Firstlook: Patou

by A.D. Amorosi

Chef Patrice Rames wants his newest venture, Patou, to be known as a restaurant, not a lounge. Like Rames' Bistro St. Tropez, Patou offers the height of Provencal/Cote d'Azur cuisine. His delicacies are in league with what you might find along the French Riviera, and so too are the clean whites and electric blues featured prominently in Patou's decor. With designer Vincent Smith-Durham and Curry Construction, Rames fashioned the space -- over 6,000 square feet, bathed in what they call "Yves Klein" blue -- in a way that looks great with people sitting in it, a scenario more rare than you might imagine. Because the long, narrow restaurant is so deep, the first glance at Patou can be deceptive -- it looks like a storefront with a blue-tinted lounge. Step inside, and the entire concept still isn't immediate. That's what nicest about Patou: Each step is a revelation. Through the complex placement of theater lighting and mirrors, Patou becomes more about "space" than "rooms." Take, for example, Patou's salon and reception areas -- full of hand-tied sails, custom-made couches in Klein blue with yellow piping and cartoonishly kitsch chairs, the space has no lines or symmetry. Instead, like Patou's meandering bar and atrium dining space (the latter built around the city's most gorgeous skylight), you are led by pools of light, casting colors dramatically off midnight-blue ceilings and white walls. The bar area, accented by potted palms, feels like a Lartigue print of coastal France, a theme aided by decorative sails and distressed wood floors that look like a ship's decking. The dramatic skylight hovers above the main dining room, adjacent to a big open kitchen and small alcoves that host private galleries, like the Lartigue room, which features its own skylight tower. The depth and height of Patou gave Smith-Durham the opportunity to build a majestic mezzanine with grand steps starting at the dining room's center. The Klein-blue staircase leads to an intimate balcony bar that holds up to 30 people, with quite a view. Magnifique.

Patou, 312 Market St., 215-928-2987.

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