Un chef de renombre abre su primer restaurante en Nueva York

The long-awaited two-story Printemps has opened in Fidi, the French “not a department store” with fancy wares, over-the-top design, and five food and drink spaces overseen by Top Chef’s Gregory Gourdet, with Kent Hospitality Group handling the restaurant operations.

A ‘Top Chef’ Opens His First New York Restaurant, And It’s Very Swanky

Raw bar Salon Vert in Printemps displays chef Gregory Gourdet’s cooking before his anchor restaurant opens next month.

The options include a pastry shop selling Haitian hot chocolate called Café Jalu; the second-floor raw bar Salon Vert; a champagne bar; and the gorgeous, landmarked space housing Red Room Bar (which was not open when I visited during the day). Gourdet’s fine-dining anchor, Maison Passerelle, debuts in mid-April. Gourdet is also the chef and owner of Portland’s Kann, a James Beard Best New Restaurant winner in 2023. Before that, he worked in Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s empire for nearly a decade.

When I visited Printemps around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, I met multiple dogs and their owners, including a Great Dane named Ralph Lauren. None had ventured down the narrow, minimalist corridor lined with makeup brands like Victoria Beckham. At the far side of this area, there’s a three-seat champagne bar with pink bauble accents, perpendicular to a series of private, cordoned-off spa chairs. I hear you’ll be able to drink champagne as you walk around the store; this bar slip strikes me as a place where you would sit and drink bubbles as you’re spending tons of money. It is, after all, a stone’s throw from the couture room.

While I bypassed the champagne bar, I did have lunch at the raw bar Salon Vert, named for the Paris restaurant, Café Vert, and as it’s close to where I work, I am sure I will go back.

The vibe: It is a scene. You pretty much have to, and will want to, walk around the store to get to the food and drink destinations. The design details are lush, from the elaborate riff on a New York tin ceiling to the shiny mosaic floors. Near the entrance, items like stacked-heel red patent-leather shoes on a pedestal compete for attention with a $1,000 pair of tabi ballerinas. A mannequin wearing an ochre dress dons a “Hair Force” sweatshirt next to a display of spring jackets. One employee wore a black Adidas dress with a train and what looked like black moon boots. Upstairs, a second-floor vault opens into a dressing room lounge inspired by Art Deco French artist and designer Erté.

There’s a Wonka-esque maximalism to Laura Gonzalez’s designs, interweaving circus-like elements such as a row of daffodil-colored tent dressing rooms, or the green-pleated ceiling of what looks like a fancy big top inside pastry shop Café Jalu.

On the second floor just off the escalator, Salon Vert is all about the bar: Brass lighting combined with the brass footrail frame the room. Forest-green tiles behind the bar feature a peony pattern, while pink, white, and maroon stripes align the bar. A plate-glass window overlooks Broadway, softened by columns of glass bricks. Diners wear anything from a Burberry trench coat to a t-shirt and ball cap. A pup sits on one diner’s lap.

The food: As a raw bar, this is first and foremost a place to drink and snack. You can tell Gourdet’s cooking has been influenced by Jean-Georges. Many elements reminded me of abcV, diverging from that format with ingredients, seasonings, and stories rooted in the Caribbean and Africa. Among starters, the oysters are sweet and delicate ($26/$52). A Creole shrimp cocktail comes with a habanero and horseradish kick ($32). A crab remoulade channels a mid-century ladies-who-lunch seafood salad, elevated by peekytoe crab, gem lettuce, caramelized onion, and herbs ($42). A restrained mussels escabeche is seasoned with the Moroccan-leaning ras el hanout, each crustacean pulled from its shell and placed atop a sliced fingerling potato ($24). The oeufs mayonnaise punch above their one-bite size, seasoned with pepper and lime ($19), with a tiny anchovy and chive positioned like flags.

My favorite two dishes were vegetarian: A velvety sweet potato and plantain soup brightened with a hint of scotch bonnets and softened with cinnamon. The interplay of ginger and pickled apples made it memorable ($12, $16). Another dish of roasted cauliflower ($17) defied the vegetable’s boring reputation, served with a Haitian spin on green goddess, dotted with okra and pickled chiles. The flavors were bold and harmonious, and the cauliflower was tender.

Tips: Champagne is the pour of choice, though there are plenty of nonalcoholic options here, including a full list of sparkling drinks. The bubbles I chose at lunch, it was a workday, after all, featured lacto-fermented rhubarb: I didn’t even miss the booze.