San Francisco’s Atelier Crenn Awakens This Spring With California Dream
One of the world’s most renowned ateliers doesn’t hail from fashion, but from the culinary world — and San Francisco, home of Atelier Crenn, gets to benefit from its vision, artistry and literal good taste.
Now Dominique Crenn, the James Beard award-winning chef at the helm of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant, has cast her discerning eye on a revamp of her flagship restaurant. The renovation, which was revealed in January and completed in February, isn’t the first for the restaurant. But it may be the most fundamental, as a major shift in design and concept.
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The chef, who hails from Versailles, has drawn inspiration from her childhood and personal experiences to inform the restaurant since its opening in 2011. The new theme is still deeply personal, but reflective of the chef’s evolution. Everything, from the new dining room to the pescatarian tasting menu, was crafted to celebrate her adopted California home.
The restaurant is never far from her mind, no matter where in the world she is. From Paris, where she is working on another opening, she tells WWD via email that “to redesign Atelier Crenn right now is a dream come true. Eleven years ago, the restaurant encompassed who I was at that time, but like all humans, I have evolved.”
Now the restaurant is evolving alongside her.
The new decor was developed by Ethan Tobman, a production designer who met Crenn while working as chief technical consultant on Searchlight Pictures’ film “The Menu.”
Tobman, who has worked with stars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, is no stranger to high-profile projects. But he finds Crenn and her project particularly inspiring, describing the collaboration as “written in the stars.”
He maintained Atelier Crenn’s signature warmth and neutral palette, so the new environment is still tonally consistent and identifiable. But where the previous design made diners feel like visitors to the chef’s home, the new dining room breaks down the walls and embraces nature, opting for more wood grain, natural lines and a forest mural.
It’s very Atelier Crenn and also very California.
“I hope our guests are able to feel all of the energy I have put into this beautiful, refreshed space,” Crenn adds. “It is truly an extension of me and my life.”
Of course, all of that is prelude to the artfully designed and impeccably constructed dining courses. At its essence, the menu highlights local plants, fish and seafood, including produce from the chef’s own Bleu Belle Farm. But a cracker or leek tart becomes something more in Crenn’s hands. The courses guide guests to ruminate on the beauty of the state’s diverse geographic and cultural landscapes, as told through flavors, spices, technique and plating.
Crenn is the first female chef in the U.S. to score three Michelin stars in 2018, and naturally, demand is high for reservations at Atelier Crenn. But it’s worth noting that the chef racked up a fourth star with another eatery, Bar Crenn, just next door. Her pop-up in Hayes Valley, Spring at Petit Crenn, has also opened up select April dates. So there are options to experience what social media has dubbed this “#incrennable” culinary world.
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