Sotheby’s Marcel Restaurant Combines Fine Dining with Dinosaur Displays

Sotheby's has opened a new restaurant named Marcel, which offers diners an unusual pairing of fine French cuisine and prominent art displays, including a Tyrannosaurus rex tooth. The restaurant, located within the auction house's building on Madison Avenue, aims to integrate art and luxury into the dining experience.

Marcel's decor features mohair-upholstered booths, walnut-paneled walls, and original metal lamps, designed by architect Marcel Breuer. The dining room, bar, and adjacent areas are adorned with works of art, many of which are available for auction. These displays are curated by a committee within Sotheby's private sales division, ensuring a rotating selection of interesting pieces.

"Their responsibility is to work with Marcel so there’s something interesting on display at all times," explained Lisa Dennison, chairman of Sotheby's North and South America. The art ranges from abstract compositions by artists like Ellsworth Kelly to sculptures and paintings by Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, John Chamberlain, and Renoir. A Robert Indiana aluminum "Love" sculpture is also among the featured works.

An art historian and former Sotheby's president, Mari-Claudia Jimenez, noted that Marcel aligns with Sotheby's strategy to sell not only art but also luxury items, such as a dinosaur skeleton. The displays are intended to give patrons a sense of how they might integrate such unique items into their own lives.

The restaurant itself is helmed by chef-co-owner Marie-Aude Rose, who also co-owns La Mercerie. Rose's menu focuses on classic French dishes, with popular items including endive salad, beef tartar, and Dover sole meunière. Some of the more eclectic offerings that have drawn repeat orders are a paprika-seasoned Hungarian-style chicken and a Provençal-influenced orecchiette pasta.

The interior design, a collaboration between the restaurant's owners and Sotheby's, was conceived by designer Robin Alesch and her husband Stephen Alesch of architectural firm Roma and Williams. They aimed to reflect the building's Brutalist architecture, creating a space that feels like a "private club, but a very democratic one that’s open to everyone."

Notable guests who have dined at Marcel include Michael Bloomberg, Woody Allen, Ronan Farrow, Sofia Coppola, Jodie Foster, Chloe Sevigny, Miuccia Prada, and various real estate moguls. The displays, including a T. rex tooth that costs between $40,000 and $60,000, are a part of Sotheby's broader strategy to showcase high-value items in unique contexts.

Sotheby's is also auctioning a nearly complete 67-million-year-old T. rex skeleton, nicknamed "Gus," with an opening price of $20 million to $30 million. The presence of such significant pieces, both for sale and on display, underscores the auction house's innovative approach to marketing and client engagement.