Bentel & Bentel Designs Aldo Sohm Wine Bar in New York
For celebrating special occasions, New York’s Michelin-starred Le Bernardin is the ne plus ultra. Now Bentel & Bentel, Architects/Planners, which designed the restaurant, has completed a casual spin-off. Aldo Sohm Wine Bar, named after Le Bernardin’s sommelier, occupies 1,650 square feet around the corner, in the same postmodern building by Edward Larrabee Barnes Associates. Outfitted like a living room, the space centers on a generous custom sectional, illuminated by a constellation of crystal pendant orbs. Porcelain floor tile mimics rustic wood, and actual white oak forms floor-to-ceiling screens and shelving, the latter lined with all manner of objects belonging to Sohm, chef Eric Ripert, and co-owner Maguy Le Coze. Of course, like any sophisticated Manhattan salon, eclectic art hangs on the wall. There’s even a Sol LeWitt mural at the entrance.
