In 2020, we received the sad news that Cucharamama, the last of the three restaurants from famed Chef Priscilla, was closing. But in October of last year, owners of Barbès Lisa and Omar Balouma ad Abdellah Ksiyer have confirmed that they would be taking over the former Cucharamama location at 233 Clinton Street. And finally — over a year later — La Boheme, ‘a slice of the French Riviera,’ has soft-opened in Hoboken. Here is what you can expect at their newest restaurant, which is an entirely different concept than its uptown sister restaurant, Barbès — but still with a French twist. Barbès Restaurant, located in uptown Hoboken is bringing a piece of Southern France to downtown Hoboken.
As of July 2021, signage indicating that the restaurant is still moving forward with the opening. Read on to learn more about what we know regarding Hoboken’s soon-to-be newest French restaurant.
A Taste of Southern France
The new spot on Clinton Street is an entirely different concept than the Barbès we all know and love. While Barbès is a Parisian bistro with a North African flare inspired by the neighborhood of the same name in Paris, the new restaurant will be heavily influenced by the south of France.
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“When you are in North of Hoboken, you are essentially up north in France, now we will be bringing the south of France downtown,” Lisa shared. The South of France, otherwise known as the French Riviera has a heavy Mediterranean influence which diners will experience at the new location.
^The old interior of Cucharamama
What to Expect Inside + On the Menu
The ambiance of the new restaurants will be very light and open — and will have a big outdoor-esque vibe, especially because that is the lifestyle right now.”We want to bring the outside indoors, the design will have a lot of natural materials; picture concrete floors and Venetian walls,” Lisa told Hoboken Girl.
The brick oven that was formerly used in Cucharamama will absolutely be put to use at the newly-renovated spot. The new owners will be using the brick oven for most of the menu at La Boheme, while also introducing a cuisine from the south of France that has yet to be seen — or tasted — in Hoboken.
“The cuisine will be very healthy and light as Mediterranean cuisine is known to be. The menu will offer some typical southern Provencal dishes as well as many vegetarian and gluten-free options,” the owners shared.
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“Many ideas for the menu came from my daughter’s visit to the south of France two summers ago,” Lisa shared. “Layla is now 17, gluten-free, and very health conscious. Her time spent there made her even more aware of the benefits stemming from a Mediterranean diet.”
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There will be an extensive cocktail and wine program to pair with these dishes too, similar to Barbes, as well as live music that will truly make you feel as if you are in the south of France {think of it as a next-level staycation!}. The new restaurant is slated to open its doors in 2021.
“The love and support that we received during quarantine and during the entire last year solidified our desire to invest more in Hoboken,” Lisa said.
“People are in a sense stuck here and are looking for a staycation and Barbès has brought that to our community especially because of the parklets and we are excited to bring another special piece of Europe to Hoboken.”
Details on the opening of La Boheme will be shared as we know them — but for now, stay tuned to the owners’ new Instagram here.
