L'Opéra Restaurant is a restaurant in Paris, France. Built into the Palais Garnier opera house's east facade, the restaurant is at the intersection of Gluck and Halévy streets, at the Place Jacques Rouché, in the 9th arrondissement. The restaurant premiered in 2011, 136 years after the Opera itself was opened.
History
According to a restaurant press release, a restaurant had been proposed since the beginning of architect Charles Garnier's plans for the opera house. His project was not realized due to lack of funds. Two other efforts to create a restaurant were made by theatre directors, in 1973 by composer Rolf Liebermann, followed in 1992 by businessman Pierre Bergé. These attempts did not succeed, also due to lack of financial support. In March 2007, director Gérard Mortier created a competition for tenders, under an ambitious plan to bring opera to new audiences. After 16 months of negotiations, the proposal by Pierre François Blanc was accepted by the Opera on July 1, 2008. After a year of preparations, the architectural project of Odile Decq received appraisal from the National Commission of Historic Monuments on June 15, 2009.
Menu
The Opera's menu was developed by Chef Christophe Aribert. Previous head chefs include Yann Tanneau and Stéphane Bidi. In January 2016, Chihiro Yamazaki became the new head chef. Chihiro Yamazaki has worked in Parisian restaurants such as Bellecour, Grand Hotel. The menu includes locally sourced produce and even honey from bees kept on the Opera's roof.
Architecture
Located behind the east facade of the Opera Garnier, the restaurant occupies space where horse-drawn carriages entered to drop off opera patrons, when the building was first erected. The restaurant's interior was designed by French architect Odile Decq. The restaurant's layout consists of a lounge and mezzanine in addition to a reception hall, as well as a large outdoor terrace. Given the historic monument status of the building, the architect was obliged to create the restaurant without making use of any original walls, pillars, or other structural elements. A veil of undulating glass is held in place by a single strip of steel, erected between the pillars. Decq has referred to the restaurant as a "phantom," possibly a reference to The Phantom of the Opera. From Decq's portfolio:
Like a « phantom »,silent and insidious, the soft protean curves of the mezzanine level float above the dinner guests, covering the space with a surface that bends and undulates. The facade of the restaurant is a veil of sinuous glass, sliding around each pillar.
The design creates a space that highlights the restaurant as a distinct entity within the Opera Garnier, not by imitating the existing details of the monument, but respecting it, while affirming the restaurant's own contemporary character.
Reception and events
The restaurant is located in a busy commercial and business district within Paris. It is regularly featured in design and architecture publications, and in lists of tourist and culture hotspots in Paris. In 2011, the restaurant hosted an episode of the second season of MasterChef France, where the contestants competed on a peach melba. Since 2013, the restaurant has played host to La Boumette, a pop-up dance party every Friday and Saturday night during the summer. La Boumette features separate parties inside the restaurant, and outside on the 800-square-foot terrace.
