High-profile hotels have been showplaces for ambitious cooking ever since Auguste Escoffier and César Ritz made their famous pact back in the 1890s. But as a new wave of restaurateurs (April Bloomfield, Danny Meyer, and David Chang, to name just a few) are discovering, there are Faustian aspects to this age-old bargain. Yes, you get plenty of free exposure for your new project, along with a semi-prominent location and address. If you’re lucky, you also get a hefty cut in rent (no small lure these days) and a sizable, built-in clientele who are looking for a convenient, respectable place to eat. On the other hand, you may find yourself orchestrating hundreds of room-service breakfasts every morning, the way Bloomfield and her staff at the Breslin do in the Ace Hotel. Your built-in clientele may be slightly stodgier than the riotous crowds who fill the hopping little bandbox restaurants downtown (hello, Mr. Chang), and the room you’re stuck with may be awkwardly laid out in all sorts of clumsy, unforeseen ways (see the Breslin, again, or L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Seasons).
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