There is an elegant townhouse on a quiet block on the Upper East Side. Walk up the steps, pass through the tall, wooden doors, step inside, and you will find yourself in the Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club, a chic yet discrete restaurant and lounge. After dropping of your coats, a host will escort you to your table--to get to the dining room you will walk through the wine cellar. A glass door will slide open and closed behind you, and then, at the other end of the cellar, another glass door will do the same. Is it a gimmick? Of course, but it is a great one, and it is hardly inappropriate; like any good, fine French restaurant, the wine list is long, and well thought out.
Bruno Jamais, the Parisian-born proprietor, is not a chef. He made his name as the maitre d' at Daniel, and after that, at Alain Ducasse. As you would expect, the service at Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club is exceptional. It is this service, and of course the food, that attracts a diverse, and well-to-do crowd. President Clinton, Kim Cattrall, and Fat Joe are among the stars who have dined here.
Bruno Jamais is defined by its contrasts. The subdued, early evening dinner crowd gives way to raucous cocktail and DJ-driven revelers (there is also a late night menu featuring items such as caviar, club sandwiches, and pommes frites). The warm walls are graced by the eye-popping art of internationally known Cyrille Margarit. Playful, feminine touches, including polka-dotted sofas break up the room.
Perhaps the best way to experience Bruno Jamais is to come for a late dinner, and to stay for the drinks and dancing. About that food...Chef Jonathon Keller, who trained at Nobu and Le Bernadin, brings the occasional Asian influence to the contemporary French menu. To start, the Lobster Brulee is simply a must. Think of the finest comfort food you have ever tasted, and then think of something better. This is it. Chunks of fresh lobster arrive buried in a tasty sambal aioli. On the subject of comfort food, the truffled mac & cheese is as good as this recently popular dish is at any restaurant in the city. The crisp, crumbling top layer adds the perfect texture to the sweet, soft cheese below. The well-prepared duck and the 'scallops three ways' are both good options, especially when you are indulging in those rich dishes. When you finish your meal, order up another bottle of wine, or indulge in one of the signature cocktails, because the party is just getting started.
Sexy yet elegant, chic yet subdued, Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club is the perfect place to take that special someone, or that special someone else.
Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club
24 E 81st St
New York, NY, 10028
(212) 396-3444
www.brunojamais.com