Slideshow

First Look at Abistro on DeKalb: Cellars Space Gets a Senegalese Makeover

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Photo: Linnea Covington/Staff or Contracted

During World War II, the bar on the Southeast corner of DeKalb and Vanderbilt Avenues catered to the officers and captains from the neighboring Navy Yard. Then, in the seventies, the joint went to Tommy Sellars; he turned it into Cellars, a hot spot that used to boast clientele in nice suits and shiny shoes, as well as a line around the block on the weekends. It closed five years ago, and five years later the Sellars family has finally leased the space to Cassandra and Abdoul Gueye. Later this month, they’ll open a second, larger location of their Carlton Street restaurant, Abistro — and this one will have a full bar and an extended menu. Executive chef Abdoul, originally from Senegal, spent years studying cooking in France and working as a chef in New York restaurants like Aquagrill and Aureole. His menu (below) will feature new dishes like the pépé soup ($22); a lobster-coconut consume filled with clams, shrimp, and fish, and the agneau braise ($26); and a savory lamb shank with peanut-palm sauce that was a popular special at their other restaurant.

Abistro Menu [PDF]

Abistro on DeKalb, 250 DeKalb Ave., nr. Vanderbilt Ave.; 347-384-2976

First Look at Abistro on DeKalb: Cellars Space Gets a Senegalese Makeover