Confidant Reboots in Brooklyn Heights with a New Menu and Spectacular Vibes

By Scott Lynch

Confidant is located at 127 Atlantic Avenue, just east of Henry Street, and is currently open on Wednesday through Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with brunch coming soon 

Chefs Brendan Kelley and Dan Grossman spent their twenties like a lot of Bushwick besties you might know. They met on the job (in this case, the kitchen at Roberta’s, back in 2017), they became roomies and bopped around to different places in Brooklyn (five apartments in basically as many years), and stayed up late talking about creating something cool together.

The difference between your buddies and Kelley and Groosman? These guys can freaking cook. Like, they are elite-level chefs. And not only that, as fun and chill as they are when you’re just hanging, Kelley and Grossman were serious enough about their dreams that when a semi-unexpected opportunity popped up a couple of years ago, they were ready to pounce. “Industry City was looking for young, hungry chefs to take on a big project there,” Grossman told Brooklyn Magazine. Namely: The first full-service restaurant in that sprawling retail/workspace/dining/drinking complex. The duo got the gig and took two years to transform the space into the handsome, fine-ish dining Confidant. And then, eight months later, shut it down.

(Photo by Scott Lynch)

“We’re truly grateful we got that opportunity,” said Grossman. But while they were out poking around for a place that could also support a bakery, side-by-side spaces popped up on the western end of Atlantic Avenue, where Colonie and Pips once stood. It was too good to pass up, so Grossman, Kelley, the excellent pastry chef Mariah Neston, and literally the entire Confidant crew from Industry City decamped to where Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and the Columbia Street Waterfront District all converge. And, in the early going, Confidant 2.0 is killing it.

Prawn pot pie after getting torn apart, $34 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Many of Grossman and Kelley’s dishes made the trip up north from Industry City with the team. The best thing we ate here the other night—and almost certainly one of the best, most deeply satisfying things we’ll eat all winter—was Confidant’s signature showstopper, the prawn pot pie. “It’s kind of an ode to my time at Gage and Tollner,” said Grossman. “I found it fascinating that a high-end restaurant was putting out a pot pie.” Confidant’s version hits the table sporting a flaky, jauntily askew golden-brown hat, which rises high above a thick bisque of turnips, onions, perky espelette peppers, and loads of sweet, snappy shrimp. Coating the bottom of the bowl is a layer of sludgy dough. The whole thing is delicious.

Trout mousse, $19; Bread and butter, $12 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Another must-order here is the trout mousse, a dish that emerged from Kelley’s Colorado and Montana eras. Here, in Brooklyn, the freshwater swimmer is fluffed up, peppered with smoked trout roe, and piped across slabs of dark, chewy sourdough. And definitely get the literal loaf of sourdough bread too, which comes with a charming squiggle of butter and, for an extremely worth-it upcharge, a quartet of oily boquerones. The menu will change with the seasons, but right now, a few other starters and salads and such include a mound of chicories and apple, a kampachi crudo with Asian pear, and two wedges of braised fennel drizzled with burnt scallion oil, a few sections of the grapefruit-like oro blanco bringing a tart hit of acid to the party.

Spaghetti al funghi, $23 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Spaghetti al funghi, $23 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

New to the Atlantic Avenue Confidant are three pasta dishes, which harken back to Grossman and Kelley’s roots at Roberta’s. The spaghetti al funghi, funked-up further with seaweed butter and crunchy gremolata, was my favorite—just a tangled pile of earthy, briny, saucy delights. Spicy rigatoni could have used more of the heat promised in the headline, but chewy pasta tossed with creamy nduja is never a bad thing. The third noodle option features rabbit and horseradish in a bowl of cavatelli, and so, is likely very good, as well.

The “banofee” sundae, $15 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

High-rollers can party with a $68 steak slathered in beef fat salsa verde and/or a $51 duck breast paired with maitake mushrooms and date jus. But everyone should get at least one of Chef Neston’s desserts—her “banoffee” sundae, sticky with butterscotch, really hit the spot. Cocktails cost about $17, three Brooklyn beers appear among the eight or so available nightly, and there are many pages on the booze list devoted to various wines and fancy spirits. I indulged in a dramatically purple cassis sour, and it was among the best mocktails I’ve ever had.

(Photo by Scott Lynch)

The room itself is fun and perfect, filled with literal family heirlooms from both Grossman and Kelley’s grandparents and seating that’s notably comfortable, whether at the chef’s counter, the banquet that runs along the main wall (a holdover from the Colonie days), or among the tables in the cozy nook in the back. The soundtrack is banging too, and the front-of-house team servers are all helpful, friendly, total pros. A great restaurant. And Grossman, Kelley, and Neston’s bakery-by-day, pizza-place-by-night spot called Lou and Bev’s will be opening right next door sometime soon.

“When we first walked into this space, the two of us just looked at each other and were like, ‘This is what home is supposed to be. This is our new living room,” said Grossman. “We’re so excited to be part of this neighborhood. It’s all we could ever ask for.”