Though famous for its hotdogs and deep-dish pizzas, Chicago’s F&B scene is more than just lip smacking street fare—a fact cousins Michael and Carrie Nahabedian have built their culinary careers upon. Following the Michelin star legacy of NAHA—their first Chicago eatery—the restaurateurs sought to branch off in a different direction with Brindille, a Parisian-style restaurant that references their first concept on a modern and intimate scale. The move paid off, as the acclaimed eatery won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant Design (Under 75 seats) earlier this year.
“Naming the restaurant was difficult,” explains project designer (and relative) Tom Nahabedian, a founding principal of locally based BUREAU of Architecture and Design. “Seeking cohesion, we thought it should be a French word reflective of what we were trying to accomplish,” Tom says. “Michael decided on Brindille—a beautiful French word for twig. It was a perfect reference to their company’s expansion, since a twig represents new growth.”
The team chose a 100-year-old, four-story building with three floors of apartments above the ground floor restaurant. A small, two-story addition was constructed at the rear of the building to house a walk-in cooler and other technical aspects. “We looked at many places in Chicago and other national locations to create another restaurant but finally settled on an intimate space one block from NAHA,” says Nahabedian.
Brindille is an opulent dining experience characterized by feminine qualities and soft design elements, such as a forest art piece, crafted by local artist Lora Fosberg, running the length of one wall in the dining room. “The idea of a high-end, Parisian jewelry store was always on my mind,” says Nahabedian, while the art piece was inspired by “laying on the forest floor at dusk.”
Though the design team originally envisioned the piece—emphasized with projector lights—in deep blue and violet tones, Fosberg conceived a textural alternative, carving the trees in plaster and highlighting them in lighter hues to contrast with the space’s deep violet silk wallcovering. The branch theme also extends into other aspects of the restaurant, including in light fixtures, serving pieces, and silverware.
Due to the small space, efficiency and flexible design were vital. Flanked by large glass display windows, the building’s deeply recessed central entrance took up valuable square footage needed for the dining room, so a new storefront and vestibule were constructed featuring a painted millwork façade that wraps around inside. The vestibule’s lithoverde stone chevron-patterned flooring is repeated in a larger format in the dining room and in the washroom, where a stained walnut-colored variety was used for the countertop.
The washroom also incorporates other elements from the dining area, such as the radius corners of the mirror that are mimicked in the coves of the pale pink coffered ceiling in the dining room, storefront, and plaster wall.
To save more space, the host stand was incorporated into the small bar area, itself complemented by a sinuous European-style banquette for additional seating. Another bar in the dining room was built at counter height and seats six. “We decided to do this lower than typical bar height, so that it would not overwhelm the small space,” says Nahabedian. Elsewhere, a dining cove sits under a plaster dome, referencing a similar space in NAHA.
Walnut used throughout is juxtaposed with antique finished brass found in the birdcage-like wire canopy over the entry vestibule, the banquette trimming, the host stand legs, along the bookshelves, and on washroom accessories. Board-formed concrete creates a contemporary bulkhead that contrasts with the historic structure.
“At Brindille I wanted the decorative lighting to play a significant role yet not overwhelm it, so I chose playful fixtures with a burst of glass objects—some illuminated and some not—that remind me of new plant growth. The larger fixtures also have an organic, plant-like quality that complements the restaurant’s name and art. The space is unified by all elements of the restaurant,” Nahabedian explains. “It’s probably what I’m most proud of.”
