Seven Things to Know About Le Petit Paris, Opening Next Week in Downtown

It’s been more than two-and-a-half years since word first broke about the incoming arrival of Le Petit Paris to Downtown's Historic Core, and since then there’s been lots of updates but not much finalization. That’s all about the change, as the Cannes-based brand plans to officially open next week.

Here’s what you need to know:

First, it’s massive. Like, really, really big — think 300 seats, spread across a main dining room, a mezzanine, and a patio. It sort of makes Steve Samson’s potentially huge Rossoblu seem downright diminutive. Design comes via New Theme.

It’s also going to look classically European. Owners David and Fanny Rolland are French by birth and live in Cannes, so it’s only natural that the place would have a sort of sweeping Continental vibe to it, full of lush details and grand stairway entrances.

Even down to the paintings on the wall. While it’s not going to be Picasso at the Bellagio in Vegas (which, as you might guess, is draped in the painter’s works), dining areas will include a wide array of paintings from some of France’s most well-known artists. Talk about high falutin’!

This is a three-square-meals kind of place. The plan, for now, is to offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, as well as brunch on the weekends. The whole thing is sort of like an upscale hotel restaurant on a grand scale, except, you know, there’s no hotel. It’s just the historic El Dorado building.

Except there’s also going to be DJs. Yep, the place is going to get a little clubby at times, transitioning from luxe lunch spot to late-evening lounge. Now, whether that means they’re going to have to move 300 seats a night to make room for the dance floor? Who knows.

And a retail store. Say what? With all that space, there’s apparently even room for a French-leaning takeaway shop selling Parisian products. It’s even got its own name — La Boutique.

Expect the menu to play the hits. In line with the decor, look for classic French takes like Burgundy escargots, croque madames, charcuterie, and the like. Nothing too fancy or forward-thinking, just quality French staples going down in what’s surely to be one of the most beautiful (and highly anticipated) restaurant spaces in the city.