1st look inside new downtown bar from chef James Trees

Petite Boheme, the French bar from chef James Trees opening Friday in downtown Las Vegas, might be many things (more on those in a moment), but its guiding ethos could be put like this: Keep downtown, downtown.

“Vegas is really good at bringing in things from other places. We are bad at doing things that are our own,” Trees said. “We don’t need any more celebrity chef BS. We need Las Vegas to be its own scene and have its own way.”

Consider Petite Boheme (French for “little bohemian”) as the latest contribution to the scene and the way from Trees, founder of Esther’s Kitchen, the pioneering Italian restaurant that lies a few blocks north on South Main Street (Petite Boheme is at 1407 S. Main St.).

“You have to have a point of view. In Las Vegas, we need more bars with a point of view,” Trees said. “We’re excited to bring this to the neighborhood. We’re not holding ourselves back.”

Inspired by street art

Petite Boheme occupies a former transmission shop behind Bar Boheme, its French restaurant sibling potentially debuting in late February. A streetfront gate opens to a walkway that leads past a colorful cartoon mural — think a bit of Kenny Scharf — and then to the bar entrance.

The bar encompasses 1,400 square feet, with 16-foot ceilings, exposed ductwork, concrete floors softened by stylishly faded Oriental rugs, seating for 70 (bar, lounge, terrace), lighting fixtures enclosed by wicker globes, and murals by local artist Rocky Asbury that were inspired by street art.

A gesturing mouse and the silhouette of a girl nod to Banksy. French phrases meander along one wall. An eagle dropping literal F-bombs accompanies a stretch of slang (and hints at the translation unsuitable in this space). A riot of graffiti populates another wall: robots, a boom box, an astronaut, hearts, doodles, multiple “loves” in French and English.

“We wanted it to look like the inside of a bombed out train station where people had graffitied the walls,” Trees said. “We wanted to remind people that they’re downtown, not in a multibillion-dollar hotel. It doesn’t have those finishes — that’s intentional.”

Handling the bitter

Jonah Gibbs, the bar director, designed the beverage program at Petite Boheme. Many cocktails harness French ingredients; many of their names are in French or draw on French cocktail culture. The wines are French, too (including some splendid boutique bubbles), and visits to Paris bars earlier in the year provided inspiration for Gibbs.

But Petite Boheme isn’t doing French just for the sake of French (or offering design chestnuts like zinc accents and specials written on mirrors). There is, as Trees likes to say, intentionality. Consider The Tunnel, which brings together gin, dry vermouth and Punt e Mes, a deeply bitter vermouth.

“This is a play on a Negroni,” Gibbs said. “I love Punt e Mes. It’s so bitter for a vermouth, it’s almost an amaro, but it still plays like a vermouth. It makes things pop.”

The Tunnel, the name possibly deriving from a 1920s cocktail, has experienced a revival in Paris bars in recent years.

Pernod, passion fruit, pleasure

Bergamots, a hybrid of lime and bitter orange, take the field in Bergamots dans le Pre (“Bergamots in the Meadow”), which mingles vodka, bergamot liqueur, passion fruit liqueur and Pernod, the classic anise apéritif that requires a deft hand because of its easily overpowering flavor.

“Passion fruit and Pernod go really well together,” Gibbs said. “I like to take those things that are super abrasive and make them palatable for people who aren’t used to them.”

Le Plaisir du Scotty (“Scotty’s Pleasure”) tips the shaker to Scott Schuder, an American who owns a Paris tiki bar not far from the Moulin Rouge; Gibbs dropped by on his visit to the city. The cocktail honors Schuder’s love of rum, Gibbs said, with Old Fashioned Traditional Dark rum blend and French rhum agricole distilled from sugarcane juice, with apricot and sour cherry accents.

Shaken or stirred

Martinis receive their due at Petite Boheme, built from craft or brand-name vodka or gin, shaken or stirred, in styles that begin at bone-dry, with a choice of garnish.

“We’re not doing what we do at Esther’s, where we don’t pour super-recognized brands,” Trees said. “Here, if someone wants a Tito’s martini, we’ll give them a Tito’s martini.

“They definitely have a Vegas vibe, and they’re intentional. Drinking from a Nick and Nora glass, you feel more elegant. I like to say they make me feel like a better version of myself.”

Snacks from the chef

Every cocktail served at Petite Boheme is paired with one of 10 or so snacks from a rotating menu created by Ramtin Yashar, executive chef for the bar and the restaurant.

That menu might include watermelon compressed with verjus and finished with salt, honey-roasted peanuts spiked with sweet smoked paprika, mixed olives marinated in herbes de Provence and citrus, and almonds or chicharrones spiced with Espelette chilis.

“I use it a lot with bar snacks. Espelette is nature’s Tajín,” Yashar said.

Snacks give guests a reason to nosh while drinking and perhaps stay a little longer, Trees said, completing the idea of the cocktail bar. “After two drinks, you’re hungry or a little tipsy — luckily, we’re putting a restaurant next door.”

Trees envisioned the flow from Petite Boheme to Bar Boheme once the restaurant opens.

“You have this be the first stop. You grab a drink here, then pop over there. Happy hour isn’t supposed to be cool, but we’re going to make it cool here.”

Très cool.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.