Daniel Boulud and Stephanie Goto Unveil a Striking Indoor-Dining Concept

When powerhouse French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud heard that indoor dining, albeit on a smaller scale, would finally be reinstated in New York on September 30, he called Stephanie Goto, founder of Manhattan design studio STEPHANIEGOTO, with a bold idea. Instead of reopening Daniel, his flagship fine dining restaurant on the Upper East Side, in its usual grand state, he wanted to transform it for a spell into Boulud Sur Mer, a more affordably priced homage to the South of France.

“I worked in Cannes as a young chef and kept fond memories of good parties with Provençal cuisine,” Boulud recalls, and so he felt compelled for this long-awaited return to showcase a more “lighthearted” concept, one that telegraphed “a getaway along the Riviera.”

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With just a few weeks to orchestrate this temporary makeover, Goto, who first worked with Boulud nearly 10 years ago on his Manhattan residence, plunged in, bringing in collaborators like Ode & Bastille, ShowMotion, and Flux Studio. This time around, her aim was to “respect the elemental beauty” of the region, by capturing “the spirit, the feeling, the emotions, the experiential,” she says. “We wanted to create the possibility for every guest to have their own experience.”

Knowing that her design would not be permanent and that it had to be done affordably—the revamp is sponsored by a number of luxury brands—Goto was keen to embrace just a “few ingredients so there would be more clarity in the ideas.” For example, once diners push through the revolving doors into Boulud Sur Mer, they find themselves in the lounge—a blue box as Goto describes it—that is “meant to be a threshold transporting you to our world, our journey through the space. I didn’t want the guests to see everything at first glance. I wanted there to be a bit of surprise.”

Here, woven, durable fabric by Dedar, recalling the sea and sky, graduates from dark to light blue. Then, a Stark Carpet runner acts as a catwalk, leading guests across the promenade and into the dining room, dubbed the Salon Vert. Goto, points out Boulud, “has staged an atmosphere that transports you into a lush fantasy garden.” Awash in green, to conjure the verdant scenery between Provence and the Côte d'Azur, the room’s centerpiece is the oculus. Or, “my 3D sculptural version of a window to the sky,” as Goto tells AD PRO. “It has an otherworldly organic shape.”

All of the classical arches that line Daniel are now filled with breezy, mint-hued Hermès Feuillage wallpaper. Through the open gaps, glimpses of the original restaurant—last spruced up by Adam D. Tihany in 2008—are visible, giving Boulud Sur Mer the feel of a stage set. “We are not eliminating the history, but momentarily screening it so you have this dialogue between that history and the temporal,” as Goto puts it.

To meet the mandatory 25% capacity on dining rooms, tables, with recycled plastic chairs by Emeco, are sparsely installed. A mix of greenery—kentia palms, and banana leaf and xanadu plants—are “almost like sculptures,” and play with the height of the room while “adding to the layering of privacy that’s required,” says Goto. “We tried to make it as theatrical as possible.”

Goto designed the logo and menu graphics as well, and even outfitted the staff in Uniqlo pants and a Comme des Garçons shirt that riffs on the traditional French sailor stripe, tying together every detail in a holistic manner. As of now, Boulud Sur Mer is slated to stay open until November 30. But until then there is another soon-to-be-revealed layer to look forward to: geranium-clad bungalows crafted from Perennials Fabrics for those who prefer to eat alfresco. “They have a slanted roof line, so when you drive by you [get] this distinctive graphic almost,” says Goto. “We are taking the notion of being on the beach and giving it urban context.”