'Institutional restaurants are not generally considered places that are very sensory, romantic and interesting. They tend to be a very intentional sidebar to what is the main focus, which is academic and cultural excellence,' observes Robin Alesch who, with her husband Stephen, co-founded the New York design studio Roman and Williams.
The duo recently partnered with Sotheby’s on Marcel, a new continental restaurant in the auction house’s new-ish home in the iconic Breuer building on Madison Avenue. 'The fact that it was Sotheby’s, and not a museum, gave us the freedom to create an eco-system where all of that can happen in one place,' Robin adds.
It also meant that the duo was immersed not only in the design of the space, but in creating the menu, the branding and even the rotating selection of art on the walls and design objects in vitrines. (Robin recounts a moment when she wished there were a Chagall to hang in the private dining room, only to be told, 'We have one!')
This is not the Alesch’s first go with either Sotheby’s or the restaurant business. Two years ago they designed an installation of works by the Nabis that were offered in Sotheby’s New York sales. And it’s been almost a decade since they debuted both their restaurant, La Mercerie, and their shop, Roman and Williams Guild, in the same SoHo space.
'The building is this big, powerful being, but we’re not afraid of it.'
Stephen Alesch
The 'restaurant-in-a-shop' idea appealed to Sotheby’s top brass. 'I think they really appreciated the intersection between art and objects in the Guild and about a space doing more than one thing,' Robin notes.
But Marcel presented an entirely different challenge: how to bring warmth, movement and intimacy into one of New York’s most imposing brutalist interiors without diminishing its force. 'The building is this big, powerful being, but we’re not afraid of it,' says Stephen. 'We love this beast. We want to dance with it.'
Wallpaper* dines at Marcel
The Mood: Brutalism gets a softer side
The dance they chose was less go-go and more stylized social dancing of the mid 1960s, channeling the tension between weight and lightness that defines Breuer’s work, while simultaneously 'standing up to Breuer and bringing something new,' Robin adds.
The strategy was a variation of divide and conquer, as one portion of the restaurant is landmarked, and the other is not. A unified narrative was achieved through materials; Robin points out that Breuer used bronze, walnut and granite, so the team' 'really lucked out,' (and added silver and glass to the mix). Walnut walls and ceilings envelop guests in the non-landmarked portion of Marcel, which includes the bar, set with vintage Bauhaus stools and vintage Breuer lamps, and the kitchen.
Early in the design process, the designers made a fortuitous discovery: Breuer had designed custom hardware for a model house he built in MoMA’s sculpture garden in 1949, but it had never been put into production. Turns out that E.R. Butler (a specialist in architectural hardware) had the original drawings in its archive, made the pieces for the restaurant and also available on their site).
The food: Madison Avenue, à la française
Marie-Aude Rose, who also oversees the menu at La Mercerie, is chef-partner at Marcel; she, along with executive chef Juan Moncalvo, created a menu descried as 'continental with a French emphasis.' Which translates to dishes including escargots and côte de boeuf but also a chicken paprikash (rumoured to be based on Breuer’s mother’s recipe) and a 'Que voulez-vouz' section where one can choose their cut of steak, or preferred fish, and have it prepared to their liking. Best yet: diners can select an accompanying wine from Sotheby’s own cellar (although those who order a martini will find it served in a weighty brutalist coupe of sorts). Marcel is also home to La Mercerie Patisserie, a bakery and café open all day and offering coffees, pastry, tarts and other treats, to stay or take away.
Retail plays a discrete but significant role in Marcel. Much of the art on the walls is for sale, as are the items displayed in vitrines. If diners fancy the chair they are sitting on, their brutalist martini glass, or one of the table lamps, they’re all part of the Marcel collection available through Roman and Williams (said collection also includes a bar cart, credenzas, a large selection of glassware and lighting).
Truth be told, this may be the easiest way to 'experience' Marcel as the restaurant is booked weeks in advance. Part of that is undoubtedly due to the highly competitive nature of New Yorkers who absolutely must get to the buzziest new place before their friends. But it’s also because Marcel is very of its environs (it can be viewed from the street, and is especially cinematic at night) and feels like it has always been there.
'The building hasn’t had a powerful [restaurant] inhabitant, a committed inhabitant, in a long time,' Robin notes, adding 'We really wanted to make something committed.'
Marcel is located at Marcel 945 Madison Ave New York, NY 10021. Book here