenadou and making sure they're attending to their diners' needs. Said Calstier: "We want to make sure the bistro is up and running and getting great feedback before we open our fine dining restaurant."

If you go

Address: 721 Titicus Road, North Salem, 914-485-1519, labastidebyac.com

Hours: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday; for this weekend they will be open Friday through Sunday. Lunch is a down the road proposition after they open La Bastide.

Good to Know: They are building a raised bed vegetable garden and have plans for a wildflower meadow.

Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @lohud_food or via the lohudfood newsletter.