“Los Remolinos” Opens in Norwalk from Owners of Appetit Bistro

Andrew Dominick April 29, 2023

With the recent news that Bruxelles Brasserie closed as of April 9 and will be taken over by Jeff Taibe and reopen as Taproot, French cuisine in South Norwalk has all but evaporated.

But before the French-Belgian Bruxelles made this announcement, and at the beginning of 2023, Appetit Bistro, a more classic French restaurant, decided to switch things up, too.

For Appetit’s owners, Edwin Montoya and chef Ismael Carias, whose Port Chester location is still going strong at eight years and counting, their concept simply didn’t catch on in SoNo despite seeing an initial boom of customers.

{Here’s our coverage of when Appetit Bistro opened in Norwalk}

So far, Montoya says the concept switch has been positive and easier to run than running two Appetit Bistros.

The ever popular lomo saltado, a stir fry Peruvian dish with tender steak, tomatoes, onions, fries, creamy/spicy aji sauce, and rice.

“We opened at a tough time during COVID, and staffing and labor became difficult for that concept,” Montoya explains. “It was a lot of things, not just one thing in particular. Labor was too expensive and specialized. Food costs went through the roof. We realized that Appetit wasn’t for this neighborhood. It was busy at first, then we hit a cliff during Omicron.”

Montoya and Carias could have simply thrown in the towel as it related to Appetit Bistro and the space it occupied, including another space a few doors down where the pair planned to open Appetit Market (more on that soon, if you keep reading), but it was during the tail end of their SoNo Appetit run that they realized the public might take to something more casual. Montoya mentioned that they started serving pizza at Appetit (topped with escargot) and a French onion burger that in my opinion was the best happy hour deal in the city--$12 for a sizeable burger and a handful of frites.

But they still faced a crossroads.

“The past few years, restaurant owners had to really think whether to continue in this industry or go do something else,” Montoya says. “We were able to buffer costs for a while, but it catches up, and we had to really think if it was sustainable or not. At the end of the year (2022), we knew we had to flip the concept to something that fits SoNo.”

Now that’s a piña colada! At Los Remolinos, the drinks match the upbeat vibe and the food. Think along the lines of tropical, tiki, and overall refreshing cocktails. It’s a vacation.

There’s even a little taste of Brazil on the drink list. Caipirinha anyone?

And that’s when an idea that Montoya and Carias had always talked about came to light, stemming from Carias’ time in Miami when he was the chef at a Colombian restaurant called La Moon. Because the two talked a lot about opening a Latin American concept, the switch over was an easy one. Close for a few months, change the décor, create a menu with roots based in Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican, Spanish, and Peruvian cultures, with the possibility to explore others should they choose to do so.

Los Remolinos—translated, that’s “The Whirlpools”—replaced Appetit Bistro officially on February 10.

And what might you expect from the menu? It’s a blend. Obviously. But not just in which foods are from what country, but it’s a mixture of classic dishes like Peruvian lomo saltado, casual Mexican tacos, and Colombian fast food burgers and hot dogs—also known as the super perro, one of my personal favorite styles of hot dogs on the planet because of its myriad of flavors and textures. Salty, meaty, creamy, sweet, crunch, cheesy, tangy. You name the sensation, it’s probably in there.

Other fare is interactive. Some is as easy as scooping up fresh guacamole onto well-salted, crispy tostones, or spooning a bunch of fresh, ice cold ceviche on the same edible vehicle. Others are more hands-on like the bandeja de boquitas, an array of meat (hangar steak, spicy cheddar chorizo), veggies, and seafood (shrimp and scallops) that you can eat as is, or toss it on a mini grill for a little extra doneness or smoky char. Don’t worry, you won’t set off any fire alarms. Have fun with it.

A sizzling scallop as part of the interactivity of the bandeja de boquitas

If we’re continuing on the “playing with your food” trend at Los Remolinos, it’s with a showstopper of a dish in the pargo frito. This common Latin American and Caribbean dish consists of a whole deep fried red snapper, simply dredged in seasoned Wondra, salt and pepper before it’s fried to a golden brown. Los Remolinos serves their version alongside coconut rice, thin tostones (or patacones if you prefer that term) chips, a bowl of lentils, and julienned tomatoes and onions in vinegar. The pargo frito, in all its crispy skin, flaky meat glory is a great table centerpiece for sharing, but I’m not sure you’ll really want to once you start forking away at it. To each their own, though.

Never met a super perro I wasn’t happy to see.

Always a “YES” for homemade tres leches cake.

There’s plenty more to explore at Los Remolinos, but I’ll let you handle that on your own. It’s a sizeable menu, so I’ll need a few more visits to experience the rest.

Coming soon for Los Remolinos, and you’ll see it just to your left when you walk in, is a small bakery corner. The refrigerated case already contains some homemade cheesecake, tres leches, and crème brûlée (a nod to Appetit Bistro), but in the coming weeks, expect to see bread, more pastry, empanadas, and a juice bar for natural juices and smoothies.

And remember that whole deal about Appetit Market? That’s still happening.

“We wanted to open Los Remolinos first, but next month, we’re opening the market,” Montoya says. “We’ll have fresh fish, gourmet food, salads, and some French stuff.”

136 Washington Street; Norwalk
203.354.7343; Website coming soon
Instagram: @losremolinosct
Los Remolinos on Facebook