For several years, Cathédrale’s vaulted ceilings, captivating atmosphere and Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine list have been enchanting diners in Manhattan’s East Village. On May 1, Tao Group Hospitality debuted a new location of the concept in Las Vegas, at the Aria Resort & Casino. Part of a portfolio of more than 70 restaurants, the new Cathédrale is Tao’s eighth opening in Las Vegas and joins six Restaurant Award winners at the Aria.
“We know what works here, and we knew that Cathédrale, which opened in New York City in 2019, was a perfect fit for the market, with its ingredient-driven cuisine and stunning interiors,” executive chef Jason Hall told Wine Spectator.
Under the guidance of Hall and Tao’s chief culinary officer, Ralph Scamardella, the menu draws from coastal Mediterranean regions in France, Spain, Italy and Greece, with luxury ingredients incorporated into many dishes. For example, a seemingly simple omelet is filled with crème fraiche and chives and topped with fingerling potato chips and Kaluga caviar. And the fettuccine—served in a sauce of French butter, with cracked pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano—comes with shaved black truffles on top.
The cocktails are equally opulent, including “The Quaternary” ($70), a mix of vodka, gin, vermouth and orange bitters served in a block of ice, with a garnish of Castelvetrano olives and a demitasse spoon of Kaluga caviar for good measure.
The wine list clocks in at around 370 selections, with offerings from leading wineries across California and France, such as Napa’s Colgin, Sonoma’s Kistler, Burgundy’s Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey and Bordeaux’s Château Pichon Longueville Lalande. Acclaimed producers from other countries, such as Spain’s Dominio de Pingus and New Zealand’s Te Mata, are represented as well. “Our wine list is curated to complement the culinary menu, but also very accessible for our guests, many of whom gravitate toward domestic wines,” said Hall. “We also put effort into introducing our guests to up-and-coming regions and producers, along with older vintages that enhance the dining experience.”
Cathédrale New York evokes the long-shuttered Fillmore East, a legendary concert hall on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and the Las Vegas location gives off similar vibes. Designed by globally renowned firm Rockwell Group and Tao’s president of design and development, Susan Nugraha, the 266-seat restaurant blends an urban feel with dramatic features: 25 miles of chain hang from the ceiling as an art installation (a separate bar installation features 22,000 individual lengths of chain), and blue leather banquettes line the dining room.—A.R.
The Georgian Hotel Reopens in L.A. Area with Two New Restaurants
BLVD Hospitality co-founder and CEO Jon Blanchard believes his team is writing the next chapter in an already iconic Los Angeles storybook. In April, BLVD Hospitality reopened the historic Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., giving it two restaurants: The Restaurant at The Georgian and The Georgian Room. “The [hotel’s] restaurant, during its heyday, used to be regarded as one of the top restaurants and music venues in the country,” said Blanchard, noting that The Georgian’s food and wine programs were, themselves, world-class at that time. “Our reopening of The Georgian Room will be the first time the room has operated in about 60 years.”
The Georgian is a quintessential “if these walls could talk” establishment. As the story goes, renowned California hotelier Rosamond Borde envisioned it as a dramatic, architecturally pleasing site on the outside and a posh hideaway for the Hollywood elite on the inside. Borde’s hotel on Ocean Avenue, just steps from the Santa Monica Pier, opened in 1933. Its restaurant, The Red Griffin, was a regular hangout for movie stars and socialites over the years—including Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Rose Kennedy—before it closed in the late 1950s. As many stories like this go, the property underwent several ownership changes, and its luster waned. Cue Blanchard and BLVD Hospitality, which acquired the landmark building in 2020 and gave the Romanesque Revival/Art Deco property a redesign.
Chef David Almany helms The Restaurant at The Georgian, the hotel’s main dining room, which opened on April 14; he had previously worked for Nancy Silverton at Best of Award of Excellence winner Osteria Mozza. “The food was inspired by summers on the Amalfi Coast,” Almany explained. “I wanted to encapsulate the feeling of when you bite into something thoughtful, ethereal and meticulously sourced.” That vision is on display in dishes like orecchiette (one of several handmade pastas) with asparagus, ramps, fava beans and bottarga and Alaskan halibut with wild mushrooms, snap peas, white beans and spring pesto. The Georgian Room, a Tuscan steak house, is expected to debut this week.
