Spats

The Mitrelis family has resurrected the Spats brand and opened a new restaurant with the old name.

Where Paragon now stands on Thayer St. once was the home of Spats (and Jake’s coffee shop). The Mitrelises own Paragon and Andrea’s (once the Hungry Sheik) as well as a good slab of Thayer St. I think that the defunct Oliver’s on Brook St. is also a family holding. The new Spats is on Angell St. where Sura used to be, if you are a real RI old timer like il Bruce, where Le Papillion was in the 1980s.

The old Spat’s had two sides. An entrance on Thayer St. opened to an art deco themed bar and dining room whilst the Angell St. door lead to a dark, well worn, barroom. The menu was the same on both sides but the clientele was a bit more working class on the “bar side”, my preferred side.

The best seats in the house were between the two sides. The connecting room held a couple cozy if banged-up tables. Underage drinkers could often be found holed up in there.

The new incarnation is a bit of both sides. There is no real art deco flair but it was cozy and small. The room was darkish with a nice bar. There is none of the threadbare charm (read grimy) of the old place but it is no dishonor to the hallowed Spats

The food was OK, not spectacular but better than what I’ve come to expect from the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what the crowds are like on a Thursday or Friday night during the spring semester. The small crowd last night was less than collegiate.