Gold Coast Lounge La Grande Vie Opens Quietly

La Grande Vie, a Gold Coast cocktail lounge and restaurant, opened quietly this past weekend. Manager James Kupka told Eater the spot emphasizes classic cocktails and small appetizers. And while cocktails are the focus, a full American menu is available that contains many of the usual suspects like mussels with garlic and shallots, tuna nicoise salad and marinated hanger steak.

Located on the second floor of a residential building at 215 E. Chestnut, La Grande Vie aims to draw in neighbors and power lunches during the day, and the see-and-be-seen crowd at night. But Ricardo Sebastian, head of Luxury Management, a consulting group that works with La Grande Vie, insists the vibe is free of the usual Gold Coast pretension. "People feel intimidated when a restaurant is chic and you can't pronounce what's on the menu," he said. "We wanted to veer away from that. It's a place to chill and hang out."
— Mindy Yahr Jaffe
· La Grande Vie [Official Site]
[Photo via La Grande Vie]