Michelin-honored Palo Alto chef will open a French bistro in San Francisco

Bruno Chemel planning summer debut for Le Parc Bistrobar

Chef-restaurateur Bruno Chemel, a longtime holder of two Michelin stars in Palo Alto, has announced he will open a French bistro in San Francisco this summer.

His planned project, Le Parc Bistrobar, will return a French menu to the restaurant attached to the Galleria Park Hotel on Sutter Street. The previous tenant, Gaspar Brasserie, closed during the pandemic.

Look for such brasserie classics as coq au vin, grilled steak, charcuterie, pates and salmon tartare. For desserts, Chemel is thinking creme brulee, chocolate mousse and an ile flottante.

Le Parc will feature seating for 130 patrons on two levels.

Last August, after running high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants in Palo Alto for 14 years, he and his wife, Christie Ledesma Chemel, closed their second act — Bistronomie by Baumé — and thanked longtime diners for their support but didn’t hint at their next culinary move.

His original California Avenue concept, Baumé, where the focus was molecular gastronomy, earned a Michelin star its first year in existence, then was elevated to two stars. For the next several years, Baumé became what was believed to be the world’s only two-person staff to hold two Michelin stars.

Chemel, who was born an hour’s drive from the Michelin headquarters in France, graduated from culinary school in Moulins and the Lenotre Pastry Academy in Paris. He worked at numerous Michelin-starred restaurants in that country before coming to the United States. In the Bay Area, he opened La Suite in San Francisco and earned a Michelin star at Chez TJ in Mountain View.

Details: 185 Sutter St., San Francisco. The website, www.leparcbistrobar.com, is still under construction.