Chicago-based Japonais' splashy Asian design is making waves

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 22, 2003 by Lori Lohmeyer

CHICAGO -- With the recent debut of a host of upscale Asian restaurants in the Chicago area, including Sushi Samba, Wildfish and Opera, the owners of Japonais are banking on a unique design and innovative flavor pairings to give their restaurant a leg up on the competition.

Housed in the landmark Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House on the North Branch of the Chicago river, Japonais marries the angular lines of industrial Japan with the Old World elegance of Europe. The trapezoidlike, reinforced-concrete construction was built in 1908. To accommodate the 10,000-square-foot restaurant's unusual location and to entice repeat business, designer Jeffrey Beers of New York-based Jeffrey Beers International Inc. separated the space into four rooms. The 450-seat eatery features such design touches as a glass-backed waterfall, hand-painted wallpaper and Lucite chandeliers.

The restaurant's Asian-inspired menu, which was developed by Miae Lim and Rick Wahlstedt, features such entrees as seven-spice Kobe prime rib, uni hollandaise with satsumaimo pommes frites and chestnut chicken. In addition to a full wine and sake lineup, the restaurant has a sushi menu. Entrees at Japonais range from $19 to $45.

"The cuisine of the restaurant was very important in its successful harmony with the interior design," said Beers, who also is a partner in the restaurant. "The depth of the cuisine is equally explored with the depth of the design," he added. "I'm firmly rooted in the belief that a successful restaurant is a harmonious marriage between design vision, culinary vision and operational vision."

Despite the growing number of Asian-cuisine competitors in the Chicago area and its out-of-the-way location, Japonais is averaging 350 to 400 covers a night, said Lim, co-chef and co-owner. The average check at the restaurant varies from $50 to $80, she added. According to Beers, the restaurant is booked two to three months in advance. "It's doing much more [business] than we ever imagined it would," he said.

Separating the large restaurant into dining rooms helped provide a seamless service experience, Beers said. It also gave repeat visitors the ability to spice up their dining experience by going to a different room each time, he added. "Every room in the restaurant brings a different element, and those different elements shine on their own," Lim said. "It's a little bit of everything."

To showcase the restaurant's culinary offerings, designers highlighted each room with a main color to create a sense of purism, Beers said. Guests enter the restaurant through a metal-clad revolving door topped by a sheer red awning. The entryway features a glass-backed waterfall that flows in front of a red brick wall that is bordered by matte gold sheers.

The foyer is flanked by the restaurant's two main dining rooms. The room on the right, which features a raised dining platform and sushi bar, is called the Red Room because of its colorful accents. Red textured glass hangs over the sushi bar, tiger wood dining tables are paired with red patent leather chairs, and circular booths are covered with gold and red silk fabric. The other dining room, which is named the Green Room, is highlighted by a 32-seat square velvet ottoman that has a floral arrangement in the middle. To give the Green Room a more casual atmosphere, Beers added a brick and slate fireplace highlighted with copper touches.

Beers said the restaurant's color scheme was inspired by Asian cuisine, such as the colors of shellfish and tuna. "The variety of nature's own color palette is a great starting point for me as a designer," he noted.

Stairs from the main entryway lead guests down to the 75-seat lounge, which offers a full bar and light appetizers. The bar is highlighted by a brushed gold base and paired with lime green vinyl and mahogany barstools. Low orange and silver dual sofas are spread throughout the room to give it a contemporary atmosphere. Glass doors in the lounge open up to a 150-seat outdoor dining area with rattan furniture, sofas draped in white sheers and rocking chairs.

To help accent the restaurant's design, Beers employed a variety of lighting effects. In the lounge, for example, mirrors are backlit to give the space an intimate appeal. "Lighting is always very theatrical," Beers said. "I light materials and features and let those lighting effects drive the room."

DESIGN OF THE TIMES

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