F Pigalle

Fondue Restaurant & Bar

Inspired by his time living in Quartier Pigalle, Paris, Chef Sam Marvin of LA’s Bottega Louie fame approached Mystery’s Founder, LA-based Dan Einzig to help fulfil his long-held dream of creating a fondue restaurant concept inspired by the Parisian red light district of the same name.

The goal of this site is to act as the pilot venue for what is hoped will become a scalable model, with the potential for an F Pigalle in major urban city centers. With its value-driven fixed-price menu alongside the ability to upscale spend with a world-class cocktail, F Pigalle has been fashioned as part of what we see as a growing trend for ‘event casual’ restaurants, where there is a significant step up from a purely dining experience. Customers experience their meal in an environment akin to a party or event.

The project required a full refit of the former pizza restaurant, with a turnaround of 10 weeks from concept to launch and a super tight budget!

F Pigalle restaurant concept

The new fondue restaurant and cocktail bar is aimed at a mix of locals, hipsters and tourists. Einzig acted as Creative Director, helping to realise Marvin’s vision, overseeing collaborations with local street artists, decorators, designers and signage fabricators.

The restaurant is hidden behind a neon sex shop facade with a reception space akin to a vintage bordello; a reception desk fashioned from an antique display case full of 'exotic' toys and a vintage cabinet displaying a collection of antique glass baby bottles!

Why baby bottles? Well, it all stems from the time in France when Napoleon declared a tax on wine glasses. To circumvent the taxation, certain less-salubrious establishments started serving wine from baby bottles. So naturally F Pigalle has revived this tradition and unsurprisingly, is causing a stir.

F Pigalle restaurant interior design

The interior design for this restaurant mixes French boudoir with punky urban street art to create a unique environment appropriate for the ‘F you’ attitude that plays loud music, seats guests shoulder to shoulder on small tables and serves wine from glass baby bottles. All of this adds up to an experience you won't forget. It's probably not to everyone's taste, but with delicious Fondue pots priced at only $25/head including wine, it is to everyone's purse. It's for people who want to party.

At the rear of the restaurant is a red-lit walled courtyard containing a cocktail bar and a collection of vintage Parisian drawing room furniture, worn Persian rugs and provocative cushions. A bespoke timber deck steps up in a corner acting as a communal lounging area reminiscent of French Indochinese opium dens.

With world class cocktail mixology presented in unique vessels, the drinks list is short, yet inspiring.  Using grass-fed beef and truffle fries, the fondue experience is being gastronomically elevated along with the cocktails and the overall brand experience.

Since launch, this sexy, social casual dining concept has been a huge hit with the locals and tourists alike, with the restaurant and bar being packed to its flamboyantly silk parasol bedecked ceilings every night until the early hours.

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