Joel Robuchon's Brookfield Place Dining Complex to Include Bakery and Outdoor Cafe

When the inimitable Joel Robuchon makes his return to the New York restaurant scene this fall, it will be not just with one dining venue but with three. The main event, of course, is L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, the French chef's flagship restaurant, which is making a comeback of sorts after a three year absence. But when Robuchon announced that he'd be opening the new L'Atelier in Battery Park City's Brookfield Place, he did not include the news that he'd also be opening a bakery/cafe and a casual outdoor restaurant adjacent to it.

Word of the bakery, La Boutique, got out when the restaurant Tweeted out that a "coffee kiosk and boutique is coming soon" to Brookfield Place back in February. But no one has elaborated on that until now. Turns out, as a rep tells Eater, La Boutique will be attached to L'Atelier, but will also have its own entrance. Besides breads and fancy French pastries, it will also offer salads, sandwiches, and made-to-order crepes. Outside La Boutique, on a patio overlooking the Hudson, will be La Terrace, a 48-seat outdoor restaurant that isn't so much its own restaurant as a full-service version of La Boutique, with the addition of beer, wine, and cocktails.

All of this sounds like it will pose some direct competition with parts of Brookfield Place's other big French dining venue, Le District, which opened its market/restaurant complex – complete with crepe stations, pastries, sandwiches, and patio seating – last month.