Shortly after earning Florida one of the state’s first Michelin stars, chef Thomas Keller is already working on expanding his Miami footprint. Next up is Bouchon. The French bistro that has locations in Yountville and Las Vegas will open a restaurant in early 2023 inside Coral Gables’ historic La Palma building at 2102 Galiano St.
Originally built in 1924 as one of Cora Gables’ first hotels, the La Palma building was bought for $4.8 million in 2018 by developers Jose “Pepe” Ortega and Marc Schwarzberg, who’ve been revitalizing and refurbishing the area with new art installations and businesses.
“We looked at it and fell in love,” Keller told Miami Herald. “We don’t look at market research. It was strictly because of the location and its history…. Bouchon is a neighborhood restaurant and we want it to be part of the Coral Gables neighborhood.”
While many of Keller’s restaurants are typically more upscale affairs, Bouchon is his most approachable offering. “People always ask me why do I like Bouchon, and I say that it ticks off all the boxes. You can have chicken, a bowl of soup, a salad, or a steak. You can walk into Bouchon not knowing what you want and be satisfied. It hits home with all walks of life,” chef Ross Melling tells Miami New Times.
Melling is the director of culinary development and operations at Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Bouchon specializes in comforting French fare, such as steak frittes or oysters. Melling says that the Coral Gables will serve location-specific items based on seasonality, so the menu will change three to four times a year with the help of chef de cuisine Thomas Castellon, who has had a hand in Surf Club Restaurant in Surfside.
For more information, visit www.thomaskeller.com and follow @bouchon_bistro on Instagram for updates.
