The smart travel advice is to visit Paris in the fall — when the crowds of tourists have packed up and parks like the Jardin de Luxembourg are a sea of golden hues. Thankfully, those who miss this ideal three-month window now have a chance to experience a taste of Parisian autumn all year long. Designed by Paris interiors studio Bateaumagne, the French capital’s Oktobre restaurant is a tribute to fresh air and falling leaves.

Specifically, the designers focused their concept around the unseasonably warm days that pop up throughout the calendar’s tenth month, when surprisingly balmy temperatures inspire a fresh appreciation for the great outdoors. 

It’s no shock that the European culinary world has a serious appreciation for harvest time, given its bounty of rich ingredients. But building Oktobre around the idea of changing seasons has some added poetic resonance. The restaurant is an evolution of Kitchen Galerie Bis, a beloved destination originally run by chef William Ledeuil. After Ledeuil departed, associate chef Martin Maumet took over the business and embarked on a gradual transformation — keeping many of the same team members, but developing a new menu and fresh visual identity.

Unveiled, appropriately, in October, the finished space embraces a material palette evocative of fall’s signature colours and natural textures. Walls covered in plant paper capture the crisp feel of dried grass, while borders of glossy brown ceramic tiles call to mind the slick leaves that coat the ground after a rainstorm. Working with the same factory that produced these tiles, Bateaumagne developed a row of custom wall lights finished in a matching glaze. 

The space maintains the same general flow as its predecessor, characterized by two rooms separated by a very thick wall. To minimize the visual impact of this partition, the design team clad it entirely in mirrored paneling, which serves to amplify rather than compete with the other finishes. Doorways framed in smoked oak maintain intuitive navigation.

Another prominent visual accent arrives in the form of the restaurant’s black-and-beige striped banquettes, upholstered in a Dedar fabric that delivers an autumnal variation on the navy-and-white lounge chairs that characterize summer beach days. In another clever design move, the backs of the banquettes lining the passageway between the two dining rooms integrate ample storage space for glassware and menus.

The bathrooms continue the seasonal stroll, with rust-coloured doors leading to stalls that combine terrazzo tiles with smoked-oak paneling. As in the dining areas, wall-mounted vases celebrate the art of fall foraging with filled with dried grass bouquets from Atelier Lamarck.

While the rest of Paris prepares for the transition to winter by stringing up holiday lights or digging out their winter boots, Oktobre restaurant remains wonderfully frozen at the peak of fall. Long live harvest season.