Chef Corey Lee of the acclaimed, Michelin two-star Benu is opening his second restaurant venture today in Hayes Valley, and it's called Monsieur Benjamin . As we learned last year after Lee first announced the project, the name was inspired by a name he overheard someone say when he was in Paris, and it represented to him the combination of French and American influences he wanted to see on the menu. And good news for all night owls: They'll be serving late, seven nights a week, with the kitchen open until 1 a.m.

The restaurant is opening in the brand new 300 Ivy building on Gough between Hayes and Grove, and it's a big restaurant (110 seats), with half of the room kept open for walk-ins. That said, reservations are already being taken here.

The kitchen is being headed up by former RN74 chef Jason Berthold who earlier worked with Lee back in his French Laundry days, and the menu they've put together (see below) includes a number of spins on traditional French bistro fare. There's escargot Bordelaise and beef tongue Dijonaise in the hors d'oeuvre column, and under the entrées (dubbed Plats de Résistance) there's a burger, a French dip sandwich, roast chicken, and more haute fair like spaghetti with lobster ragout, and scallops potée with root vegetables, white beans, and ham.

There's also a full bar and fairly comprehensive, French-driven wine list. See both of those menus here.

For now it's dinner only, served from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly, but later this month they'll expand to all-day service on the weekends, as Inside Scoop reports. Because of the restaurant's proximity to the opera and symphony, there will be a pre-theater prix fixe as well, but that menu is not yet live.

See the full dinner menu below. Click to enlarge.

[Hoodline]
[Inside Scoop]