Keeping Things Casual The concept of fine dining establishments opening more casual outlets has taken off, bumping up the accessibility to their brand name. Here are a few: L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Owned by maestro-chef Joel Robuchon, the restaurant, serving modern French cuisine, is more intimate and casual than the chef’s eponymous, opulent counterpart in Las Vegas. Located in Paris, Tokyo, New York, Las Vegas, London, and Hong Kong, L’Atelier offers a counter-seating arrangement, which surrounds an open kitchen. www.joel-robuchon.com Ad-Hoc, Bouchon Bakery Meant to be a temporary restaurant experimenting on the marriage of hamburgers and wines, Ad-Hoc, owned by American chef Thomas Keller captured diners’ hearts, and made itself into a permanent deal. www.adhocrestaurant.com Momofuku Ko Renowned American chef, David Chang, owns the Momofuku group of restaurants. Last year, Chang opened Momofuku Ko (‘ko’ means ‘son’ or ‘child’ in Japanese) in New York, a 12-seater eatery with food served over the bar. Reservations for this place — which serves American cuisine — have to be done online. www.momofuku.com Iggy’s Despite its refined culinary background, Singapore’s most acclaimed restaurant takes a cosy approach to fine dining, with 50 seats in the house and (the very popular) 13 seats tucked at a bar counter, where all the culinary action is. www.iggys.com.sg

On Your Marks Be it blazing trails or setting boardroom records, sporting a chronograph will keep you right on track. We suss out these robust examples.