CANTEENS dividing the cabins. You swim your way upstream until you spot the glowing lights of the tank and the bright goldfish. The metaphor makes sense. This isn’t the fishtank of your local Chinese restaurant. Here, it’s more like a work of art in a gallery space. Then again, you’re in the original artists’ mecca, SoHo, and this bistro has fed its fair share of artistes over the past 40 years of its dependable existence. In a city where trendiness is currency, you wonder, Can it really be 40 years? It’s hard to believe, given the still steady crowds and how downright smart it feels even today. Everything about the place is right. It’s a French bistro done New York–style, meaning neon signs on the front windows, black-and-white banquettes ar-
including Lorne Michaels and the cast of “Saturday Night Live.” People, including more celebrities, came back—and never went away. In short, it’s become a fixture in New York bistro history. By the time you sit down and settle into your cozy banquette, food seems a mere afterthought. You feel like you’re on the set of a show or movie, and the decade could be any. You can easily imagine the cast of “SNL” showing up, from either the Jim Belushi or Jimmy Fallon days. Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, Kate Moss…they all ate here. You expect Mr. Big to amble in out of his town car parked outside, in high-’90s “Sex and the City” fashion. Speaking of fashion, tonight there are some fashion-house types keeping the high going from recent Fashion Week shows.
ranged in a somewhat bygone-diner style, original tiles and moldings on the walls—along with art. A lot of art. And good stuff— not just something thrown up here or there, or within the last six months for the opening; this has the feel of a curator’s hand. The story of Raoul’s began when two brothers, Serge and Guy Raoul, journeyed from Alsace, France, to SoHo, New York. They found a little restaurant for sale but were so poor that they didn’t throw anything out, not even the salt. They kept the chairs until they fell apart or were destroyed in the brawls that marked the early years. Guy turned his Alsatian cooking skills to fine steaks and fish while Serge stood outside and talked up passersby. People began to trickle in, and the word spread. More people came,
It’s all abuzz, and that’s before the artichoke vinaigrette, the oysters with mignonette and cocktail sauce, the indisputable king of steak au poivre, and the sinful profiteroles. Few places can marry such an ambiance with food to back it up—and solid French food at that—but this is Raoul’s, and Raoul’s is here to stay. u This page, clockwise from bottom left: Raoul’s steak au poivre is legendary; the entrance on Prince Street, in SoHo; a cozy banquette corner seat. Opposite page: Art, including a central print by Martin Schreiber, adorns the walls. Raoul’s: 180 Prince Street, New York City. Dinner nightly from 5:30 p.m. Weekend brunch from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. For reservations, call 212.966.0205 or visit opentable.com. APRIL 2016 71