Oxalis is reborn as Cafe Mado — and it’s amazing

By Scott Lynch

The last night of service for the first iteration of Oxalis — Nico Russell, Steve Wong, and Piper Kristensen’s Michelin-starred gem on Washington Avenue — was New Year’s Eve, 2023. I wasn’t there, but I imagine it was quite the party. And I say first iteration because the team, also known as Redwood Hospitality, has been actively seeking (and, according to Russell, close to signing a lease on) a new location for their flagship, and hope to open Oxalis 2 in the spring of 2025.

But honestly, even without Oxalis actively in the mix the team hasn’t stopped moving for a minute this year. In addition to feeding people often and well at their ongoing and excellent Places de Fêtes in Clinton Hill, Redwood opened the superb Laurel Bakery about a month ago in Red Hook and last weekend unveiled the instantly delightful Cafe Mado in the former Oxalis space in Prospect Heights.

The Cafe Mado backyard is lovely (Photo by Scott Lynch)

“We started toying with the idea of moving Oxalis a year-and-a-half ago because, as much as we love being here on Washington, we did feel like we were growing in a direction that the space couldn’t handle,” Russell tells Brooklyn Magazine. “And that’s also when the idea for Cafe Mado came in, kind of referencing what we did during the early pandemic when the whole place here was open all day, and we were serving everything under the sun. It felt really gratifying back then. And we felt like we could really serve the neighborhood that way again.”

Cafe Mado starts the day at 8:30 a.m. with a full coffee program and pastries, both sweet and savory, delivered fresh from Laurel. Baguettes and country-style loaves will also be available, as well as a couple of egg sandwiches — one with cheese and sausage, one with spiced veggies and a crisp potato patty — served on Laurel’s sweet potato milk bread.

Mado’s lunch and dinner menus are still evolving, but there will certainly be sandwiches starting at noon, stuffed with the likes of confit tuna, or grilled lion’s mane mushrooms, or mortadella and provolone. Various salads, vegetable-centric small plates, and a few entrees (a fish dish, a meat dish, a pasta dish) will also be served during both meals. Russell is the executive chef here, but a big assist comes from chef de cuisine Owen Laufersweiler, who has already spent a couple of years doing great things in Redwood’s kitchens.

I went to Mado for supper over the quiet holiday weekend and was blown away by how good everything was right from the start, and from all over the menu. This is a dream neighborhood spot, especially when the weather’s pleasant and you can sit in the cute backyard, though the skylit indoor dining room and bar is very comfortable and pretty as well.

Pissaladiere (focaccia with onions, olives, and anchovies), $22 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

The pissaladiere was phenomenal, a round slab of focaccia blanketed in a sweet onion jam, with olives and anchovies laid on top. There are other crowd-pleasers here too, like a first-rate pile of fries dusted with herbs de Provence and a garlicky aioli for dipping (get this for the table no matter what else you’ve got going on), a tri-tip steak with dried chili, a plate of asparagus in a creamy bagna cauda, and a caesar salad.

Pickled bamboo with clams, $24 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

But if you’re looking for something a bit more unusual (for Prospect Heights anyway) there are plenty of options in that category as well, including two of my favorite things I’ve eaten this year: long strands of blackened yuba, or tofu skin, drenched in a fiery tomato sauce, and an astonishingly intense bowl of pickled bamboo shoots with clams.

Blackened yuba in a fiery tomato sauce, $19 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

My entree was also delicious, a pile of fat, slippery, hand-rolled pici noodles studded with fava beans and sprigs of mint all swimming in a lemony sauce. It tasted like summer, as did dessert, a spongy swiss roll poured over with blueberries. The perfect meal to kick off the season.

Pici with fava beans and mint, $28 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Cafe Mado has cocktails, of course, priced at about $15, a pint of beer from Threes will set you back $12, glasses of wine (sparkling, white, rose and red) are in the $16 range. The wine by the bottle list is tightly curated, with most choices hovering around $70. There’s also a couple of fizzy housemade non-alcoholic beverages available, and the jasmine and pear one is terrific.

Swiss roll with blueberries, $11 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

“I think it’s cool to see the way the neighborhood came out this weekend, and how supportive they’ve been,” says Russell. “For me this is hallowed ground. Washington Avenue is a really special space for all of us, and it means a lot.”

Cafe Mado is located at 791 Washington Avenue, between Lincoln and St. Johns Places, and the hours for now will be on Wednesday through Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to noon for breakfast, noon to 3:00 p.m. for lunch, and 5 to 8 p.m. for dinner. Some reservations are available, but walk-ins are encouraged (347-627-8298)