Gilt Moroccan Restaurant and Lounge, at 265 College Street, is “celebrating” its final weekend.  The owners had taken over the space several years ago, and within the past year, closed bespoke and re-opened as Gilt, serving upscale Moroccan fare.

While New Haven has many restaurants with patio and sidewalk dining, this is one of the few spaces in town – actually, I believe the only other one is the new Goodfella’s on State Street – that has rooftop dining – one VERY nice summer feature!

Their closing weekend features 20 percent off food tonite, Saturday, July 28th, with an open bar with DJ for $30/person from 11pm-1am. Tomorrow Sunday July 29th, they’re hosting a Rooftop Party with $3 beers, $5 drinks and an All-You-Can-Eat ice cream bar.  DJ Jon Blanchard will be there from 5-9pm.

In their time as bespoke (taken over from famed restaurateurs Franco and Suzette Camacho) and their reincarnation as Gilt, they just did not seem to find the right fit  in the downtown market.  Was it lack of neighborhood involvement by the owners? Not enough value for the money? Since it was so pretty, did people think it was out of their price range? Did the mature folks think it was for the younger market and vice versa?   Sadly, questions, we’ll never know the answers to.

Hopefully, this restaurant with three beautiful floors, and outdoor dining, will not be vacant for long!

 

Special Correspondent: Robbin Seipold