Team behind Avenue B's Pardon My French eyeing 2 spaces on 4th Street

Mario Carta and Guilherme Barreto, the proprietors of Pardon My French at 103 Avenue B near Seventh Street, have designs on new ventures in two currently vacant restaurant spaces on Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, according to documents on file for this month's CB3 SLA committee meeting on Monday.

Before Pardon My French debuted in March 2015, Carta ran the bistro Casimir in the space for 16 years. Barreto came on as the chef for the new venture.

235 E. Fourth St.



The applicants are proposing a restaurant serving French tapas called Nobody Is Perfect for No. 235.

The public questionnaire (PDF!) at the CB3 website shows proposed hours of 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday-Friday, with opening hours at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The paperwork shows 30 tables with seats for 70 diners... and two small bars seating 12 people in total.

The previous restaurant, B4, closed in June after nearly three years in business.

No. 235 has been a challenging spot in recent years for restaurants — Piccola Positano, Tonda and E.U. have all come and gone.

212 E. Fourth St.



A French-Mediterranean restaurant called Bazar is being proposed for No. 212.

The public questionnaire (PDF!) at the CB3 website shows proposed hours of 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday-Friday, with opening hours at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

There are 18 tables for 36 diners here ... along with a six-seat bar.

The applicants are hoping for an upgrade from beer-wine to a full liquor license, per the documents.

After 13 years of serving Italian fare, In Vino closed here back in May.

This month's SLA committee meeting is Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Thelma Burdick Community Room, 10 Stanton St. at the Bowery.

At Pardon My French, now open on Avenue B

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Getting to take a sneak peek at a restaurant prior to opening is somewhat thrilling: you get to see the conflicts, team-building and hints of what’s to come in terms of food, drinks and patrons.

I witnessed all of that at my visit to Pardon My French, which opened Monday at 103 Avenue B near East Seventh Street.

Mario Carta was the owner of the restaurant formerly occupying that space, the 16-year-old bistro Casimir. Along with former waiter, now co-owner Antonin Brune, the pair has teamed with mixologist Simon Sebbah to create a warm French-inspired local spot.








[Co-owner Mario Carta]

When I visited last Friday, the chef was Yllan Laloum. However, on Monday, restaurant reps told me that “PMF has decided to go in a different direction with the chef. The new chef is Guilherme Barreto and he has much more experience in the New York culinary scene.”


[Co-owner Antonin Brune with former chef Yllan Laloum]

Meanwhile, why the name — Pardon My French?

Brune said that he and Carta were tossing around names … when it came to Carta in a “lightbulb moment.” They are also fine with people saying PMF instead, and indeed, the website is listed under that as well.

The menu is not 100 percent French — it’s a mix of Mediterranean tapas and French-inflected fusion cuisine. I was shown duck tournedos with rutabaga confit and watercress, and stuffed mushrooms with quail eggs, goat cheese, mashed potatoes and microgreens.



I asked the owners about the bottomless brunch (PMF has one featuring mimosa and Bloody Marys for $25), the often-dreaded-by-neighbors weekend ritual. Is PMF trying to appeal to locals or the woo crowd? Both Carta and Brune spoke about how they embrace the neighborhood, how they wanted to stay here, but refresh the space. Carta was sad to close Casimir, but said it was time to try a new concept, a new menu, and bring people back to the spot.

He felt that people had forgotten about Casimir, and he hopes that the new spot will be ideal for family meals, brunches, a post-work drink and romantic dinners.

I also asked about the ADA lawsuit, the much-discussed one that neighboring bar Manitoba’s crowd-funded to pay. (The same man sued both Manitoba's and Casimir as well as a reported 25 other businesses under the Americans with Disabilities Act.)

Carta shrugged his shoulders and said “we paid it of course, what else could we do?” There are plans in the works to make the space ADA-compliant, with a ramp and accessible spaces for patrons in wheelchairs.

As for the food, the kitchen plans to stay open until 11 p.m. during the week, midnite or 12:30 on the weekends; the bar until 2 a.m. weeknights, 4 a.m. on weekends.

You can find the PMF menus here.


[East Village resident Linn Tonstad was a guest at the Friends and Family Night last Friday]

[Updated] Pardon My French opens Monday on Avenue B

Updated 1:24: Edited to reflect that the restaurant opens this coming Monday, March 9

Pardon My French opens March 9 at 103 Avenue B near East Seventh Street in the space formerly known as Casimir.

Back in January, the bistro closed for a revamp, which included moving the bar into the north side of the space.

As Bedford + Bowery explained, one of Casimir's waiters, Antonin Brune, teamed up with owner Mario Carta to rework the menu and space. Per B + B:

Casimir fans can rest assured that Brune values the old-school feel of the interior, with its decorative tin ceiling and tiled archway leading to the bar. “It’s still going to have the same look with the low light and candles,” he said. “We don’t want to kill the atmosphere of Casimir, but the restaurant needed some love.

In announcing the reopening, Eater said to expect "dishes like creole-style cod fritters, roasted bone marrow with thyme, roasted lamb shoulder, and sea bass in a creamy French white sauce."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Adieu Casimir

Adieu Casimir

[Photo yesterday by Dave on 7th]

As we noted this past Jan. 13, Casimir closed for renovations at 103-105 Avenue B.

In the comments, several EVG readers who saw renderings for the revamped space noted that the bistro is relaunching as Pardon My French. Yesterday, workers removed the Casimir awning from the premises here between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street.

Said one EVG commenter:

They are not making Casimir a speakeasy. There was a huge private dining room that was being under utilized right off the front of the restaurant. So it makes sense to move the bar into it, creating a really cool bar and lounge room.

The owner showed me the renderings for the renovation and it looks brilliant. The menu will keep some of the staples but also move the menu a bit more nouveau French, more smaller plate options. Although I wouldn't have changed a thing about the old Casimir, some weeknights and even weekends were a bit slow at dinner. It is a deceptively big restaurant so I applaud the attempt to bring in more of the dinner crowd and I am sure they will do it. As for the new name, hopefully they keep it off the door, ha. I am going to call it PMF. Or Pe-em-euf.

Bedford + Bowery recently spoke with Antonin Brune, a Casimir waiter who partnered with owner Mario Carta on the relaunch. Per B + B:

Casimir fans can rest assured that Brune values the old-school feel of the interior, with its decorative tin ceiling and tiled archway leading to the bar. “It’s still going to have the same look with the low light and candles,” he said. “We don’t want to kill the atmosphere of Casimir, but the restaurant needed some love.”

PMF was hoping for a Feb. 14 reopening. No word on a new opening date.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Casimir temporarily closes to move its bar