A modern Romanian bistro

Bar Gabi, a modern Romanian restaurant from husband-and-wife chefs Gabriel and Gabriela Botezan, will debut this fall in Hazel Park. Located in the space formerly home to Frame and FRAMEbar — where the Botezans first made their mark with a series of inventive pop-ups — Bar Gabi marks the couple’s first permanent restaurant and their most personal project yet. Though the Botezans built their reputation locally with Italian cooking at places like Bacco and Adelina, Bar Gabi represents a return to the foods they grew up eating in Romania. For Gabriel, who grew up in Bucharest and began his career cooking alongside his uncle at a resort on the Black Sea, and Gabriela, who hails from Transylvania and discovered her passion for pastry while raising their daughters, the restaurant is both a tribute to home and a vision of the future. “This is some of the food of our childhood, but elevated with the techniques we’ve picked up over the years,” Gabriel says. “It’s rustic, but it’s refined. Like Gabby and me, the roots are Romanian, but we don’t want to call ourselves traditional or even limit ourselves to just Romania in what we serve.” Bar Gabi isn’t about recreating your grandmother’s recipes; it’s closer to eating in Bucharest today, where centuries-old dishes share the table with global influences. Diners will still find tradition in mititei, Romania’s answer to Balkan cevapi, and in Transylvanian goulash, a hearty stew layered with peppers and herbs. But there are also departures: a tomahawk pork schnitzel finished with smoked paprika, or Michigan rainbow trout paired with charred lemon, fennel, and gremolata. A rotating selection of handmade pastas — a nod to the Botezans’ years cooking Italian food — anchor the menu in the cosmopolitan spirit of modern-day Romania. And from Gabriela’s pastry kitchen: her signature focaccia and her spin on tiramisu for dessert. “This is so personal and just us,” Gabriela says. “We always dreamed of opening our own restaurant because if there’s anything we love more than cooking, it’s people. We love hosting people and making them feel at home. And we already have so much history in this space that it already truly does feel like our home. We hope people feel that love and authentic energy in every dish.” 23839 John R Road, Hazel Park bargabi.com