Bonding with Bonda

It's been an open secret that Bonda is one of Westport's best restaurants, but now the word is spreading to the rest of Fairfield County

By Lorraine Gengo

When brothers-in-law Alex Sicre and Jamie Cooper were in their senior year at Connecticut College in New London, they made a pact: If, by the time they hit 30, neither of them was really stoked about their current career, they'd open a restaurant together.

In the summer of 2001, Cooper called Sicre, who was working as a film consultant in Santa Monica, Calif., and announced that he'd just bought a specialty food catering business in Westport that he wanted to transform into a restaurant as well. Was he still interested?

The two friends and eventual in-laws had cooked and hosted a lot of dinner parties together, but neither of them had ever worked in restaurants. Before buying Abbondanza (which means “bounty” or “abundance” in Italian), Cooper had worked in advertising in New York City. It took a year and a half to develop Bonda, the Wednesday-through-Saturday, dinner-only, restaurant incarnation of the business, which opened March 29, 2003-the night Sicre turned 30.

The Bonda boys practice a bit of advice I was given when I first started waiting tables: serve people the way you'd want to be served at a restaurant. Staying true to that simple aphorism means mastering a myriad of details that add up to a memorable dining experience. Sicre and Cooper are wonderful hosts who understand how to manage the tempo of a busy dining room without letting the work show.

Though they are no strangers to the kitchen, and it's their palates that drive the monthly menu changes, the Bonda boys also inherited two talented chefs-Nivardo Piza, who heads the kitchen, assisted by sous chef Jose Huerta-when Cooper bought the catering business. Word has spread about their cooking. It's an open secret that Bonda is one of the best restaurants in Westport, so packed is it on weekend nights that they often have to turn people away. And, its reputation is quickly spreading to the rest of Fairfield County. The dinner I had there on a recent, busy Wednesday night was by far the best restaurant meal I've eaten so far in 2006. Their success has led Sicre and Cooper to consider opening another location in either Fairfield or Darien.

There's a wonderful design sensibility evident in Bonda's decor that can be attributed perhaps to Cooper's genes (his mother is an artist), as well as his stint in advertising. Both dining rooms-one with dove grey walls, the other, bright orange-are decorated with original vintage posters of advertisements for European drinks like the French aperitif Quinquina Bourin. The slate floors and beveled glass lamps that hang from the ceiling create a modern bistro vibe that seems well suited to the dual purposes of the space-upscale gourmet deli by day, eclectic wine bar/restaurant by night. The feeling is sparse, but welcoming, especially during the dinner hours, when the lighting behind the bar illuminates a colorful display of blown-glass wine decanters, which the Bonda boys use to pour their older wines.

Bonda is a great place to imbibe. Its wine list-Sicre's main focus-includes 100 different bottles, ranging in price from $24 to $225, with the majority being in the $45-$60 range. What makes the list so special is the unusual selection. “We tend to prefer smaller producers who use interesting blends and non-traditional wine-making styles-vintners who take chances with their product. We think it pays off in the end,” reads the intro to Bonda's wine menu.

In that philosophy, the Bonda boys share a kindred spirit with another pair of brothers-Mark and Tony Ancona-whose Fountainhead wine shop in East Norwalk supplies a number of local restaurants, including Bonda, with handcrafted wines from vintners with whom they've developed personal relationships. Fountainhead and Bonda often collaborate, hosting very popular wine dinners (the next one is scheduled for Aug. 8).

Wednesday nights are “Open That Bottle Night,” when patrons are allowed to bring a wine from their personal cellar to enjoy, sans corkage charge, with Bonda's global cuisine. Sicre said they hit upon the idea to encourage diners to come to the restaurant mid-week, when they weren't as inundated with customers as they tend to be on weekends.

On this particular Wednesday, there was a convivial crowd, which included Mike Pelletier, one of the co-owners of Fountainhead, who was enjoying dinner with several bottles he'd brought for tasting and sharing with the Bonda boys, who sipped and served with great dexterity.

Alas, my husband and I weren't drinking on this night, but we did partake in a three-course meal that was nearly flawless in its execution and presentation-a high in and of itself. We started with pan-seared artichoke hearts (stems intact) served on a large white plate drizzled with olive oil with slices of sopresatta and Garotxa, a firm goat's milk cheese that hails from Spain ($12). This simple yet elegant presentation did these perfect ingredients justice. Contrasting that minimalist approach was a flamboyant shaved beet, goat cheese and sweet pea Napoleon with a sherry vinaigrette brightened by the addition of shredded fresh mint leaves ($10). The interplay of textures of the creamy goat cheese and grated beets, stacked one upon the other, was as enticing as the vibrant flavors of this dish. And what a treat the colors were: deep magenta, bone white and spring green. It doesn't get better than this.

The wild king salmon served over soba noodles with braised baby bok choy in a wild mushroom broth ($27) could have been a bland debacle in the wrong hands. But the kitchen pulled this off masterfully, not shrinking from concocting a broth that was earthy and deeply redolent of 'shrooms. It teeter-tottered on the edge of being too salty, but the rich, fattiness of the perfectly cooked salmon fillet brought it all into balance.

Roasted Cornish game hen with salsa verde (an abundant rub made of chopped parsley, cilantro and capers) with herb-roasted potatoes and baby carrots ($24), could have been improved if it had been roasted in a hotter oven under a brick, to develop the fats and rendering a crispier skin, but, as it was, the chicken was very flavorful and satisfying.

Desserts are uncomplicated, house-made delights that still manage to be decadent. They were out of bread pudding, which we've heard is a must-try here, but we were quite pleased with a chocolate pot de creme made with Scharfenberger chocolate (our favorite!), and a very boozy tiramisu-the best I've had in Fairfield County.

It took me a while to try this restaurant, but now that I have, I'm going to have to figure out how I can budget monthly visits to sample each new menu the Bonda boys come up with.

Bonda Restaurant & Wine Bar

cuisine: New American

chef: Nivardo Piza; sous chef: Jose Huerta

entrees: $22-$36

address: 30 Charles St., Westport, (203) 454-0840

cards: most major

Review: July 27, 2006