Restaurant Opening in Dumbo: Gran Electrica
March 26th, 2012
Gran/Electrica opened on March 26, 2012 in Dumbo Brooklyn. The folks over at Brooklyn Heights restaurant Colonie have opened one of their two new restaurants in the Dumbo area, this one in Fulton Ferry and the other in Dumbo. Chefs Sam Richman (Jean Georges, The Fat Duck) and Brad McDonald (Noma, Per Se) will be brining dishes such as Oaxacan garnachas, chili-blackened pork spare ribs, tortita de huauzontle, tacos, flautas, quesadillas. We sat down with Chef Brad last week, who told us that they’re going to focus on authentic Mexican street snacks they experienced during their visits to Mexico, and will use local and sustainable ingredients wherever possible. They will be making their own tortillas and seasonal drinks with small mezcal distilleries.
If that doesn’t whet your apetite for Mexican, check out Thrillist’s description of their gorditas (“flash fried in pork fat, cut in half & filled with chicharrones”).
If you love Taco Thursdays at 7 Stars Deli, Gran Electrica gives us another great option. After Hecho en Dumbo left the neighborhood in October 2009, Pedro’s Restaurant was the last all Mexican place in Dumbo. The other restaurant from the Colonie crew at 1 Main Street (that address will officially be 15 Main Street) is being planned for a late Spring opening.
[n.b. 3/27/2012: At this time, dinner service only. Lunch to follow in the near future. ]
Gran Electrica (granelectrica.com)
5 Front Street, Brooklyn NY 11201
(between Old Fulton and Dock Streets (718-852-2789)
(Photo credits: Daily Candy (top left), Thrillist (top right), Grub Street (bottom left and right))
March 26th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Hooray!
March 27th, 2012 at 11:17 am
Mucho Gusto !
March 27th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Hey… I have another verse for “Help is on the way”…
March 27th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
I’m more excited about Chipotle coming (if its true).
March 27th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Of course, we know it is in Fulton Ferry, not Dumbo.
March 28th, 2012 at 12:35 am
Wooo hoooooo!
March 28th, 2012 at 9:00 am
@ fultonferryres, Shoot, I’ve done it again. Corrected.
Anyone tried the dinner yet?
March 28th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Pedro’s, a Meican restaurant ?? ja, ja, ja, !!
the only Mexican there are the Coronas.
March 28th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Tried them lats night and had a great evening!
March 30th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
They will have Mexican food, by real mexican wage slaves who are probably wont have papers. I’m sorry Pedros is a very poor excuse for spanish food.Spanish people do not go there. I feel bad that people think this is good spanish food.
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:16 am
Pedro’s is a horrible restuarant. I guess they still exist because some transplant from Ohio doesn’t know any better.
April 2nd, 2012 at 10:57 am
My wife and I ate here Saturday night. Very good, authentic Mexican food. Most plates are small, sort of tapas-sized, which I liked because you can sample several different things. And if you like tequila and mezcal, you’ll be in heaven. Very good selection, with inventive specialty drinks. Reasonably priced, too. We had five plates of food and two drinks each and the bill was $71. Keep the restaurants coming!
April 4th, 2012 at 10:21 am
Had a great meal last week, was packed, prices are decent, food is good, tequila/mezcal selection is awesome. Finally, another food option in the neighborhood.
April 9th, 2012 at 10:33 am
Well, my wife and I went back again Friday night, 7 pm, and the place was packed. One hour wait for a table. They said we could sit at the bar but there was no room there either. We left and went elsewhere. We need more restaurants in Dumbo!
April 10th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Went for dinner the other night. I want to like this place and I definitely want them to survive and thrive, but guys, $9 for a plain bowl of black beans that you label a “medium” size plate for sharing? And incredibly small, mostly dry portions?
Please think about your value proposition a bit more. You’re a bit close to having people feel like they’re being taken for a ride.
Trying to be constructive.
April 11th, 2012 at 10:48 am
I want to try this place but it always seem crowded and I don’t want to wait an hour.
Is this place genuinely good? Or will it end up being like Choice. I remember when Choice first opened, it was crowded as hell, until everyone realize how crappy and overpriced the food was and it eventually died out (and its replacement died as well).
April 12th, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Great place, great food, amazing
May 18th, 2012 at 9:38 am
Gran Electrica Owners -
I’ve now been twice, and had the same experience. The waitstaff is distracted and uninformed, but that’s not the biggest problem.
You are strangely skimping on the food in every way possible — smallest portions, with least ingredients, etc. Everything is dry, tasteless and overpriced. You are not providing a satisfying experience. I cook Mexican food and I know how inexpensive the ingredients are and how easy it is to make something taste great. I’m just totally surprised at what you are doing and how you are doing it. At this point, can’t imagine anyone saying, “hey, let’s go to Gran Electrica.” Check out Empellon if you want to see how someone is doing it right.
I would love to have a great Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood. But so far, you guys are really phoning it in. Can’t think of any other way to describe it. Hope you’ll start putting some heart and passion into this project. It feels really synthetic at the moment.
May 18th, 2012 at 10:23 am
Why is anyone shocked that a Mexican resturant catering to wealthy people in a wealthy neighborhood is overpriced? Mexican food by nature is cheap and simple, there is no need to get all fancy and try to jack the price up. Go to Queens if you want to eat authentic cheap and tasty mexican food.
May 19th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
It’s not that it’s overpriced (it’s about the same price as any other restaurant) — it’s that it’s overpriced for the low value they are giving. That’s the problem.
Hecho wasn’t much cheaper but it was much better value and you actually felt like they were trying to please customers and attract customers (I guess it worked too well). Electrica feels like they don’t really care if anyone comes back — because they don’t care if anyone has a good meal.
May 21st, 2012 at 8:08 am
Its not expensive, but its definitely over priced for simple mexican food.
November 26th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
[...] {Gran Electrica Opens, 26Mar2012} {Dumbo Food News, 12Oct2012} Filed in Dumbo Food, Dumbo Retail and Businesses, [...]
December 21st, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Went to GE a month or so ago. First time and I think the food just was OK. I agree with some of the other comments that the food is not tasty for the price. I could care less about the cost of ingredients. If they are cheap, but put together in a way that puts a smile on my face, I would gladly pay their prices. unfortunately, I felt GE didn’t hit that standard and will not be a regular customer… and I badly wanted to be one.
December 26th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
Its nice to have a resturant thats not a pizza shop in Dumbo. That being side, will GE was ok, I don’t have a desire to eat there again.