New Haven Restaurant Week, Day 5A—Bespoke

At lunchtime on Thursday of New Haven Restaurant Week, I had an inviolable commitment. Rather than fall off my two-restaurants-a-day pace, I visited two establishments for dinner—one early, one late. For the early dinner, I visited a restaurant that is not only one of my favorites in New Haven but all of Connecticut—Bespoke.

For those not acquainted with Bespoke, its owners are Arturo “Franco” and Suzette Franco-Camacho, who previously had New Haven’s hottest ticket in Nuevo Latino restaurant Roomba located down a Chapel Street alley. A few years ago, the Franco-Camachos purchased a building on College Street, which they refurbished beautifully at great expense. They got entangled with deep-pocketed Yale University in a battle over the building’s right of rear egress, which has dragged on for years. At one point, Yale’s counsel reached a settlement with the Franco-Camachos, but Yale later contested it, saying its attorney had exceeded his authority in agreeing to the settlement. Sometime after the Franco-Camachos opened Bespoke, an eclectic contemporary American restaurant, in the new quarters, Yale ejected Roomba and the Franco-Camachos from the Chapel Street location, which it owned. Because customers missed the fare served at Roomba, the Franco-Camachos bifurcated Bespoke’s menu, adding a Nuevo Latino side which they called Sabor.

When I visited Bespoke, it was fairly chilly and its popular patio seating (as well as its vivacious roof bar seating) was a thing of summer past.

My dining companion, Jay King, and I ran into Franco in the street.

I shot the two of them together, catching Franco’s hair in a Beethoven look.

Later, I caught up with the lovely Suzette inside.

Jay and I were greeted by Bespoke’s sharp staff,

who led us downstairs to a table.

The downstairs had really stylish open booths,

which began filling up immediately,

plus this lounge seating at the back.

In the past, I had been seated in the 85-seat first floor main dining room

and the 45-seat mezzanine,

and even at the bar.

I wound up really liking the downstairs space as well, but if I’d had my choice of any table—no offense to Jay—it would have been this one upstairs in front of the translucent marble fireplace. Yes, guys, I know—what fireplace?

To start our meal, we enjoyed a delightful drink called an Intermezzo that recently won a bartending competition at the Omni New Haven Hotel. It featured white wine, balsamic vinegar and muddled strawberries.

Good crusty bread was served with both Bespoke’s garbanzo bean purée and Sabor’s chimichurri-like Peruvian pebre (versions of which can be found in Chile, Brazil, and Bolivia).

Franco is one of Connecticut’s two or three most gifted chefs, and his Restaurant Week menu did not disappoint. Four starters were offered. We didn’t get to try a three onion soup with wild mushroom crostini and Emmenthaler cheese. Nor did we get to try a ceviche of citrus-cured shrimp and scallops, onion, tomato and chipotle, but I can assure you that no one makes a better ceviche than Franco. The two starters we did elect were a lively salad with mixed greens, baby beets, Marcona almonds, orange segments, grape tomatoes and goat cheese tempura,

and Thai-style duck confit spring rolls with Indonesian tamarind sauce and a crispy mango slaw.

Similarly, we could only try two out of four main dishes. We were curious about the Andouille lamb sausage with penne pasta and a tomato fondue, as well as the coq au vin with a truffled potato-parsnip purée. But we couldn’t resist the ginger-seared Scottish salmon in a Burgundy reduction with asparagus, peas, roasted fingerling potatoes and lotus root.

Nor could we pass up hanger steak in a Choron sauce with au gratin potato and crispy onions or leeks.

At last, we had reached the dessert course. Again, there were four choices, a greater selection than most Restaurant Week participants offered. We didn’t order the semifreddo with housemade dulce de leche gelato or the trio of housemade gelatos or sorbets. I’ve had both and can vouch for them. But we were especially impressed with the orange flan with pineapple-lychee sorbet and pistachio loaf,

and a “deconstructed” plum tart with almond-date cake and housemade Devon cream gelato.

We closed out a wonderful meal with glasses of Tokay, a Hungarian dessert wine.

I took the opportunity to catch up with the Franco-Camachos. Despite rampant speculation due to their legal challenges, Bespoke is slated to continue—a great gift to New Haven. The Franco-Camacho’s Crown Street taquería has been sold, but their popular food carts at York & Broadway, on Cedar Street and on Prospect Street will also continue.

The Camachos will be moving into their house on the Farm River, a nice environment for their growing girls. In a couple of months, they expect to open a gastropub called Suburban in the old Tenderloin space in Branford. Not long after, they plan to open a Nuevo Mexican restaurant, as yet unnamed, in the old Rose Creek Grill space in Branford. Count on this column to keep you up to date on one of Connecticut’s most popular restaurant couples.

Bespoke, 266 College Street, New Haven, 203-562-4644