Jimmy's, the Greenpoint offshoot of Williamsburg's popular Jimmy's Diner, closed at the end of last year, but the space already has a new tenant and a talented chef ready to take the helm. Chef Aidan O'Neal has plans to turn the space into a new restaurant serving French and British food sometime in early spring.
O'Neal, a native of Vancouver who spent five years in Montreal prior to moving to NYC, paid homage to a restaurant he loved in Montreal, naming this new restaurant Chez Ma Tante ("at my aunt's").
O'Neal worked as head chef with fellow Canadians at the M. Wells restaurants, and late last year, he left a job at celebrated Cafe Altro Paradiso, where he'd been chef de cuisine since the restaurant opened in early 2016. This is the first restaurant where he'll be the master of his domain and he's partnering with prolific restaurateur Josh Cohen to transform the former Jimmy's into his vision.
"It's more of underselling and over-delivering," he says to describe what he's aiming for. "It's taking a reference point from humble French and English food and trying to elevate it a little bit."
A bit of raw bar, some smaller plates and salads and between five or six entrees a night is the plan right now. Classic dishes like terrines and sausages are also part of O'Neal's vision.
"I want the menu to be very accessible and easy to read," O'Neal says. "I'd like it to be a place where people go to have dinner with their friends as opposed to having dinner with the restaurant. We won't be too intrusive."
French influences joining O'Neal's Canadian heritage, essentially. "There'll be maple syrup everywhere," he promises.
