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Mim’s Brasserie has closed
November 30 was the last day of business
Mim’s Brasserie, at 205 Commercial Street in Portland, has closed.
From its start in 2004, when a high-minded French menu brought Portland some of its first menu options for separate side dishes, to the last week of November in 2008, Mim’s has served French dishes and inventive meals that show off local stuff. Chef Scott Olsen took over in April this year, and presided over very busy weekends in the Old Port last summer, serving the best fries in town (better than Duckfat’s according to one source) as well as locally sourced meats and fish.
No one was available at Mim’s to comment.
Harding Lee Smith was chef when owner Natasha Durham first opened the business. He worked there for 10 months from February to October in 2004. “We were doing really well – it was a lot of fun,” Smith said, reached while dining in New York City at Casa Mono, one of Mario Batali’s restaurants. Mim’s “very ambitious menu” was country French, like the menu at a brasserie. A la carte dishes and sides allowed “communal dining.” Smith said Mim’s was originally modeled after Craft, a New York restaurant owned by Tom Colicchio. With separate sides, “people could sit down and everybody shares. Ten people can taste things together.”
“I think it got away from what the menu was all about – away from the French part of it and turned into a hodgepodge of things. It was a great spot for brunch, but if it wasn’t really nice out they had a hard time doing a lot of business,” Smith said.
Smith focuses on straightforward concepts at his present-day work places, two Portland restaurants he owns and runs himself, serving comfort food at The Front Room on Munjoy Hill and high quality steaks at The Grill Room in the Old Port. He hopes those popular restaurants will be insulated from the present day economic downturn.