Oregano Bar & Bistro fuses Latin and French fare

This place brings new meaning to arriving fashionably late.

Oregano Bar & Bistro delayed the debut of its French-Iberian food for seven months. But diners who finally had the chance to sample its savory dishes last week said they were worth the wait.

Oregano Bar & Bistro unveiled parts of its menu at a May 3 soft opening. The 3524 Johnson Ave. restaurant gradually added dishes until a week and a half later its full spread offered traditional French dishes like duck soaked in herb liquor along with Spanish accents like saffron seafood paella.

Riverdalians Sylvia Rodriguez and Wilma Gonzalez said they were pleased with their food on May 9, but intrigued to see what would be added in the coming days.

“It’s really exquisite. It’s really different. I’ve never had a lamb burger,” said Ms. Rodriguez, who had a burger topped with a lamb sausage and foie gras. “I’ve been waiting for months ... Now I’m just waiting, actually, to have the full menu because right now it’s just a sampling.”

The bistro’s hors-d’oeuvres range from a $6 baguette loaded with goat cheese, beets and vinaigrette to the $16 grilled octopus with a dijon-dipped artichoke.

The entree menu features noodles topped with olive salad and goat cheese for $15, Atlantic salmon covered in ham and vegetable ratatouille for $22, and a $64 herb-crusted lamb meal for two. Executive chef Claude Solliard’s grill menu includes a $26 Oregano burger.

The herb tying together the menu is not only cooked into signature dishes. Restaurateur Erick Caceres, 42, said it took him and the spirit director weeks to develop The Oregano, a cocktail with Hispaniola white rum, lime, mint, basil leaves, syrup, lemon-lime soda and oregano.

“Growing up, my parents cooked with oregano a lot. They made you oregano tea if you had a stomach ache,” said Mr. Caceres. “It’s very healthy and very tasteful.”

The drink menu includes more than 100 wines, dozens of beers and several $12 to $13 cocktails. The bistro toasts its neighborhood with the Dale, a blend of Hedrick’s gin, Noilly Prat dry and sweet vermouth, and orange juice with a cucumber.

Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Gonzalez said the French music wafting through the breezy bistro would be a great location for the discussions of their Wise Latina Book Club. “We already decided we’re coming back,” said Ms. Gonzalez.

The bistro’s front is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, which let light in on the white tiled floor and walls. Maroon and blue booths sit beside vintage French posters in deep oak cabinets.

A beverage bar and raw bar stretch nearly the whole length of the restaurant. Wooden stools face rows of bottles with a mirror glimmering behind them.

A garden in the back of the restaurant offers diners seating next to bamboo plants and a stone-and-vine rear wall when the room is not rented out for private events.

“This restaurant has an aura of sophistication lacking in most Riverdale restaurants,” said Josh Berger, 65.

The Berger family said they’d been waiting for Oregano to open since Josepina’s closed and were pleased with the mussels, fries and sirloin burger they ordered. 

“Here’s to Riverdale becoming a culinary destination. That’s what we’re waiting on because the pickins’ have been slim,” Faye Berger, 55, said before taking her second bite.

The French and Latin flare for oregano has been catching on, according to Mr. Caceres.

“People have been waiting a long time ... There was an older restaurant here so I expected to be able to use some stuff. That wasn’t the case. Plumbing was not up to code. Electric was not up to code,” said Mr. Caceres.

The former Riverdalian said he’d been eyeing 3524 Johnson Ave. since he dined at Josepina’s years ago. Shortly after the property went back on the market, his 15-year-old son made steak croquettes in his New Jersey home.

“The conversation turned into, ‘Wow, I don’t think a French-Latin fusion restaurant exists,’” said Mr. Caceres. “It was perfect because I had to think of a concept.”

Oregano Bar and Bistro is located at 3524 Johnson Ave. The restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday. Oregano’s hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for brunch on Saturday and Sunday and 5 p.m. to midnight for dinner. For more information, call 347-843-8393.