The Maisonette (1949-2005) was

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

's most highly rated restaurant before it closed.

History

The Maisonette was opened by Nathan L. Comisar in 1949 in the basement space beneath La Normandie, also owned by Comisar, in the Fountain Square Building in Cincinnati. Comisar named the restaurant after a club by the same name in the

St. Regis Hotel St. Regis Hotels & Resorts is a luxury hotel chain owned and managed by Marriott International. History In 1904, John Jacob Astor built the St. Regis New York as a sister property to his part-owned Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Exhibiting luxury and ...

in New York City. In 1964 it was awarded its first Mobil 5-star award. In 1966 both restaurants were moved to East Sixth St, with The Maisonette at street level and La Normandie in the basement. The Maisonette was a fine-dining restaurant, but in the mid-1990s it relaxed its dress code.

Owners

* Nathan Comisar (1949) * Vallie Karrick Comisar and Lee Comisar (1949-1964) * Lee Comisar and Michael J. Comisar, the sons of the founder (1964-xxxx) * Nat Comisar and Michael E. Comisar, the sons of Lee Comisar and Michael J. Comisar (xxxx-2003) * Nat Comisar (2003-2005)

Chefs

* Maurice Gorodesky (1953-1956) * Pierre Adrian (1956-1972) * Georges Haidon (1972-1993) *

Jean-Robert de Cavel Jean-Robert de Cavel (September 12, 1961 – December 23, 2022) was a French-American chef active primarily in Cincinnati. He was chef de cuisine at The Maisonette from 1993 to 2002, executive chef at Jean-Robert at Pigall's from 2002 to 2009, ...

(1994-2001) * Bertrand Bouquin (2001-2005)

Cuisine and recognition

Serving

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

and owned by the Comisar family and located since 1966 at 114 E. 6th Street in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, the Maisonette received the five-star award (the highest designation given by

Mobil Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide (formerly known as Mobil Guide or Mobil Travel Guide) is a star rating service and online travel guide for hotels, restaurants and spas. In 2011, Forbes Travel Guide published its last set of guidebooks and on November 15, 201 ...

) forty-one years in a row, the longest streak for any North American restaurant.

Closure

Opinions vary on the cause of Maisonette's decline. There were fewer customers who wanted to dress for dinner, fewer corporations willing to cover expensive business lunches, operating costs increased, and the City of Cincinnati refused to offer it a tax break. The Maisonette had plans to move to Cincinnati's Kenwood suburb, where it hoped to attract a younger crowd; however, the Hamilton County Planning Commission rejected zoning for the proposed Sycamore Square project, a $60 million development that was to include a relocated Maisonette as the anchor tenant. The Frost Brown Todd law firm purchased the rights to the name The Maisonette for an unnamed client for $35,000 after the restaurant closed in 2005. In 2013, the Phoenix Restaurant Group acquired the trademark.

Space

In 2013 David Falk's restaurant Boca moved into the space formerly occupied by The Maisonette and Sotto into the space formerly occupied by La Normandie.

Noted dishes

The

lobster bisque Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth (coulis) of crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, langoustine, crab, shrimp or crayfish. Alongside chowder, bisque is one of the most po ...

, chateaubriand jardiniere,

brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

en croute, Dover sole, raspberry chicken and cafe brulot were noted dishes. *

Awards

* Distinguished Restaurants of North America *

Five Star Award * Restaurants and Institutions Ivy Award *

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

Four Diamond Award *

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

Award of Excellence *

Grand Award Top 100 *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maisonette Restaurants in Cincinnati Restaurants disestablished in 2005 Defunct restaurants in Ohio Defunct companies based in Cincinnati 2005 disestablishments in Ohio 1949 establishments in Ohio Restaurants established in 1949