L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is located in the Four Seasons Hotel on 57th Street between Park and Madison Avenues. It's located in the old 5757 space, which is at the rear of the hotel, near its 58th Street entrance. If you want to feel the grandeur of entering the hotel, by all means enter on 57th Street and walk toward the back of the lobby after you take in its breathtakingly high ceilings. If you'd rather get straight to your delicious destination, enter on 58th Street; make a left and board the elevator, which will take you straight to the restaurant. In fact, the elevator opens directly into L'Atelier; you'll therefore miss seeing the hotel's highly polished staircase and the restaurant's dramatic entrance, but you'll get to the restaurant immediately, without having to use your hamstrings. If you do choose to take the stairs, once you arrive at the top you'll find the restaurant to your right, open to the atrium, and a bar to your left. The atrium is lovely, with a round frosted window and comfortable seating with small tables throughout. These tables used to be just for waiting, but due to the popularity of the L'Atelier lunch, they are now used for service, even though they are located outside the restaurant. If you sit here, you won't be in the middle of the action, but you will nonetheless experience some of the greatest fare that New York has to offer. The entryway into the restaurant from the atrium is flanked by two large windows that feature a sheer woven fabric inside the window panes. Two-toned wood creates an inviting atmosphere, as does large, dramatic potted greenery. To the right is the hostess station, upon which the elevator opens, and beyond that an open door area that's surrounded by paned glass; you descend through this doorway into the main event - the dining room - with the focal point of the restaurant directly in front of you.

The design of New York's L'Atelier is unique compared to that of its peers in Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Paris and Las Vegas; this one is light with dark accents, for instance, while the others are almost entirely black. Light, not dark, wood is the centerpiece of L'Atelier New York; the counter is light wood, the floors are light wood and the walls are light wood. Only the carpet, which is maroon, is dark. The counter seats 20 diners comfortably, while the restaurant itself has 26 seats, not to mention the aforementioned tables in the atrium outside the restaurant.

The main dining room features dramatic ceilings, and is basked in gorgeous sunset shades, such as reds and golds, all emphasized against black tables and dark burgundy seats. Dramatic red vases are located throughout the restaurant, holding different arrangements of greenery, some large and leafy, others more delicate. The walls throughout are adorned with artwork and stretch upward toward dramatic ceilings; they're two stories high and punctuated by long windows. Those windows feature horizontally striped shades in rust, red, olive and orange colors and let in a generous amount of sunlight, which is reflected on angular polished chrome polygonal table lamps that sit on the window sills. The high ceilings and carpet make L'Atelier one of the most acoustically satisfying restaurants around. No matter what table you sit at, you hear only your own table's conversation clearly; rarely, if ever, do you hear your neighbor's. Dining here, therefore, is an absolute delight.