For fans of Darren Phan’s Vietnamese dishes, this news will come as heaven sent: Cilantro Vietnamese bistro has announced it is reopening in Clifton under Phan’s control, with a new executive chef, Shelbi Nation.
The information was released on Facebook:
“So the best news of the day…
We are re-opening with our fearless leader, DARREN PHAN, AND he went and got himself an executive chef, SHELBI NATION.
Same location. Same great food.
Be on the lookout for our Grand RE-Opening Date and follow our new instagram: @CilantroVietnameseBistro”
Cilantro, which had been a Clifton Heights favorite for more than a decade, closed on March 11, 2018 with this notice on Facebook: “Cilantro is Closed effective 03/11/18. Thank you for the memories.”
The bistro had been under the control of restaurateur Simon Verderame. After closing Cilantro, Verderame reopened the space as High Steaks steak and frites shop this spring. It closed after five days in operation.
Cilantro had been originally located in a small space on Clifton Avenue before relocating to its current address at 235 W. McMillan Ave. in 2012.
In 2013, CityBeat dining writer Michael Taylor talked about the bistro and Phan:
“Eat well. Eat fresh. Eat often. These three sentences serve as both tagline and personal philosophy for local restaurateur Darren Phan, owner of Cilantro Vietnamese Bistro, Clifton’s 9-year-old brothy, herby, vermicelli-filled landmark.
‘Half the reason why I still am in the restaurant business is my staff, my regulars, the customers that come in … because those are the people that touch your lives on an everyday basis,’ Phan says.
To him, Vietnamese cuisine isn’t merely a clever concept or a trend — it’s the centerpiece of his life, keeping him grounded and connected in the three decades since he and his family fled a war-torn Vietnam. A collection of family recipes and flavors brought over from the motherland serve as the heart from which joy and laughter still pump.
‘A lot of my greatest memories are actually dinner time with family,” Phan recalls. ‘We were always sharing laughter over food. Cousins, aunts — there was a big group of us. I feel that the whole dining experience is not just the food. Yeah, you have to have good food to go along with it, but it’s about taking time out of your day and breaking bread with the people you care about.’
This article appears in Jun 20-27, 2018.