The Elysian Bar Will Open in the Marigny With Big Names at the Helm

The Elysian Bar will open this October in the Peter & Paul Hotel in the Marigny with the folks from Bacchanal wine bar behind it. They’ve tapped Alex Harrell, formerly of beloved (by Sofia Coppola too) contemporary Southern stunner Angeline restaurant, to run the kitchen, reports Todd Price.

Bacchanal has turned heads since it opened as a neighborhood old-world wine and cheese shop with a big backyard for imbibing and shooting the breeze, often to the tunes of a local band. It provided a spot for displaced local chefs to cook after Katrina, setting up a makeshift outdoor kitchen that ended up slinging some of the most exciting food at the time. Since then, it’s expanded to two levels, cocktails, and a permanent kitchen and full-time chef. Recently, the James Beard Foundation took notice: Bacchanal was a finalist in the 2018 Outstanding Wine Program category.

For The Elysian Bar, Bacchanal tapped former Angeline chef and owner, Alex Harrell, to run the kitchen. Harrell, originally from Alabama, made his name as the opening chef at Sylvain before moving on in 2014 to open the critically praised Angeline with creative takes on Southern staples. This time, he tells Price, he’s taking his food to a “new level of creativity and evolution” at The Elysian Bar.

The boutique hotel, from Brooklyn-based ASH NYC and Nathalie Jordi (who is married to Times Pic writer Brett Anderson) is taking shape in what was a historic church, school, rectory, and convent on Burgundy. The school made an appearance in John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces.

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• Chef Alex Harrell Teams with Bacchanal at New Marigny Hotel [NOLA.COM]
• Angeline Restaurant Will Leave Its Home in the French Quarter [ENOLA]
• Angeline’s Chef Alex Harrell Just Announced His New Restaurant [ENOLA]
• All Angeline Coverage [ENOLA]
• All Bacchanal Coverage [ENOLA]
• Chef Alex Harrell Drops Plans To Take Over Marigny’s The Franklin [NOLA.COM]
• New Orleans’ 2018 James Beard Finalists [ENOLA]
• Sofia Coppola’s Guide to New Orleans [ENOLA]