Wine director Kristin Olszewski, also a Mozza alum, compiled a list of around 150 wines for The Restaurant at The Georgian, focusing on small, family-owned Italian wineries farming organically or sustainably. There’s also a smattering of labels from France and California. “Because our menu is Italian, I wanted a majority of the list to reflect the incredible diversity and beauty of Italian wines,” said Olszewski, highlighting selections from wineries such as Emidio Pepe, Giacomo Conterno and Bartolo Mascarello, as well as up-and-comers. “One important thing to all of us is that we showcased an incredible diversity in terms of price point and accessibility,” Olszewski noted. “If you just want an incredible bottle under $100, we’ve got you covered; come in and drink some Le Piane bianco or Ciro Biondi Etna rosso.”
Many features from the original building remain, including crown moldings and arched doorways. Much of the decor—brass fixtures, velvet furniture and long goldenrod curtains—evokes The Georgian’s bygone era, but in a vibrant way, updated with European and Cuban Art Deco motifs. An outdoor terrace offers a peek at the Pacific, along with abundant hanging plants and pops of pink and yellow.
“We wanted to make sure that at all times of the day, the food, drinks, music, light and energy all feel harmonious in order to create a truly special hospitality and dining experience for our guests from all around the world,” said BLVD Hospitality co-founder and president Nicolo Rusconi. “The Restaurant at The Georgian is an ode to romantic hospitality, heartwarming food and drinks and genuinely passionate service.”—A.R.
Two New French Restaurants Come to New York
It’s difficult to forget how many restaurants sadly closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the industry started recovering, the ripple effects continued. Such was the case for the husband-and-wife team of chef Andrea Calstier and Elena Oliver, who closed their New York City restaurant, Papilles, in early 2022.
But that didn’t stop them. Earlier this month, Calstier and Oliver opened a new restaurant in North Salem, N.Y., in Westchester County: Cenadou Bistrot. Sommelier Adrien Cascio leads the wine program, following a tenure at Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey Restaurant Lalique in Sauternes, in the Bordeaux wine region. “I wanted to express myself and offer my sommelier services for a totally new and unknown challenge,” Cascio told Wine Spectator via email. “Together, we create a scene where the plate and the glass are the main actors.”
Located on the upper level of La Bastide (or “country house”), a building that once held the locally beloved Vox restaurant, Cenadou Bistrot is focused on providing a relaxing environment. After all, its name roughly translates to “get together” in the Provençal dialect of the Occitan language. For the menu, Calstier draws from experiences cooking in the couple’s native France, as well as time spent working for celebrated chef Daniel Boulud. Dishes include squash blossom beignets with curry aioli, Provençal-style mussels and a fricassee of Maine lobster with golden squash, along with desserts prepared by pastry chef Andy Chordra.
“[It] is a cuisine of sharing where the dish arrives in the center of the table and all the guests have the opportunity to taste it,” Cascio explained. “The wine must reflect the same sensations, a moment out of time where one simply enjoys.”
France is, of course, the star of Cascio’s 30-wine list, with selections from Champagne, Burgundy, the Loire Valley, Corsica and beyond. That includes celebrated names such as Paul Jaboulet Aîné in the Rhône Valley and Château Cos d’Estournel in Bordeaux. “In a spirit of sharing, joy and conviviality, we have selected cuvées that are easy to share with friends or family without having to think too much about it,” explained Cascio, whose list also covers regions in California and Italy, including Napa Valley, Sonoma and Piedmont. Overall, Cascio plans to keep the list seasonal, offering cru Beaujolais in summer and Bandol in the winter, for instance.
Later this year, on the lower level of La Bastide, Calstier will debut an intimate, tasting-menu-only venue, the new La Bastide by Andrea Calstier. For that, Cascio is assembling about 500, predominantly French labels—about 30 served by the glass—with multiple verticals across an extensive 40-château Bordeaux selection. “When you are at La Bastide table, you are ready to listen to our story,” said Cascio. “We imagine the experience with more precision, a longer culinary and human experience.” Provence features heavily in the restaurant’s 5,000-bottle cellar, with wines from leaders such as Domaine Tempier and Château de Pibarnon, along with other celebrated French estates like Sauternes’ Château d’Yquem. “Sweet wines are perfect allies to accompany the precision of Mediterranean gastronomy,” Cascio added.
“Thanks to our different visions and experiences, we have in our hands an absolutely wonderful tool to provide a unique experience,” said Cascio. “I am happiest when my clients thank me for taking them on a journey, for sharing a story with them, for taking them away from their daily lives for a meal. This is the magic of wine: traveling with a glass in hand.”—C.D.