Five new eateries for art lovers

Audrey, Nashville 

Sean Brock’s new flagship restaurant is a love letter to his Appalachian heritage – the menu is packed with native seed varieties, meat is reared locally and the interior feels akin to an old American tobacco barn. Named after the chef’s maternal grandmother, the restaurant also forms the background for Brock’s art collection, including abstract watercolours by contemporary painter Mary Mooney and works by the late American folk artist Mose Tolliver. Take it all in with Brock’s signature style of southern cooking. audreynashville.com

Esmé, Chicago

For the next two months, diners at Lincoln Park-based Esmé can enjoy a 12-course tasting menu beside the work of local photographer Paul Octavious. Initially opened in August last year, the restaurant promises an artistic take on the traditional fine dining experience, with each course inspired by a different work – think beetroot prepared three different ways (a nod to Octavious’s series capturing Chicago’s Cricket Hill at different times of year), and a dish based on a photograph of feathery clouds. Keep your ears pricked for a second artist collaboration coming later this year. esmechicago.com

The Painter’s Room, Claridge’s, London

Sandwiched between the ballroom and David Downton’s Talking Heads Gallery, this intimate hideaway is a tribute to Claridge’s art deco roots. At its centre is a pink onyx bar, where guests can order a selection of art-inspired cocktails – particularly popular is the Saint Remy, a variation on a martini inspired by Van Gogh’s Almond Blossom – and snack-style small plates. Extra flourishes include a stained glass mural by British artist Annie Morris and the bleu de travail jackets worn by the bar staff – a nod to American photographer Bill Cunningham. claridges.co.uk

Halle aux Grains, Paris

At the top of the Bourse de Commerce, where last year French businessman François Pinault deployed some of his collection of 5,000 works, the ceiling gives way to a painted rotunda, its elaborate lines offset by a smooth restoration from Tadao Ando. It’s here, in the rafters of the former granary, that father-and-son duo Michel and Sébastien Bras have opened the museum’s new restaurant, where visitors can dine with a clean view of Paris. Clues to the building’s history are peppered throughout, from the artist-designed cutlery to the stoneware ceramics. halleauxgrains.bras.fr

Sketch, London

Having exhibited works by Tracey Emin, Chris Levine and over 200 drawings by David Shrigley, Mayfair’s Sketch is as much a gallery as it is a (three-Michelin-starred) restaurant. Now in its 20th year, the restaurant will be reimagined by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, who has created 15 works in his signature Dutch wax batik pattern for the occasion. The works – five hand-carved masks and 10 quilts that replicate African masks found in Picasso’s collection – will look down on diners in the main Gallery room, their brightly dyed fabrics offset by a new yellow design scheme from project architect India Mahdavi. sketch.london