Printemps in FiDi isn't exactly a department store, though it does house the high-fashion brands you might find in one. Instead the French import is more of a building-sized display case for beautiful blouses, $2,000 handbags, and a limited-edition Nike collab (available exclusively at this location, of course).  

If Printemps is more showroom than shop, then its flagship restaurant Maison Passerelle is more of a showcase for excellent food than a place to relax and enjoy a meal. With its intricately tiled floors, and lighting bright enough for handbag browsing, the big dining room extends naturally from the Beauty Corridor with its Champagne Bar, and the Red Room with its historic Art Deco interiors and new “shoe forest."

Even if Passerelle feels less like a dinner destination than a stop between Margiela and Manolo Blahnik, the food is as exquisite (and as expensive) as the evening gowns beyond the door. Asian, Caribbean and French elements come together seamlessly in the open kitchen, run by the chef from Kann, one of our top-rated restaurants in Portland, Oregon.

An amuse bouche of pastel-orange tomato soup, spiked with coconut milk and slivers of pickled jalapeño, tastes like a brilliant tom kha gai. A warm mini-loaf of plantain bread—gluten-free, like everything else on the menu—deserves full attention, even if the couple next to you seem more wrapped up in Italian villa rental negotiations.

Something as mundane sounding as roast chicken comes out with skin as brittle as crème brulee, coated in harrisa jus and a paste of preserved lemon and castelvetrano olives. Two servers in matching neckties pour tamarind sauce over stunning slices of duck. You might even feel like applauding, if someone in a $450 t-shirt weren't loudly asking how long the Haitian chocolate dessert will take because they're in a rush to visit the Apothecary department.

Maison Passerelle works best for Printemps diehards who need a meal after browsing, tourists wandering in after a visit to the 9/11 Memorial, and Wall Street professionals with expense accounts who've been to Le Gratin a few too many times. We appreciate the beautiful food here, even though the entire experience can feel a little precious, like an outfit that's meant to be seen but not worn.