Bonjour! Knoxville's new French restaurant Lilou transports you to another time and place

The couple behind Sapphire are nearly back in business at the cocktail bar's former Gay Street location − this time, with a fresh French bar and restaurant to complement the hotel opening soon in the building.

Aaron Thompson and Jessica King are putting the finishing touches on Lilou, which Knox News first wrote about in October 2021. They plan to open at 428 S. Gay St. in January and build on the success of Brother Wolf in the Old City, which was named by Esquire magazine as one of the country's best bars and which is attached to their Italian restaurant, Osteria Stella.

With Lilou, the couple is taking an approach similar to their Italian concepts. Just as they recruited a Milanese chef to Osteria Stella for authenticity, Lilou chef Benjamin Tilatti was born and raised in southwest France.

"If you've ever eaten at Osteria Stella, you'll know that you get a coursed-out meal where the server educates you on the menu in case you have questions," Thompson told Knox News. "It's literally done like a prix fixe style, but you get to choose the journey. ... It's easily my favorite type of experience because it's seamless and you feel like you're being taken care of."

Servers will "disarm" patrons of any preconceptions that a French experience is too fancy for them, Thompson said. There's nothing pretentious about the space ... except for some of the light fixtures designed by Knoxville's own Pretentious Glass Co.

Lilou is a new downtown space that 'feels a hundred years old'

Thompson said walking through the door is like walking into an art gallery, though truth be told the collage of framed paintings on the wall includes quite a few pieces from estate sales and Facebook Marketplace.

King told Knox News finding these pieces has become an obsession, and the Parisian-street-lamps-turned-chandeliers helped establish their vision for Lilou − a name that means "lily" in French and just rolls off the tongue, Thompson said.

"Our goal was to try and create a space that already looks and feels a hundred years old," King said. "We want a space that feels approachable. We want a space that's not intimidating."

That means no white tablecloths but, rather, faux-worn tables that "feel like they've been touched 3,000 times," Thompson said. That means crushed velvet seats to "soften the room" with comfort while being luxurious at the same time.

The bar sits around 17. The entire room, around 100. While it's "bittersweet" for Thompson to no longer have the space for Sapphire, which planned to close temporarily in 2021 but never reopened, he's excited to welcome customers to the new concept.

"If COVID taught any of us anything, it's that you have to pivot," he said. "Look what came out of (closing Sapphire). We opened Brother Wolf and Stella, which have been enormously successful. ... It's enabled us to be able to do this project. And it's made us take being restaurateurs even more seriously."

French chef bringing culture and cuisine to downtown Knoxville

As Tilatti makes his home in Knoxville, he is bringing his native country to downtown − even his grandmother's foie gras (again, don't worry: servers will guide you).

To move to Knoxville, he needed a job offer. And to get that offer, he needed to create a menu for King and Thompson, who were immediately impressed after having eaten all over France for research.

It took about six months, but now he's here and bringing that menu to life. Other highlights from the chef include frog legs, monkfish, sweetbread and duck.

"It's kind of an honor to represent where you come from actually, and especially when there is no base of it (in Knoxville)," Tilatti told Knox News. "Even after 20 years almost in this industry, this is huge. This is important for them, but also for me."

"Them" meaning Thompson and King, who specialize on the alcohol side − wine and cocktails, respectively.

Expanding the palette and accessibility to wine in Knoxville

With a temperature-controlled wine cellar in the basement, Lilou has the capacity for 2,000 bottles but will start on a smaller scale.

"Expect to have something from every wine region in France − very heavy on Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux," said Thompson, who is serving as wine director and sommelier.

Beyond Lilou, Thompson hopes to increase Knoxville's accessibility to wine that's only available to those with enough money or knowledge about products to acquire them.

"My goal is to keep pushing that envelope so that wine suppliers and wineries and distributors take Knoxville seriously as a market," he said.

You're already seeing more upscale wines make their way to Knoxville thanks to Blackberry Farm, he said. The resort also produced Lilou's pastry chef, who has a dedicated kitchen in the basement.

As for the 16 cocktails, King will experiment with uniquely French liqueur and flavors to create new concoctions and French twists on classics.

"I'm trying to build a cocktail program that isn't just for me, which is hard because I really love ... pastis and absinthe and things like that," said King, who is the bar manager. "I'm going to lean pretty hard into martinis. French cocktail culture is not as pronounced as some other places. ... That's the real challenge that we've got as far as building the bar program, but it's also very freeing in that we can play a lot."

Brunch, dinner and late-night bar service on Gay Street

In addition to the Lilou space, the lobby of Hotel Cleo (located on the upper floors) will serve as a cocktail lounge with patio seating outside.

Thompson and King are part owners in the hotel, being developed by Ephant Group, and they are hopeful Lilou's opening aligns with the hotel's.

The restaurant will provide room service, offering some dishes from the menu and some just for hotel guests.

Tentative hours for Lilou are 5-10 p.m. every day of the week, with the bar staying open until midnight or 1 a.m. depending on the night.

Lilou will serve brunch Saturdays and Sundays, and the restaurant is still looking to hire.

"More than anything, I want people to feel comfortable when they walk in here and say: 'Wow, the amount of attention to detail that they put in here is incredible. They clearly thought about every single inch.' Because we have," Thompson said.

Ryan Wilusz is a downtown growth and development reporter. Phone 865-317-5138. Email ryan.wilusz@knoxnews.com. Instagram @knoxscruff.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lilou, a new Knoxville restaurant and bar, centers on French food