Remember Maison Tavern? Its Grand Opening is Thursday (Cue Golf Claps)

[Photo: A. Garland]

It has been a while since Maison Tavern made any headlines (mostly for being super mysterious). Maybe that's because it was intended to open back in April, along with its alter-ego Aston Manor, a nightclub which opened this past July in SoDo. Well, Maison Tavern is finally holding its grand opening this week after scoring that elusive liquor license.

The place is a bit confusing because, while attached to Aston Manor, it's considered a separate entity — a bar and mezzanine upstairs. As the GM once described it: "It will be open for after work drinks, cocktails, girls night, happy hour Monday through Friday. Then, the entire venue will open up as Aston Manor. When we open up as Aston Manor, Maison Tavern becomes a VIP area complete with table-side service. There's a bookcase that moves that separates the two rooms. There will be a host there who separates the VIPs from general admission."

Got it?

The big deal with this place is the consulting chef: Bryan Ogden. He's the hot-shot son of James Beard Award winning chef Bradley Ogden. Back in March, the younger Ogden told Eater that he was intrigued by the Maison Tavern concept:

It kind of goes hand-in-hand with my style of food: everything is from scratch, made in-house, all natural, really sourcing out the best raw ingredients. Really, the focal point here is the cocktails, but maybe with my influence, the food can be a little competitive in that notion. But it just sounded like a really exciting project.

It's kind of refined comfort food. We're doing a lot of small plates, flatbreads — its' pretty straight forward. The emphasis is on ingredients, and I think once people come in and try the food, they'll notice the quality ingredients and execution and I think it'll be a perfect fit and complement to the cocktail program.

A little about this Bryan character: He attended the Culinary Institute of America and has worked for chefs Michel Richard, Charlie Trotter and Alice Waters, in addition to his dad.

Want to try the food here? It's pretty much one big bar menu ranging from lighter fare to heartier dishes. Maison Tavern will be open Monday-Friday, 11 am to 7 pm (happy hour 4 to 7 pm) after its grand opening this Thursday.
· Maison Tavern [Official Site]
· Aston Manor & Maison Tavern: Behind the Bookcase [~ESEA~]