The Mediterranean-inspired menu harkens back to Robinson’s first restaurant, Café Zoë, a much-loved (and much-lamented) Lafayette Square spot that featured contemporary American cuisine with Asian influences. Executive chef Ny Vongsaly has even updated a few of the dishes from that first venture, such as the mahogany-glazed spare ribs.
The small menu is big
Baked quail eggs are served in elegant copper pans topped with roasted tomatoes on the vine, eggplant relish and microgreens with brioche toast. Whole-roasted red snapper is prepared simply with lime leaves and a cilantro salsa verde. A lemongrass and lime leaf pork dumpling soup is rich with
A simple, yet sophisticated cocktail menu offers fun, modern twists of old classics.
The "Seoul 75" features Korean grapefruit soju (vodka) in lieu of Champagne, alongside gin and lemon juice. The "Oaxacan Old Fashioned" swaps whiskey for the expected tequila and mezcal. "Manhattan’s Rebellion" is slightly sweeter than a traditional Manhattan with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, cappelletti and orange bitters, while the "Old Pal" offers a spin on the
A brief, but broad, wine list focuses on New World wines from California, Washington, Oregon, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and Australia. Beverage program manager Will Brawley describes the selection as “fun stuff off the beaten path.”
Brawley is especially excited about the sipping menu, which features exclusive small-batch, artisanal spirits for enjoying slowly before, during or after a meal. The carefully curated menu includes aged tequila and mezcal,
As with Robinson’s other restaurants, the food, drinks, ambiance
The 32-seat restaurant is located just down the street from Robinson’s two other restaurants (she sold off her third, Bobo Noodle House, to an employee in 2015). “I had coveted the space for years, begging the landlord to sell,” admits Robinson. “There’s a window in the back that is very New York. I knew I could create something around that and make it feel like it felt to me.”
That window inspired a warm, contemporary design Robinson describes as “dark, mysterious and sexy.” The walls are lined with prints from acclaimed New York modern artist Robin Motherwell and celebrity photographer Harry Benson. Soft spotlights shine on each table to create intimacy and a private little world.
But while the Michael Jackson song of the same name might be a suitably seductive namesake, Billie Jean is named in tribute to Robinson’s parents — her mother Billie and her father Jean — just as Bar Les Frères (“little sons” in French) and I Fratellini (“the little brothers” in Italian) are named for her sons.
Billie Jean is open Tuesday through Saturday beginning at 5 p.m.
Scroll down for additional photos of the restaurant and menu.
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