Plywood Report Final Approach: STK to Debut Next Week

STK New York, shot by Noah Kalina on 10/24/06.

In the movie business, you know, when a premiering films sucks, the only card the marketing people can play is the mystery card. Keep the thing under wraps at all costs, hoping for opening week press that is excitedly vague. Now, in the restaurant business we wouldn't know anything about that. But it is curious to note that spokespersons for STK, the imported hotshot steakhouse concept from New York from the One Group, are keeping awfully quiet about plans for the place, save for the opening date—next Friday, February 15th.

As for the rest, now that we're a week out from debut, let's put what intel we can out there for you.

First of all, if this restaurant is to look anything like STK New York (above), it will be a steakhouse where steak plays second fiddle to whatever pretty people can be rounded up to fill the banquettes. In New York, they have a catwalk that runs straight through the dining room, a concept that will certainly play in LA. Let's be clear, STK is a bar with a restaurant in it, not the other way around.

Second, there is the matter of Coco De Ville and Bistro Bar, two venues opening inside STK. While the PR for the restaurant is shooting for some excitedly vague coverage pre-open (they said to us they know nothing about either concept, despite Coco being listed on One's website), the LA Times scores some deets.

"Coco de Ville is not a club," Segal explains from his office in New York. "But it is a place where people in their 30s and 40s can listen to fantastic music and enjoy a great scene."

While the Bistro will serve as the restaurant's lobby bar, Coco de Ville, with a capacity of about 150, has its own entrance and almost certainly will become a destination for the glitterati. Tenjune, the trendy lounge attached to Manhattan's STK, has attracted the likes of Elisha Cuthbert, Paris Hilton and Adrian Grenier . . . and that's just in the past month.

"I can deliver celebrities into Coco De Ville without anyone knowing they're there," Segal says. "We have an underground car park and they will be able to walk straight in via a private elevator."

Having a meal at STK won't necessarily guarantee you entrance to Coco de Ville, but the bars' lead architect, Icrave Design's Lionel Ohayon, hopes as many people as possible are able to see both the Bistro Bar and Coco De Ville.

"I personally would like Coco de Ville to be a place where you go to chill out," he says. "It's a very rich palette with a lot of color."