The late Joël Robuchon’s empire gets a switch-up today. West Chelsea restaurant L’Atelier’s more casual restaurant space has turned into Le Club, a restaurant and bar serving French-ish small plates and cocktails with fresh fruits.
Previously home to Le Grill, the space at 85 10th Avenue, between 15th and 16th streets, has undergone a decor swap to feel like a lounge. There are now velvet banquettes, and it’s more separated from L’Atelier so that music can be turned up and lights can be turned down.
Longtime Robuchon chef Christophe Bellanca is still charged with the food menu, which has lots of snacks and plates for sharing, largely in the $10 to $30 range. Though the heart is French, ingredients span cuisines. A lobster roll gets flavored with turmeric, vanilla, and pomegranate, while the raw oysters come with tapioca pearls and yuzu. Duck with orange marmalade and a tea infusion, a cheese tart with veal bacon, and beignets are also on deck.
Meanwhile, cocktails come from Dushan Zaric, formerly of Black Owl and Employees Only. Options include a rotating weekly daquiri; a gin-based cocktail with honeydew, aloe, egg white, and jalapeño; and a pisco and chardonnay cocktail.
Robuchon’s L’Atelier and Le Grill opened in 2017, a return to New York for the famed late French chef. He died last year, and since then, his influence has still been felt as his protégées open restaurants, most recently Le Jardinier and Shun in Midtown East.
Le Grill, which closed earlier this summer for the renovations, was always supposed to be the restaurant’s answer to Meatpacking District pre-party vibes; with the opening of Le Club, they’re doubling down on the effort.
It’s now open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to Saturday, starting today.