Chef Joel Robuchon, one of the most acclaimed chefs in the world, is planning a comeback in New York.
After a four-year absence following the closure of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the Four Seasons hotel, the French chef is poised to make a grand re-entry to the Big Apple. His next fine dining restaurant will take up two floors in a condominium tower currently under construction in midtown Manhattan at 100 East 53rd Street.
Steering the design is French architect Joseph Dirand, whose credits include boutiques for luxury brands around the world including Balenciaga in Tokyo, Givenchy and Balmain in Paris, and Pucci in New York.
The restaurant will occupy the second floor of the 150,000-square-foot space, while the ground floor will serve as a French marketplace and bakery.
When he opens, Robuchon will be squeezing himself into an already crowded French culinary scene in New York, anchored by Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, Eric Ripert and Thomas Keller.
Robuchon’s plans seem to take a page from the playbook of Keller, who runs a triple Michelin-starred restaurant Per Se on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center and a bakery on the floor below.
Likewise, in addition to eight restaurants, bars and cafes across the city, Boulud runs an upscale eat-in and take-out market Epicerie Boulud at the Lincoln Center which serves fresh baked goods, viennoiseries, salads and soups and sells gourmet French foods.
A second Epicerie Boulud at The Plaza Food Hall is slated to open this August at the World Trade Center.
