Le Chêne Brings a Sophisticated Parisian Sensibility to the West Village

1. The chef might be familiar to those in the know.

After competing on “Top Chef,” Duchêne staged in a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants, published a cookbook, and earned rave reviews for her stints at Datsha Underground and Alain Ducasse’s Allard in Paris, as well as Fulgurances in Greenpoint. In 2023, she was the opening chef of Margot in Fort Greene as well.

2. Expect really, really great bread and butter from the start.

For Duchêne, it was essential that her opening number set the tone for the rest of the meal. Before guests decide what to order, they’re offered a basket of freshly baked bread from Bread Story, run by Brittany native Yann Ledoux in StuyTown. “We definitely want to offer complimentary bread. In France, that’s a given, and here it’s not,” Duchêne says. “I really want people to feel like we’re giving guests this very warm welcome.”

It’s a small gesture, but in a time when the bread course is often either an omission or a $20-plus supplement, it feels particularly gracious. To accompany it, there’s a lush “meadow butter” from Kriemhild Dairy Farms in Madison County, N.Y. “It’s just amazing,” Duchêne says. “It was quite pricey, but it’s just the best butter I’ve had in the U.S. and even, honestly, in the top three in my entire life.”

Served plain, the butter is complex and grassy, with the velvety mouthfeel that can only come from 85% butterfat. It needs nothing else, but Duchêne plans to gild the lily with ever-changing compound butters that both reflect the seasons and minimize food waste. “Let’s say we have a bit of maple syrup from a recipe, maybe we add that to a butter with bee pollen,” she says. “That, for me, is playful and fun, and it gives an interesting start to your dinner, having this special butter with great, warm bread.”

3. There’s a wine program that’s both deep and highly approachable.

The wine program overseen by Ronan Duchêne Le May and Simon Chaudey, previously of Café Boulud, has both breadth and depth. “We will have quite a substantial wine list — I would say a bit over 3,000 bottles,” Alexia Duchêne says. “We’re really trying to build a wine program that’s super interesting, but approachable.”

The main focus will be on French wines, although there’s also an impressive mix of Italian and American offerings. To keep the menu from feeling overwhelming, they plan to offer a more curated version of around 40 bottles, along with regularly rotating specials.

“Even for the wine by the glass, for us, it’s super important to have a very diverse program,” she says. Oftentimes, when she splits a bottle of wine with her husband at a restaurant, but wants one last glass to end the meal, she’s underwhelmed by the offerings. “I feel like something that is lacking in a lot of places is not being able to buy a glass of wine that matches the level of a nice bottle that you bought.”

4. If you squint at the art-filled space, you might just think you’re in Paris.

Frédérique Mortier d’Aumont, another Parisian in New York and the founder of Fred Interiors, lent her distinctive aesthetic touch to the restaurant. Le Chêne consists of several distinct dining spaces — a rarity in the West Village, where square footage comes at such a premium. Upon entering, guests find themselves at a small U-shaped bar ideally suited for an apéritif while waiting for a table.

“We wanted to keep it super intimate, so that you really connect with your bartender,” Duchêne says. “We’re looking at something extremely cozy. It’s a lot of dark wood and very dim light. And then you go through a small arch and then, there’s the dining room that feels very Parisian — all white walls with moldings.”

There’s an open kitchen set off to the side, as well as a carpeted area that can be sectioned off for private celebrations and gatherings. Leather banquettes, an aged mirror, and an extensive art collection complete the picture. The latter comes courtesy of Christophe Van de Weghe, owner of Van de Weghe gallery on the Upper East Side and an investor in the restaurant.

“The idea is to really curate something that brings some major New York artists,” she says. “We’re also working with Frederic Anderson, an artist he represents, who will do a custom piece for us, which we’re very excited about.”

When high summer rolls around, Duchêne plans to open up a terrace with roughly a dozen outdoor seats. “We really want this Parisian feel, you know: white tablecloth, little chairs, candlelight,” she says. “Something very, very chic and simple.”

