Italian architect and interior designer Fabrizio Casiraghi has redesigned the Drouant restaurant in Paris to update its Art Deco norms. As a pearl of the city, this historic building has recently reopened with the prix goncourt, a prestigious French literary festival held in its private salon since 1914.


It started as a simple tobacco bar, but the shop is full of French tradition. In the late 1920s, it became a gourmet resort, thanks in part to French designer emile-jacques ruhlmann, one of the representatives of French decorative arts in the early 20th century.


In 2018, the three brothers stéphane, thierry and laurent gardinier bought the restaurant, which also owns the French gourmet restaurant taillevent. Ruhrmann's original staircase is still a prominent feature, refurbished by Casiraghi's team-this is the only original feature that has stood the test of time.



"There is a strong sense of history in Drouant: that's Ruhrman," casiraghi said. "He designed this restaurant in the 1920s, but today only the stairs connecting the ground and the first floor. We could have decided to do a real historical reconstruction, or we decided to start from this heritage and create some modern, It's contemporary, but it uses some obvious Rulman design techniques: handles, chairs, some lamps. "