Headliner
Le Club
Formerly Le Grill de Joël Robuchon, the elegant yet informal restaurant serving French classics in front of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, is now simply Le Club. The ownership remains the same, as does the chef, Christophe Bellanca. The décor has changed: A big bar facing the wraparound windows, a holdover from Le Grill, was bronzed. The chandeliers are more elaborate, and the seating is lower, more loungelike and suited for cocktails and small bites. “The room and the food are meant to complement L’Atelier,” Mr. Bellanca said. It was inspired by hotel lounges like the Library at the NoMad hotel. The menu includes popcorn with various seasonings, a mini lobster roll, small curried rouget fish, beef tartare, sliders, tarte flambée and beignets. A number of wines are poured by the glass from large-format bottles. Mr. Bellanca has also adjusted the menu at L’Atelier, making it more seasonal, and trimming some of the portions to be the size of those originally served in France, to permit grazing. (Opens Friday)
85 10th Avenue (15th Street), 212-488-8886, leclub-newyork.com.
Opening
Cathédrale
At this spacious restaurant from Tao Group Hospitality, the entrance, a broad staircase down two levels, gives way to a zigzag bar, lit in neon by signs commemorating downtown clubs from the past. To one side is a garden room. A gleaming copper-trimmed open kitchen sits opposite. Beyond the kitchen is a soaring dining room at once majestic and romantic, with arches, pillars and other architectural details suggesting the restaurant’s name. A mesh sculpture by the Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi is titled “Fillmore,” a nod to Fillmore East, the famed East Village music hall. The executive chef, Jason Hall, who was at Gotham Bar and Grill, worked with Ralph Scamardella, the chef and partner of the company, to develop a French-Mediterranean menu. (Thursday)
Moxy East Village, 112 East 11th Street, 212-888-1093, cathedraleny.com.
Catch Steak
Giving Catch NYC, its nearby seafood palace, some competition, Catch Hospitality Group is opening this 15,000-square-foot restaurant, with a lighter look than the typical steakhouse. It replaces La Sirena in the Maritime Hotel. The executive chef, Michael Vignola, is in charge, working with John Beatty, who is serving as culinary director. American and Japanese steaks, including Wagyu and genuine Kobe, are charbroiled in the kitchen or seared on hot tabletop stones. Among the specialty cuts are a cowgirl rib-eye, a modest 12 ounces with bone; a filet mignon with truffle butter; and several types of Japanese Wagyu sold by the ounce. Dozens of sauces and condiments are available. (Wednesday)
88 Ninth Avenue (17th Street), 212-858-8899, catchrestaurants.com.
Pinks Cantina
This fluorescent-colored taqueria is a larger branch of an East Village spot.
203 Chrystie Street (Stanton Street), 646-858-0186, pinkscantinanyc.com.
B. on Top
A collaboration between the Gansevoort hotel and the nearby hot spot Bagatelle has resulted in this indoor-outdoor aerie with several lounge and table seating options. Simple pastries are served at breakfast and small plates at lunch. Teatime features smoothies and milkshakes. Afterward, cocktails and tidbits go until 10 p.m., and a party until early morning. (Thursday)
Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC, 18 Ninth Avenue (13th Street), 212-660-6736, b-ontop.com.
Looking Ahead
Gage & Tollner
The historic Brooklyn restaurant, founded in 1892, 13 years after Charles Gage first opened a chophouse on Fulton Street, is about to be reborn. It closed in 2004 after struggling for several years, despite food from the notable author and chef Edna Lewis. The interior remains a landmark. Now three Brooklyn restaurant figures are planning to reopen it by the end of the year. They are Sohui Kim, the chef and a partner at Insa and the Good Fork; Ben Schneider, also a partner in Insa and Good Fork; and St. John Frizell, the proprietor of Fort Defiance. They will all be on hand for a panel discussion, “Gage & Tollner: Construction, Cocktails & Culinary Conversation” on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m., at Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza. Reservations (at bklynlibrary.org/calendar) are required for the free talk, which is part of the exhibit at the library, “Food Fit for Kings County: The Culinary History of Brooklyn.” Gage & Tollner is at 372 Fulton Street (Smith Street), Downtown Brooklyn.
