Black Rock Social House plans March 15 opening in Bridgeport

Black Rock Social House will open its doors in Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood March 15, the restaurant announced Tuesday.

The space at 2895 Fairfield Avenue was most recently home to Walrus & Carpenter, which closed March 28 after seven years in business.

Black Rock’s gastropub menu, which is entirely gluten-free, features upscale comfort foods with international influence. “Noshables” span the globe with plates like togarashi-spiced confit chicken wings, frito misto with puttanesca sauce, elote, ceviche, short rib galbi and crispy Yukon potato with Peruvian huancaina sauce. Cheese and charcuterie selections feature domestic cow’s and goat’s milk cheese with housemade merguez sausage, duck liver mousse and gravlax.

Soups and salads include a sweet onion and mushroom soup with truffle oil and queso freir lardons, a watermelon and prosciutto salad with champagne cherries, and octopus salad with roasted tomato, Calabrian chili sauce and quinoa. Comfort food entrees include a shepherd’s pie with ground lamb and beef, shrimp with housemade fettuccine, a mushroom risotto with truffle butter, roasted half chicken “paprikash,” bouillabaisse and crispy pork belly “al pastor.”

Black Rock Social House’s bar will offer cocktails, a global wine list and a craft beer selection, including special gluten-removed draft beer from Bristol’s Firefly Hollow Brewing Company.

This is the first restaurant for owner Mark Turocy, whose 30 years of hospitality experience includes management roles at restaurants and concepts in Los Angeles. In Connecticut, he worked as general manager of Rizzuto’s Oyster Bar & Restauland rant in Westport, and was most recently managing at New Haven’s Atelier Florian.

“I am honored and excited to be a part of the diverse Black Rock community,” Turocy said in a statement. “It has always been a dream of mine to create a space that encourages social interaction, provides 'feel good' comfort food from around the world, and offers unpretentious service to anyone who visits. No matter who you are, where you are from, or what you believe in; you are family and always welcome here.”

Turocy has brought in executive chef Jacob Raitt II, a Mary

native and a culinary graduate of Baltimore International College. In Fairfield County, Raitt, now a Black Rock resident, has worked for local spots The Chelsea in Fairfield and Cask Republic in Stamford. He lends his experience with Japanese, French, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Mexican and South American cuisines to the new menu.