Sotheby’s opened its new headquarters on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 75th Street last November, inside the Marcel Breuer–designed museum building from 1966. A light touch renovation by Herzog & de Meuron and PBDW Architects kept the Brutalist landmark’s signature architectural features intact.
Almost six months after the building reopened, Sotheby’s has debuted The Marcel—a new French-continental restaurant named after the architect and helmed by chef partner Marie-Aude Rose. A new all-day bakery and cafe located in the Marcel, led by pastry chef Rae Gaylord, La Mercererie Patisserie, also opened for business at Sotheby’s on April 16.
The design for the restaurant was cooked up by Roman & Williams, a New York City architecture firm renowned for its attention to detail.
The Marcel is located in the Breuer building’s lower level, and comprises custom Roman & Williams Guild lighting fixtures in cast bronze and cast glass. Other bespoke features include banquettes upholstered in a brown mohair, a design inspired by Upper East Side establishments circa 1966, the year Breuer’s Whitney opened.
Dining booths and tables in the restaurant complement the Breuer building’s concrete walls and light fixtures.
A bar with drinks served in handcrafted Japanese glassware coalesces near rich walnut-paneled walls, candle lighting, and a grand view of the dining room and outdoor sculpture garden.
Charles F. Steward, Sotheby’s CEO, said in a statement the “restaurant adds a new dimension to the Sotheby’s experience, where our clients and friends can enjoy our exhibitions and an exceptional meal in a beautiful setting.”
Diners enjoy a revolving selection of artworks pulled from Sotheby’s collection, including works by Joan Mitchell, Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder, François-Xavier, and Claude Lalanne, much like they would upstairs in the main galleries.
Vitrines displaying jewelry designed by David Webb, Boucheron, and René Boivin, as well as “natural history curiosities” such as asteroid fragments and a Tyrannosaurus rex tooth are also located within the restaurant space.
“Marcel is the culmination of decades of work at the intersection of architecture, craft, art and hospitality,” said Robin Alesch, Roman & Williams cofounder.
“At the Breuer,” Alesch added, “we bring together fine art and culinary tradition in dialogue with one of New York’s great architectural landmarks. With Marcel, we hope to reignite the spirit of historic cultural restaurants as places for gathering, conversation, and exchange.”
