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It was the irony of ironies.
A little over a year ago, Zoe Robinson opened Bar Les Frères in a small, former shoe repair shop across the street from her restaurant, I Fratellini, a place Yogi Berra would identify with (“it’s so busy nobody goes there”). Robinson’s intention was to provide a waiting area of sorts for the busy-busy bistro with a teeny-tiny bar.
As luck would have it, Les Frères was a major success in its own right (earning instant kudos as one of the city’s most romantic restaurants), leaving Robinson right back where she started from. Maybe worse... The waiting line at BLF was often longer than the one at I Fratellini.
Now what?
When the storefront adjacent to Les Frères became available, Robinson did not hesitate: the result is an expansion that GM Michael Weber is calling the “salon.” It opens to the public this evening.
Robinson had designed the original space (above image, at right) for smaller parties—deuces and fours. The 26-seat layout didn’t easily lend itself to larger groups, especially when the place got busy, which was all the time. Enter the salon (above image, at left)...
A mirror image of Les Frères, one enters the salon via an arched doorway. Long-taper candles and old silver candelabras are scattered randomly, yet carefully.
Deep-toned walnut hutches and tables conjure Downton Abbey: Violet Crawley's drawing room perhaps, or maybe her parlour. One observer remarked the addition was "as perfect as a movie set." Eyes are first drawn to a large, thick-legged, center table (above left), capable of accommodating a party eight (or two smaller groups)—until a tapestry bearing a familiar subject (above right), a relic from a downtown theatre, comes into view. Then there are the hats--bicornes (aka Napoleon's hat)--and boxes for the bicornes. Below one of them is a massive book (below) measuring 2' by 3' by 5 inches thick, a compilation of several months of the London Times--from 1899.
Treasures and collectables are everywhere (below), watched over by a set of mounted deer heads (acquired from the Schneithorst estate, we're told).
The backdrop for all this? Chartreuse-colored walls, a most unusual shade that tends to grow deeper and greener as the evening progresses.
Robinson designed this room to be versatile, able to accommodate parties of 4, 6, 8, whatever—and yes, even the couple sipping on champagne and a French 75, awaiting dinner across the street. The center table can also get swapped out with a pair of longer wooden tables—and voilà, a single table that can seat up to 24. And the annex has its own production kitchen, so that party of 24 will not delay someone's intimate dinner next door. The menus on both sides are the same, but tailored or coursed menus can also be arranged…for that special occasion, whatever it may be.
The entire salon can even be reserved for a super-special-occasion party for two (as below). Ah, now we've got you thinking... You heard it here and can thank us later…
Reservations at both Bar Les Frères and the salon can be made by calling 314-725-8880. You’ll find Mr. Weber most accommodating.
Bar Les Frères
7637 Forsyth
314-725-8880
Dinner Mon-Sat
On Facebook: Bar Les Freres