5. Look for a mix of deeper cuts and instant crowd pleasers.

Diners can expect Gallic dishes seldom found stateside, such as a classic foie gras lucullus, a rich, striated terrine of foie gras and beef tongue. “It’s just a different take on foie gras, which you don’t see here really. We’re trying to see how we can contribute to the French repertoire in New York,” Duchêne says. “I also wanted to have pithivier, which I haven’t seen anywhere in New York, but to do something different with it. I’m not just doing duck because that’s how it’s been done, you know, everywhere.”

For her interpretation of the savory stuffed puff pastry, she opts for a less conventional filling of pork, smoked eel, and potatoes. “I love this kind of surf and turf pairing with certain dishes,” she says. “I really wanted to highlight the eel here, which works very well with the decadence of a potato gratin, the pork, and a little beetroot condiment.”

Another twist on a classic is Duchêne’s take on lobster thermidor, a 19th-century French creation that was considered the height of sophistication at tony American restaurants in the early 20th century. Here, Duchêne swaps out the crustacean of choice by stuffing a whole crab shell with crab meat mixed with a vadouvan-perfumed béchamel and cheese. A quick blast under the broiler turns it all into a glorious, molten mess.

“I really think it will be a crowd-pleaser,” she says. “I was thinking how people here love crab dips or crab casino, and how I could bring my French touch. The idea is for people to eat it either just with a spoon or even put it on a piece of bread. It’s super decadent, rich, and so flavorful.”

6. As well as subtle New York riffs on French cuisine.

Although Duchêne’s cooking is deeply rooted in French gastronomic history, she also draws inspiration from her new home in New York. To that end, she took perhaps the most quintessentially French bistro staple — oeufs mayonnaise — and added a playful reference to a New York deli staple.

“I was thinking of the tuna melt, how I love that and how I think it’s such an interesting deli classic,” Duchêne says. “I would cook the eggs so they’re jammy and then, on top of that, we’ll do a mixture of raw and confit tuna with a light mayo. And then, instead of putting cheddar, we’re going to put very light shavings of a French cheese — maybe a Mimolette that has character.”

In its home country, the minimalist combination of hard-boiled eggs and mayonnaise has a cult following so fervent that chefs duke it out in an annual competition for egg mayo supremacy. It’s still a relative rarity in New York, although a few versions such as the squid-ink marbled rendition at The Four Horsemen, or the ikura-topped one at Libertine have appeared in recent years. While the original appeal of oeufs mayo hinges on its near austerity — it’s white-on-white, rich-on-rich by nature — Duchêne couldn’t resist adding a layer of complexity.

“I love bringing something that’s super classic French, while also acknowledging that we’re not in France,” she says. “We’re in New York and so I want to think about how to embrace both of them together.”

7. Desserts are perfect for sharing.

Despite Duchêne’s fine-dining roots, she steers away from overly conceptualized desserts that look ripped from MoMA. “I think dessert people love something that’s just fun and not so pretentious,” she says. “It should be rich, comforting, and easy to share — nothing that takes itself too seriously.”

Although the restaurant will have a pastry chef, Duchêne also has a background in pastry and intends to be very involved creatively with the desserts. At the moment, she’s been tinkering with a rice pudding soufflé with a molten caramel center. There’s also a chocolate tart, of course, although as with most of Duchêne’s cooking, it comes with a clever twist.

“We’re going to do a sweet clover-infused panna cotta as a base of tart shell, then we will add a yogurt ice cream, and we’ll finish with a warm, gooey, chocolate mousse that will completely cover it,” Duchêne enthuses. The dish makes use of chaud-froid, the intense contrast between hot and cold.

“When we think of cooking, we think about texture, we think about flavor, but we rarely think about temperature,” she says. “Having this play of hot and cold when you’re eating it is quite enjoyable. I think that’s why a lot of people enjoy ice cream with a soufflé.”

Like everything coming out of her kitchen, it displays serious technical finesse, yet is easy to appreciate on a purely sensual level. A great deal of thought went into every aspect of the menu here, but at the end of the day, what matters most is that it’s delicious.

Le Chêne is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. beginning Friday, May 23. Lunch service is forthcoming.