BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A Miami chef is bringing some Cuban flair to Bed-Stuy.
Ricardo Barreras, owner and executive chef of Pilar Cuban Eatery, opened the comfort food spot on Greene Avenue in late January, serving up a menu featuring in-house smoked and cured meats, seafood paella and guava and cream cheese pie.
“It’s a Havana ferry terminal meets Brooklyn,” Barreras said.
“We have very traditional, authentic Cuban food on an elevated, much more modern level. Cuban food outside of South Florida is super unauthentic ...but this is the real deal. ”
Located at 397 Greene Ave., the restaurant is an expanded version of Barrerras’ former hole-in-the-wall a couple of blocks away.
The owner and his wife, Lisbeth Moreno, moved from the 400-square-foot storefront on Classon Avenue to a 2,500-square-foot space with Spanish Moroccan tiled floors and a pastel green stucco exterior mimicking the colorful streets of Havana.
“We always wanted to have a big space, and this is better than I ever imagined,” Barreras said. “My walk-in fridge now is almost as big as my old restaurant.”
He uses the new kitchen to smoke and cure his own ham and chorizo, all made from family recipes.
Foodies can find an improved menu with classics like mojo-marinated pernil served with rice, black beans and maduros, and Cuban sandwiches with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and grilled cheese with espresso mustard.
While they currently work with a Williamsburg bakery, the couple plans on importing Cuban bread from Miami.
“Cuban food stands on its own with the mix of Spanish and Caribbean influences, that’s what’s beautiful about it,” Barreras said.
Pilar’s featured dessert, a guava and cream cheese pie, is made with a guanabana crème anglaise, akin to the classic flaky pastelitos.
Another favorite from the restaurant is a Spanish sidra, or cider, with green olive, orange and lime zest. The spot sold five cases in its two weeks since opening, employees said.
The restaurant’s namesake comes from Ernest Hemingway’s boat in Cuba and was inspired by Barreras’ nautical background growing up in Miami. In a twist of serendipity, he said, they discovered the author’s vessel was also made in Brooklyn.
Pilar Cuban Eatery is open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, with brunch on weekends.
