Step Inside The MOST Iconic NYC Restaurant That's Been Hot for Nearly 40 Years & Counting
Since the 80s, Indochine’s menu and famous crowd have been forces to be reckoned with... 38 years later, the restaurant continues to dominate the NYC restaurant scene...
As far as restaurants go in New York City, there aren’t many that match the mystique of Indochine.
Source: Bond Official
The A-list clientele...
Madonna at the afterparty for “Don’t Bungle the Jungle” benefit at Undochine (photo by Patrick McMullan, 1989)
Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel and Kenny Scharf at the opening of Indochine (photo by Roxanne Lowit, 1984)
The iconic banana leaf wallpaper...
Source: Time Out Dubai
And the food. Ahhhh, the fabulous food.
Source: www.indochinefood.com
Indochine opened its doors in 1984 – 38 years ago.
And it’s hotter than ever.
How is that possible?
Jean-Marc Houmard, who started as a waiter, is one of the owners – and the only one customers really know because he’s always there – front of house.
Source: Air Mail
Just the other night, before I sat down for dinner with friends, I had a drink with Jean-Marc.
And over a glass of champagne, we talked about Indochine, the institution.
“IT WAS ALL THE STUDIO 54 FACES”
ALINA CHO: You’ve been here since almost the beginning. I mean, everyone who’s anyone has been to Indochine. What was it like back in the ‘80s?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: I mean, it was every [famous person] who was around at that time.
Iman and friend (photo by Roxanne Lowit, 1989)
Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley (photo by Roxanne Lowit, 1989)
And it was part of that downtown scene.
Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley dancing with Elizabeth Saltzman / In the background, New York Time’s fashion director Anne Christensen (photo by Roxanne Lowit, 1991)
It was a very niche scene because, before the internet, you had to be in the know to go to the right places.
Nan Goldin and friends (RL) / Drew Barrymore and music producer/rapper FabFive Freddy (courtesy of Sue Quan ©) / Interview’s Glenn O’Brien and wife Gina Nanni (PMc) / Aerin Lauder and husband Eric Zinterhofer
ALINA CHO: Yeah, exactly.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: It was only the right people who went to the few restaurants of the moment…
Christy Turlington (photo by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, 2004)
ALINA CHO: … that were cool.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: I remember coming as a customer first, even before I worked here, and the first night I came, I remember a big table with Halston and his posse. Then, there was Bianca Jagger and Calvin [Klein] in one of the booths. It was all the Studio 54 faces that you can imagine…
ALINA CHO: They were here.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Because the Studio had closed by then, everybody gravitated to restaurants from the clubs. And then the restaurants became where everybody went.
“CALVIN KLEIN DECIDED INDOCHINE WAS BACK"
ALINA CHO: Tell me about the memorable moments you've witnessed here at Indochine, because there have been so many.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: I mean, there's always been a lot of celebrities.
ALINA CHO: Calvin Klein had his birthday here, right?
Calvin Klein (photo by Patrick Demarchelier, 2003)
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Yes, of course. And Calvin hosted the birthday for his then wife, Kelly, here. It was the mid ‘90s, we had just taken over and the restaurant was not at its apex anymore. People had moved on to other restaurants. And I always say the fact that Calvin Klein decided Indochine was back, that he threw a party for his wife, it was a turning point for us.
ALINA CHO: It put you on the map again.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Right. It was not obvious that it was going to work. And this was a validation.
THE SPRING ROLLS, THE RAVIOLI, THE SPICY BEEF SALAD
ALINA CHO: The menu is so iconic.
Photo by Jessica Craig-Martin, 2009
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: We have to have the staples that were here from day one, for sure.
ALINA CHO: So, tell me, are the same things that I love still the most popular dishes on the menu?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: I'm sure. The ravioli, the spring rolls, the beef salad, the sea bass.
Photo by Jessica Craig-Martin
I mean, we try to add new dishes…
ALINA CHO: Well, you did add. I read that you added the barbecue chicken during the pandemic.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Exactly. I mean, the menu has changed, I would say fifty percent, but without people realizing it, because it's like one dish every two years.
ALINA CHO: Right.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: And we always keep the classics that people order. But I think it's good to keep current. I think the culinary scene has evolved a lot in New York in 35 years.
Source: The New York Times
ALINA CHO: How so?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: I mean, some things that were so novel back then are not novel anymore.
ALINA CHO: Such as?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Just take sushi. I mean, there were a few Japanese restaurants downtown, but it was not mainstream back then. It was very niche.
ALINA CHO: Wow.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: And Vietnamese restaurants, outside of Chinatown, they were a novelty. It was not really that far from the end of the Vietnam War. So, in people's minds, Vietnam was still something very exotic and you didn't really know the food. Now, [the dishes] are pretty common.
ALINA CHO: That's right.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: So, I think it's important to keep things exciting.
ALINA CHO: And fresh. That’s so interesting that you slip in new dishes without people even noticing.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Oh yeah, yeah. It’s funny, we've taken away some dishes and replaced them. There was an uproar. It was like a riot.
ALINA CHO: Like what?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: The chef tried to take away the spicy chicken and replace it with a different version of it. And people were…
ALINA CHO: They were not having it.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Oh no, no, no. So, we had to put it back within two weeks.
LOOK OUT MIAMI — THERE COULD BE AN INDOCHINE COMING YOUR WAY
ALINA CHO: You mentioned there's an Indochine in Dubai.
Source: Time Out Dubai
Is it a franchise?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Yes, but it's with private owners. I didn’t want to do it with a big company. So, it's two young guys who understand the DNA of Indochine, and they recreated it very well, actually.
Source: Architectural Digest Middle East
ALINA CHO: I guess my question is, would you ever open another Indochine? And if so, where?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Sure, sure. I mean, I've been thinking about Miami, especially lately, because it's not too far from New York.
ALINA CHO: Florida's so hot right now.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Florida's very hot and every person who comes from Miami to Indochine says, "Why aren't you opening there?" Because it's booming right now. So, it’s definitely something I'm considering, hopefully in the next couple of years with local partners.
ALINA CHO: Is that in the works?
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: I'm talking to a couple of people, so we'll see.
ALINA CHO: At the end of the day, Indochine is such a special place.
Watercolor by Ruben Toledo, 2009
You must be so proud to be a part of it.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: And what I'm also very proud of is that it's not just for people my age. People who are 30 years younger think that this place is still cool.
ALINA CHO: Every generation somehow seems to find it.
JEAN-MARC HOUMARD: Right, right. And for me, that's the biggest compliment.