Chef Jamie Adams and restaurateur Leonardo Moura have been in the restaurant industry long enough to know when something isn’t working.
After they opened the second location of Lagarde American Eatery in Milton late last year, they realized it was the wrong concept for the area.
“Customers up there were looking for something unique, somewhere that would take them somewhere else while they were there rather versus another watering hole,” Moura told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Several months ago, the pair decided to replace LaGarde — which has remained a popular dining destination in Chamblee since 2019 — with an entirely new concept.
Credit: Fabio Laub
Credit: Fabio Laub
Resto L’Antoinette, named for Moura’s wife, debuted Dec. 13 at 1935 Heritage Walk. Moura and Adams, who also co-own G’s Pizza and Il Giallo Osteria and Bar in Sandy Springs, worked with executive chef Jeffrey Gomez to develop the menu for the French-American bistro.
Gomez, a Virginia native, previously worked at Buckhead Life Restaurant Group restaurants as well as Anis Cafe and Bistro, and Aberdeen Steakhouse in Milton. Most recently, he worked in the kitchen at Il Giallo before moving to Resto L’ Antoinette.
Dishes include a traditional coq au vin with burgundy wine, pearl onions, trumpet mushrooms and haricot blanc; sole facon colbert with tourne potatoes, baby spinach and beurre noisette; and steak frites epaule grillée with pommes frites.
Other notable items are the fritto misto with rock shrimp, squid, lobster and an unexpected Chinese honey mustard; mussels with a vin blanc sauce; and the restaurant’s take on French onion soup, made with Vidalia onions and gruyère. The consomme is served tableside, something Moura said he and Adams hope to introduce more of in the coming months.
Credit: Fabio Laub
Credit: Fabio Laub
“2020 killed a lot of cool stuff,” Moura said. “We really want to bring back some of those tableside elements.”
Desserts, also developed by Gomez, include housemade vanilla bean soft-serve ice cream; creme brulle with a bananas Foster finish; and a pear tart with whipped mascarpone.
The beverage program features a wide selection of white and red wines, as well as a rotating cocktail menu that currently includes the Parisian Paloma with Grey Goose vodka, St. Germain, Betty Buzz Grapefruit and a splash of tonic and the Côte d’Azur Collins with Hendrick’s Gin, St. Germain, lemon juice, egg white and Betty Buzz tonic.
Credit: Courtesy of Rest L'Antoinette
Credit: Courtesy of Rest L'Antoinette
Resto L’Antoinette is a love letter to the “inspirational women” in Moura and Adams’ lives, including the restaurant’s namesake, Adams’ wife Kim and his mother Katie, Moura’s mother and mother-in-law and Mimi Cogan, who worked who served as Moura’s mentor at now-shuttered Midtown restaurant Veni Vidi Vici, where Adams was executive chef and Moura was the general manager.
Resto L’Antoinette’s opening hours are 5:30-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.
The restaurant joins several other food and beverage concepts at Crabapple Market including Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub, Alumni Cooke Dough, Knuckies Hoagies, Peach Love and Pizza, The Nest Cafe, Six Bridges Brewing, Dua Vietnamese Noodle Shop and Spiced Right Ribhouse. Whiskey & Water is set to open in the coming months.
1935 Heritage Walk, Milton. 770-797-5074, estolantoinette.com
Scroll down to see the full menu for Resto L’Anotinette:
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
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