St Tropez

A glamorous name for no-fuss cuisine in New York

It's Wednesday afternoon at the restaurant St Tropez, where we get ready for dinner. In the oven and in the mill since the opening of the restaurant-wine bar in early December, the owner Yohann Pecheux takes the opportunity to swallow a sausage sandwich, while the chef Gérald Barthélémy is busy in the small open kitchen. ”I don't even have time to eat“, smiles Yohann Pecheux.

Originally from Lavandou, near Saint-Tropez, he teamed up with the Vichyssois chef and two other French people from New York to bring this little piece of Provence to West 4th Street. Featuring a large bay window, the bright space is located in front of charming townhouses and is decorated with wood from floor to ceiling, including tables and chairs. This choice of decor is supposed to evoke the warm atmosphere of a Provençal farm. ”The name St Tropez is misleading. In people's minds, it evokes rhinestones and glitter. But where I come from, I grew up with the values of sharing, big tables and good products. We don't serve champagne magnums here“, underlines Yohann Pecheux.

He had planned to open a restaurant in New York for several years. Yohann Pecheux, a former firefighter in Marseille and manager of a brewery in Aix-en-Provence, was encouraged by friends to start in the Big Apple. Arrived in 2012, he worked at the wine bar. Aria in the West Village before plunging into the St Tropez adventure. ”I had experience, but banks almost stopped lending in France. In New York, access to credit was easier and I was attracted to the city”.

One of his current partners, Fabien Pichard, put him in contact with Gérald Barthélémy. The latter won a Michelin star in the kitchens of the Elysées, a restaurant at the Hotel Vernet in Paris (renamed Le V). He arrived two months ago from Montreal, where he ran the kitchen at Taverne Gaspar. The project is timely. Coming to Uncle Sam's country was a dream that the chef and his wife had dreamed of for a long time. ”In the United States, you still get recognition when you work. In France, it's still Old Europe. It's impossible for me to open in France“, he assures.

St Tropez can accommodate 44 customers in the dining room and 16 at the bar. The restaurant has a communal table for twelve people located near the kitchen. The menu includes dishes that smell of the South (Provençal stew, stuffed Niçois, sea bass in tapenade, tropézienne...). No dish costs more than 17 dollars. 45 wines by the glass are on the menu. ”Nothing here comes from Restaurant Depot (central shopping center for restaurants in New York, editor's note)“, underlines Yohann Pecheux. ”We preferred to reduce our margins and offer a quality product. Camembert comes from Normandy, cheddar from England, Fourme d'Ambert comes from Ambert... Here I found that Rungis side of proximity to real suppliers., adds Gérald Barthélémy. In 20 years, when we went to eat right and left, we felt so insulted that we didn't want to do the same to our customers again.”.