Hotel Alessandra Arrives In Downtown With Chic Cocktails and Mediterranean Fare

This weekend, Downtown’s Hotel Alessandra quietly made its debut, and so did the restaurant’s chic cocktail lounge Bardot and Lucienne, a restaurant that takes a little bit of inspiration from the NASA space shuttle.

A representative for Hotel Alessandra tells Eater that the restaurant and bar will quietly kick open the doors next week, despite delays caused by the hurricanes in Texas and Florida. Some of the restaurant’s furniture is still stuck in Miami, FL, which means that Lucienne will be “making do” with temporary tables and chairs until that arrives. Fortunately, though, chic coffee and cocktail spot Bardot is completely ready to go.

Bardot, which occupies a sophisticated space on the hotel’s second floor, will open daily at 6 a.m., pouring swanky lattes, freshly-pressed juices, and serving pastries until 11 a.m. Later in the afternoon, Bardot will reopen and serve small plates, snacks, and cocktails. It’s a solid spot to have a drink while waiting for a table at Lucienne, the hotel’s flagship restaurant helmed by Chef Jose Hernandez.

Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the design of Lucienne is described as a “blend of Viennese vaulted café and a NASA space shuttle.” In that space, Hernandez will serve a Mediterranean-inspired menu influenced by the cuisines of Spain, France, Greece, and Portugal made with locally-sourced ingredients. He’ll also oversee all the butchery and baking required for the restaurant, which will be done in the hotel’s kitchens.

Both Bardot and Lucienne arrived on Sunday, October 1, but don’t expect either to really be in full swing for about a week or so.