Designing Delicious: Le Grand Café

“This building was supposed to be temporary,” says Alexandre Rossoz, managing director of Loulou Groupe. The building in question—Paris’ historic Grand Palais—has stood for more than a century. Constructed for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the Beaux-Arts complex is the site of Chanel couture shows, global art fairs, and the Loulou team’s latest opening, Le Grand Café.

Opened last year, the restaurant inherited its fair share of history. Architect Joseph Dirand embraced it, adding reseda green beams that echo the steel framework of the building and terrace tables shaded by the colonnade’s marble statues. Inside, servers in crisp white jackets perform a carefully choreographed ballet, ferrying seafood towers and steak tartare between terracotta velvet banquettes.

When it came time to craft a menu, there was only one real option: brasserie fare. “It’s a monument in French culture,” says Rossoz, “but we’re putting a contemporary twist on it.” Enter roasted langoustines with lemongrass, aged Comté soufflé with shaved truffle, and the fan-favorite tomato tart (once removed from the menu for the winter season, but returned when guests began requesting it the next day). The bar follows the same logic, with a lineup of classic cocktails and a wine list that favors lesser-known regions over trophy labels.

A year in, the buzzing dining room seems to predate the people running it. “It had to feel natural,” says Rossoz. “I want it to feel like it’s been here forever.”