Nomiya Restaurant at Palais de Tokyo!

On July 1st, 2009, a huuuuge crane leaned over "Le Palais de Tokyo" ,the contemporary art center situated in the heart of Paris, and laid 2 container-looking "boxes" on top of it! O.O

Thus "Nomiya" restaurant was born ,otherwise known as "Art Home" (when pronounced by a French it sounds like "arome"). The restaurant borrowed its' name by the tiny japanese bars, it actually means "a shop where you drink"! O.O The restaurant will remail atop "le Palais de Tokyo" for exactly one year!

French artist Laurent Grasso teamed up with architect Pascal Grasso ,culinary director Gilles Stassart ,a number of artists and Electrolux to make this state-of-the-art dream come true!




There is only one table which sits 12 people and there are only two meals per day, lunch and dinner! Anyone who wants to have a chance with this once-in-a-lifetime experience should book their reservation one month ahead (!!!) and be quick as a bullet since the seats can get filled in a flash!



For the design of the whole project Laurent grasso admited"We tried to create an overall impression of airiness, transparency, floating."
"I don’t care about making a restaurant," said Grasso. "Creating this experience, on the roof of the Palais de Tokyo, with interesting architecture and the creativity of a chef – that’s not a restaurant. It’s a work of art."



And I couldn't agree more! Apart from the edgy architecture, the amazing view, the limited seats, the gourmet dishes,the everchanging menu and the impermanence of it all (it probably won't be there next time I visit Paris) paired up with the fascination of dining with a number of strangers (or formerly so) make up for an amazing interactive art installation rather than a restaurant!!!

I'll definately try to book me and my friends seats for our upcoming trip to Paris, mid- December. Wish me luck! :)

For 60 euros /lunch and 80 euros/ dinner with wine included and all the top notch characteristics I already described it's a good deal for sure!



As for the design of Nomiya...it looks like a see-through container basically. It blends perfectly with the "Palace" underneath it and the lighting installation makes it a breathtaking art piece at night! The metallic cover is perforated ,its' numerous holes create a borealis'like shape in the sides of the restaurant. When lit, it actually looks like a borealis cloud surrounds the "Art Home" and its' exclusive guests.





The kitchen is in open plan with the seating area which gives a homely feeling to the experience. Besides, having a great chef creating mouthwatering dishes right before your eyes is quite an interesting thing to watch! The view is breathking and totally unobstructed thanks to the height and the frameless glass! The simple layout and the japanese feeling of the interior complete the perfect setting.

For more information about the Nomiya visit Nomiya at Electrolux!
To read about an actual post-Nomiya experience visit David Lebovitz!

More colour tomorrow! ;) K.