Villard Michel Richard Marries Fine Dining with Modern Whimsy Inside the Historic New York Palace Hotel

New York's landmarked buildings offer a peek into the city's rich past, but it can be a challenge to reinvent them as exciting, new destinations without disturbing historic details. Such was the dilemma posed by the transformation of three landmarked rooms of the New York Palace Hotel into <a href="http://www.villardmichelrichard.com/">Villard Michel Richard</a>, a new restaurant by acclaimed French chef Michel Richard. <a href="http://jeffreybeers.com/">Jeffrey Beers International</a> was called in to revamp the stately spaces, originally part of financier Henry Villard's 1882 mansion, into a modern, fine dining experience. Step into our <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/villard-michel-richard-marries-fine-dining-with-modern-whimsy-inside-the-historic-new-york-palace-hotel/villard-chandelier/">gallery</a> for a photo tour of JBI's creative workarounds as well as the project's centerpiece - a 10-foot x 10-foot glass wine cube by <a href="http://mison.com/">Jaroff Design - Mison Concepts</a>.

The challenge faced by <a href="http://jeffreybeers.com/">Jeffrey Beers</a> was to update the three rooms in the <a href="http://www.newyorkpalace.com/">New York Palace Hotel</a> in a way that would be compelling to modern diners without removing or altering the 19th century <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Revival_architecture">neo-Italian Renaissance</a> details.

"We couldn't even change the sconces on the walls," Nora Liu Kanter, Jeffrey Beers Studio Leader, explained to us. But how do you make over a space without painting, drilling holes or swapping out fixtures?

Some examples of the ephemeral decor include an illuminated wall of gold Champagne bottles at the restaurant's entrance and a dramatic lightshow of flowers projected onto the main hall's 30-foot-high barrel vaulted ceilings.

"Lemon Egg-ceptional" is an illusion of the eye and a delight for the mouth. It appears to be an egg but is really a white chocolate shell filled with meringue and lemon curd.

The solution came in the form of freestanding sculptures and the use of light and video to add splashes of imagery that are as dynamic as they are harmless to the existing interior architecture.

The bar area was outfitted with a nod to <a href="http://www.starchefs.com/cook/node/3359">Michel Richard</a>'s sense of humor - a wall of holographs that alternate between photos of the chef and of Henry Villard, depending on where the viewer stands.

The New York Palace Hotel was originally the mansion of NYC financier Henry Villard.

The bar area flows directly into The Gallery, a room designated for intimate, fine dining.

The space is lit up by over-sized photographs of classic Hollywood actresses that lean against the historic wood-paneled walls - a logical alternative to the damage that would be caused by hanging them.

Each tabletop also casts a soft glow from within, acting as a perfect canvas for chef's specialties like Mosaic surf and turf, <a href="http://www.yelp.com/menu/michel-richard-citronelle-washington/item/lobster-begula-pasta">Lobster begula</a>, Dover sole with hazel butter and lemon eggceptional and Napoleon creme brulee.

The Gallery is just steps away from the open kitchen.

The grand marble hall leads from the bar area to The Gallery to The Bistro.

The Bistro offers a more casual setting to experience Richard's cuisine.

Chefs Daniel Boulud and Michel Richard, Photo ©Yuka Yoneda

The highlight of the space is a jewel-like wine room custom-made by <a href="http://mison.com/">Jaroff Design - Mison Concepts</a>.

The cube houses 920 bottles of red wine and is illuminated by one of the mansion's original chandeliers.

The Bistro at <a href="http://www.villardmichelrichard.com/">Villard Michel Richard</a> is open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Gallery is open for dinner from Tuesday-Saturday and offers a Prix Fixe menu and Promenade Gourmand tasting menu.