Part of the Costes family restaurant group, the Café Germainhas expanded below and Mahdavi is at it once again, this time with a toned down, more mysterious and sensual design for the private cinema that has opened in the basement of Café Germain. Where the top two floors of the café are sharp, vibrant, and staccato, the subterranean lounge is smooth, earthy, legato. One “giant curve.” The juxtaposition from the upstairs café to the downstairs hideaway is brilliant, the cinema-lounge a perfect yin to the café’s yang.