Tribeca’s French Laundry?

Is there a new French revolution (as in Laundry) in the air? We recently posted on the white-hot, just-opened Saison in San Francisco, a challenger to the reign of the French Laundry. We've also been keeping our eye on Atera in Tribeca, another high-style temple of cuisine where the prix fixe menu starts just north of $150 (wine not included).

The interiors were designed by Parts and Labor, a NY firm, who describe the project as "an unassuming exercise in exclusive, intimate, and above all unique dining."

Read Pete Wells' three-star review of the restaurant in the NY Times; for more information, go to Atera.

Above: The somber dining room gets a jolt of color from a living wall installation.

Above: A leather sofa in the lounge area.

Above: It's not a surprise to learn that chef Matthew Lightner did time in the kitchen's of Noma, Copenhagen's groundbreaking restaurant.

Above: The tasting menu is served on a simple stone counter.

Above: Black walls and gleaming polished wood add to the jewel box feel.

Above: A dining room table wraps around a kitchen prep area, where, as Pete Wells says, "you can watch the cooks bent over their work, silent and solemn. At this stage, there is not much cooking. Mostly they are arranging food on fresh hay, or moss, or slate, or polished wood, or smooth riverbed stones, or buffed lengths of bark."

Above: A custom bar cart for mobile cocktail service.

The SF version of Atera? We think Saison is a contender. And take a look at world's-best-restaurant Noma; the three interiors are channeling the same vibe, in our opinion.