1 11
1 11
A large restaurant space near Houston’s upscale Galleria shopping center—one that has changed concepts, chefs and management teams twice in the last five years—has reopened with a new management company, a new look and a new strategy.
What started as chef Philippe Schmit’s Philippe Restaurant and Lounge in 2011 became Table in 2014, switching from a French menu to a broader American lineup. It closed last year to be recreated as La Table under the direction of three-year old management company Invest Hospitality, based in New York. Invest Hospitality owns the U.S. licensing rights to Joël Robuchon’s restaurants and has opened four L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon concepts in the U.S. Founder and c.e.o. Alex Gaudelet says the previous iterations’ difficulties stemmed from a lack of menu focus and space problems.
Gaudelet says revisiting to a French concept made sense for the market. “We thought French was a good choice because it has experienced such a renaissance in New York and other larger restaurant markets,” says Gaudelet. “Also, there was no upscale French restaurant in the Galleria area, so there was room for it in the market.”
The second change Invest Hospitality made was dividing the 11,000 square foot space into five smaller concepts. “The dining room would seem empty if there weren’t a lot of guests,” at any given time, explains Gaudelet. Having four distinct concepts also allowed Invest Hospitality to maximize all dayparts and guest occasions.
Designed by Dolores Suarez and Caroline Grant of New York City-based Dekar Design (whose portfolio includes New York City’s Rosemary’s and Claudette), La Table takes its elegant and intimate design inspiration from the homes of Provence.
A coffee shop and bakery, Macarons evokes a French boulangerie with hand-painted tiles, vintage and inspired fixtures. Macarons merchandises house-made pastries, breads and cakes in cases and on marble pedestals. Macarons is open from early morning until late night and serves breakfast items including quiches, frittatas and parfaits ($4 to $11) as well as breads, fruit-topped brioche, Madeleines, and of course their namesake macarons.
On the first floor, La Table’s casual brasserie, Marché, is designed for lunches or cocktails. Items include a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado, onion marmalade, comté and siracha pesto on ciabatta; and a lamb burger topped with feta, cabbage slaw and cucumber mint aioli on a house-made rosemary bun. The space features a gallery wall of black and white French photography, cozy orange and blue banquettes scattered with pillows and rustic wood floors.
La Table’s fine dining restaurant, Château, is “classically French, but we keep it straightforward” for the Houston market, says Gaudelet. The room overlooks prestigious Post Oak Boulevard. The dinner menu includes savory and dessert soufflés ($16-$20,) meats such as lamb chops served with frites and traditional French sauces ($24-$54). The menu also includes tableside preparations by classically trained servers of wild mushroom stuffed chicken, rack of lamb and ribeye ($39-$50).
Invest Hospitality smartly chose to allocate part of La Table’s 11,000 square feet to private dining and event space. “Houston is a very social city, a wealthy city, and there is a large market for both business and charity [events],” explains Gaudelet. “We take a hotel-like approach and make all of the spaces available to private parties, including the bar and patio and any of the dining rooms.” One of the private rooms seats up to 50; a smaller private dining room seats 16.
The Champagne Room seats 16.
Invest Hospitality was in talks with luxury French publishing company Assouline for another U.S. project when they struck a deal open a bookstore in La Table. “We knew it would be a good fit for this retail destination [The Houston Galleria]” The store carries large-format coffee table tomes as well as books on travel, food, wine and fashion.
Roasted beet salad.
Chicken for two, served tableside.
Spring pea ravioli.
Macarons at the coffee and pastry shop, Macarons.
