Commodore Plaza has a new French restaurant

La Rue is a new French restaurant opening at 3145 Commodore Plaza, the former George's in the Grove location. "La Rue," of course, means "the street" in French and by the looks of it, owner Maurizio Farinelli is taking over the street.

If  his name sounds familiar, Maurizio is owner of Farinelli 1937 and Strada in the Grove, two other Commodore Plaza restaurants.

La Rue is scheduled to open Monday night, February 19, for dinner and then will be open for dinner for the next week or so and then ease into lunch and dinner after that. They will be open seven days a week.

While Maurizio is Italian, he is very familiar with French food. When he was a child, even though he lived in Italy, it was only a few miles from France, where his father owned French restaurants, so Maurizio grew up working in French restaurants.

"Our concept for La Rue is to bring an upper-hand brasserie style French restaurant to Coconut Grove," said Maurizio.

La Rue will focus on being a neighborhood oriented restaurant for any occasion just like his other two restaurants on Commodore Plaza. Whether you are looking for a nice evening out with family and friends, or simply stopping in because you don’t want to cook at home; La Rue will be accessible to everyone.

Maurizio says, "Our menu will incorporate some of the classic dishes that people want to see in a French brasserie while also including a lighter and fresher take on French cuisine that comes from the South of France. The menu was created focused on using authentic imported French ingredients along with local produce and fish, overseen by our experienced French chef."

Like his previous restaurants, La Rue will incorporate an extensive wine list. The wine list will be made up of different boutique and small production selections representing the many regions of France.

Photos by Rafael Gutierrez