Fine Dining Stalwart David Bouley Opens His Newest Restaurant Thursday

Popping open Thursday, November 2 is chef David Bouley’s latest restaurant Bouley at Home. The Flatiron space is much more than a restaurant, though, the Times reports, with a food lab, cooking school, and bake shop, too. This is Bouley’s first opening after building his reputation at now-closed fine dining restaurant Bouley, which spawned the likes of Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns) and Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin).

It also happens to be a collaboration with German kitchen design company Bulthaup, though it is unclear whether that means a sponsorship, an investment, or if the space doubles as a showroom. Eater has reached out to Bouley and Bulthaup to find out more.

The multi-concept restaurant, at 31 West 21st Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, will flaunt Bouley’s newfound dedication to healthier food. His lens on that topic is to focus on “seasonal foods devoid of industrial processing,” which means cultured butter and fat-filled Ibérico ham fall into the allowed camp.

Chefs Chris D’Ambrosio (Bouley) and Yoichi Akashi (Nakazawa, Akashi) will work on the savory menu incorporating Japanese flavors, while Etienne Le Bastard (Bouley) handles pastry and Bouley’s niece Sarah Bouley focuses on chocolate.

Photo via Bouley at Home

As for the space, it’s a 1,600-square-foot open room with ovens and cabinets, surrounding three cooking stations and three dining counters. Those counters hold 24 seats for the eight- to 10-course $225 tasting menu.

As is popping up at other places around the country — specifically Jeju Noodle Bar here in NYC and Lazy Bear in San Francisco — the service style here is to not have one. There are no servers — diners pull silverware out of drawers in the table, and chefs deliver each course themselves with a spiel on the dish. Five video monitors positioned around the room will display cooking techniques and Skype in cheesemakers, vintners, and more from around the world.

Eventually, Bouley at Home will serve lunch with a $75 tasting menu, as well as a la carte options, and a bakery will open at the entrance. The restaurant portion will be open Tuesday through Saturday with reservations available here, while cooking classes are on Sundays and Mondays.

Looking ahead, Bouley will eventually reopen his flagship Tribeca restaurant Bouley, which closed in June, with just 25 seats on Harrison Street. He also still owns Japanese restaurant Brushstroke, event space Bouley Boutanical, and the Bouley Test Kitchen.

• In Bouley at Home, a Chef’s Total Philosophy Under One Roof [NYT]
• Bouley Bids Adieu to New York City After 30 Years [ENY]