When A Restaurant Menu Doubles As A Work Of Art

Last June illustrator Victoria Tentler-Krylov got a direct message on Instagram that she would never have imagined. The owners of Maison Close were seeking an artist to design and paint a customized menu for the upscale brasserie that they were opening. “I had never done anything like this before,” says Tentler-Krylov who illustrated two New Yorker covers. Although menu design was never in her repertoire, she was very intrigued.

Thibaut Castet and Theliau Probst, Maison Close’s French co-owners had always been enchanted by Parisian restaurants whose menus are created from original drawings. “It makes a statement," says Probst. “We shared our concept with Victoria telling her, ‘we are a very authentic Parisian bistro located in Soho.’”

With deep roots working in restaurants, Castet and Probst were devoted to making sure that every element of their bistro would be thoughtfully curated down to the logo on the salt and pepper shakers. “We wanted to make the difference with every little detail and for people to have a visual experience when they arrive,” says Castet. “That includes every glass, piece of silverware, sconces and floral design.”

That passion extended to the menu design which helps define Maison Close’s style. In fact, according to experts, this key attention to the menu was justified. “The menu is the restaurant’s script and more important than one might think,” says Sean Willard, a menu engineer at one of the nation's leading menu consulting firms, Menu Engineers. “It tells a story.”

In an age when digital menus are more and more common, a restaurant going to the lengths to hire an artist to illustrate one and elevate it to an art form is a welcome outlier. “Few restaurants do this because they’re mostly just struggling to survive,” says Willard. “I wish more restaurants commissioned artists for their menu work but it’s always tough getting two creatives like a restaurateur and artist to come together with mind and time.”

But in this case all parties were united. Tentler-Krylov was given clear direction. While Maison Close wasn't open yet she used mood boards and photographs for inspiration. She took out her watercolors, inquired about dishes they would be serving and got to work.

“It was exciting because I had an opportunity to paint many diverse and stylish people enjoying themselves with a lot of food,” says Tentler-Krylov of the lively and whimsical scene.

The back cover, which depicts waiters hovering over one patron, who has eleven different desserts on her table, was particularly meaningful. “I love seeing the waiters in action because our amazing team is so key for us,” says Castet. “Every single person who works here is very important” adds Probst. “A restaurant cannot function without a good dishwasher, sous chef, bus boy, bar tender and chef.”

With a nod to the Moulin Rouge and the Belle Epoque, Maison Close’s design from Delphine Mauroit feels like stepping into another era. There are custom made tulip-shaped banquettes, dramatic exposed lighting overhead, and gold sconces.

Maison Close has a buzzy and chic vibe which lacks pretension and arrogance. And the menu mirrors that. For many years Executive Chef Geoffrey Lechantoux worked alongside Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco and then at Benoit in New York. His vast experience also includes Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower and Hotel Plaza Athénée in Paris. Dishes like his escargot a la Bourguignonne, tuna tartar with fresh mango and pan seared dover sole meunière with butter and capers are mainstays. Desserts, including tarte tartin, are also beloved.

Having a restaurant like Maison Close was a long time in the making for Castet and Probst. “We grew up in the restaurant business, working in them since were teenagers. We started from the bottom and worked as waiters and hosts,” says Castet. “After all these years of working for other people it was always our idea of the American dream to open our own place.”

They continue to foster a vibe where people can hop from banquette to banquette. “It was always important that the design of the tables helped encourage that,” says Probst. “So at the end of every night people can get up and start dancing together.”

For Tentler-Krylov, her joy is seeing the menu in the space. “I wanted to make everything look really delicious and abundant with people being together and having fun,” she says. “It's a return to life.”