monsieur: bar with 'gothic medieval' interiors opens in new york

a medieval hideaway with a story to tell

Baz Luhrmann’s flair for cinematic maximalism has found a new stage — this time, in the heart of New York’s East Village. Monsieur, the newly opened bar at 86 East 4th Street, is an opulent tribute to the neighborhood’s bohemian past, infused with gothic grandeur and a theatrical story. A collaboration between Luhrmann, his Oscar-winning wife and designer Catherine Martin, and hospitality maven Jon Neidich, Monsieur conjures the spirit of its enigmatic namesake — a mythical 1970s nightlife impresario known only as Monsieur — while offering a space that is at once extravagant, nostalgic, and deeply rooted in New York’s artistic heritage.

images © Emily Andrews

a new york bar with theatrically opulent interiors

Stepping into the New York bar, Monsieur, is like stepping into a scene from one of Luhrmann’s films. The interiors are a stylistic hybrid of medieval motif and rock-and-roll decadence, an aesthetic that took shape after Luhrmann and Martin found themselves researching Joan of Arc for an upcoming project. That influence is apparent in the bar’s dramatic interiors: hand-carved walnut millwork, stained glass windows, candelabras casting flickering light onto custom tapestries, and a suit of armor enshrined in a glass case. Murano chandeliers hang from above, while cabinets of curiosities brim with relics that might have belonged to Monsieur himself — tokens of a life spent among the city’s creative elite.

Baz Luhrmann brings his cinematic maximalism to Monsieur, a new bar in the East Village

The Return of Downtown Cool

The legend of Monsieur, the bar envisioned by Luhrmann and Neidich, is one of intrigue and eccentricity in New York. A fixture of the downtown scene, Monsieur was said to have hosted legendary salons that attracted the likes of Andy Warhol and Lou Reed. His loyal companion, a pet chimp named Thibault, supposedly read Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita — a nod immortalized in the bar’s custom stained glass. Whether Monsieur ever truly existed is beside the point; what matters is the atmosphere he inspires. In true Luhrmann fashion, fact and fiction blur to create a mythology that feels more compelling than reality.

In a city where exclusivity has increasingly replaced spontaneity, Monsieur seeks to reclaim the spirit of New York’s once-rebellious nightlife. With private members’ clubs becoming ubiquitous, the East Village, long a haven for the avant-garde, has at times felt like a relic of its former self. But with Luhrmann, Martin, and Neidich at the helm, Monsieur offers a collision of artistry, history, and opulent excess.

a pet chimp named Thibault who supposedly read Bulgakov is honored in stained glass