To Celebrate
Dishes inspired by South American favorites, a cozy and warm environment, and a plethora of organic fruit-based drinks from the refresca bar have kept casual joint Novo buzzing with patrons since its January opening. Alex Garcia, currently the executive chef at Calle Ocho, designed a menu full of creative ceviches, fresh pasta entrées, and customizable paellas. Long banquettes and communal tables make the festive 60-seat space intimate, but for a little more privacy try a table at the rear of the restaurant. Underneath the banquettes are built-in drawers to keep bags and personal items out of the way.
For Adventurous Diners
The new restaurant Gilt teams up British chef Paul Liebrandt, who made waves with his wildly inventive cuisine at Atlas in 2000, with French designer Patrick Jouin, a protégé of Philippe Starck, in a historic landmark space in the Palace Hotel that housed Le Cirque 2000. The result? An elegant and luxurious restaurant that evokes a posh London club. Directly adjacent is the Madison Room, which is available for private parties of approximately 75 seated, or as many as 125 standing.
To Cook Up a Deal
After more than a decade at the helm of Robert DeNiro’s beloved Tribeca Grill, Don Pintabona has struck out on a solo venture in west SoHo. The menu at Dani includes family recipes that reflect his Sicilian heritage and flavors from throughout the Mediterranean. The room combines rich leather banquettes with some industrial touches like concrete columns and aluminum fans. The Chef’s Peninsula seats as many as nine and provides a front row seat for the action in the kitchen.
To Get to Know Someone
Italian cinema of the 1950’s and 60’s served as the inspiration for the decor at Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano, the West Village gem owned by Sasha Muniak (owner of Mangia). Clean and elegant—a break from the neighborhood’s more casual eateries—the interior is a mix of simple white tiles and dark wooden tables with plush black velvet banquettes, Missoni fabric striped barstools, and a 1950’s Viennese chandelier. The front of the main dining room is the place to draw attention to your party and watch for fans of chef Jody Williams’s Italian cuisine, while the rear is the spot for quiet tête-à -têtes. For a truly private conversation, book the lower level’s 12-seat wine cellar space.
For Intimate Groups
Veteran restaurateurs Stephen and Thalia Lofredo of SoHo staple Zoë, and executive chef Josh DeChellis, whose résumé includes Union Pacific and Sumile, opened Jovia last October. The bar and lounge on the first floor features a handsome wood bar and tables where diners can choose between a bar menu, or the full menu. Upstairs, the back room seats 30 and there’s a secluded table for eight which can be closed off with sheer curtains for a little extra privacy. Jovia also has a lovely garden patio on the second floor that can be booked for private affairs, or combined with the back room as a reception space.
For Some Privacy—With a View
There’s more to the Time Warner Center than that cluster of high-profile restaurants. Namely Asiate, the Mandarin Oriental’s inhouse restaurant on the 35th floor. The booths for four along the north wall feel nicely separated from the rest of the space, and at lunchtime you can soak in the all that daylight from the floor-to-ceiling windows, along with the view of Central Park (and, right now, some serious construction around Columbus Circle). And the three-course bento box lunch for $39 offers an easy-to-order taste of chef Noriyuki Sugie’s adventurous food. (He makes a soup modeled after Caesar salad, with bacon foam.) There’s also a private dining area for 10.
More Options
Telepan
Bill Telepan’s busy new restaurant near Lincoln Center is now open for lunch Wednesdays through Fridays and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The dining room is comfortable, with an understated green and brown color palette and a menu filled with dishes using fresh local ingredients.
Le Cirque
The new location of Sirio Maccioni’s much-loved restaurant, which catered to a highprofile and high-spending crowd in its last incarnation, is slated to open May 30. When it does open in its new digs (in the Midtown complex that houses Bloomberg LP), the same elite crowd is sure to be back.
Cipriani Dolci
Is it possible to be off the beaten track yet in the center of everything at the same time? Cipriani Dolci manages to do both. The menu features all the classics of its sister restaurant downtown at substantially lower prices, like the artichoke and avocado salad and all the house-made pastas. Reservations are accepted and a snap to get, and diners can enjoy the view of Grand Central Terminal’s busy concourse.
—Caryl Chinn, Chad Kaydo, Mark Mavrigian & Anna Sekula
Photos: Dan Hallman for BiZBash (Dani), Michael Tulipan (Gusto), Courtesy of Novo.
Posted 05.17.06
Related Stories
10 Business Entertaining Biggies
10 Hot Restaurants for Business Entertaining
5 Conversation Starters for Business Entertaining
5 Under-Hyped Spots for Business Entertaining
5 Quiet Cocktails Spots for Business Entertaining
5 Sparkling Scenes for Business Entertaining
Ask the Experts: Business Entertaining
Dishes inspired by South American favorites, a cozy and warm environment, and a plethora of organic fruit-based drinks from the refresca bar have kept casual joint Novo buzzing with patrons since its January opening. Alex Garcia, currently the executive chef at Calle Ocho, designed a menu full of creative ceviches, fresh pasta entrées, and customizable paellas. Long banquettes and communal tables make the festive 60-seat space intimate, but for a little more privacy try a table at the rear of the restaurant. Underneath the banquettes are built-in drawers to keep bags and personal items out of the way.
For Adventurous Diners
The new restaurant Gilt teams up British chef Paul Liebrandt, who made waves with his wildly inventive cuisine at Atlas in 2000, with French designer Patrick Jouin, a protégé of Philippe Starck, in a historic landmark space in the Palace Hotel that housed Le Cirque 2000. The result? An elegant and luxurious restaurant that evokes a posh London club. Directly adjacent is the Madison Room, which is available for private parties of approximately 75 seated, or as many as 125 standing.
To Cook Up a Deal
After more than a decade at the helm of Robert DeNiro’s beloved Tribeca Grill, Don Pintabona has struck out on a solo venture in west SoHo. The menu at Dani includes family recipes that reflect his Sicilian heritage and flavors from throughout the Mediterranean. The room combines rich leather banquettes with some industrial touches like concrete columns and aluminum fans. The Chef’s Peninsula seats as many as nine and provides a front row seat for the action in the kitchen.
To Get to Know Someone
Italian cinema of the 1950’s and 60’s served as the inspiration for the decor at Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano, the West Village gem owned by Sasha Muniak (owner of Mangia). Clean and elegant—a break from the neighborhood’s more casual eateries—the interior is a mix of simple white tiles and dark wooden tables with plush black velvet banquettes, Missoni fabric striped barstools, and a 1950’s Viennese chandelier. The front of the main dining room is the place to draw attention to your party and watch for fans of chef Jody Williams’s Italian cuisine, while the rear is the spot for quiet tête-à -têtes. For a truly private conversation, book the lower level’s 12-seat wine cellar space.
For Intimate Groups
Veteran restaurateurs Stephen and Thalia Lofredo of SoHo staple Zoë, and executive chef Josh DeChellis, whose résumé includes Union Pacific and Sumile, opened Jovia last October. The bar and lounge on the first floor features a handsome wood bar and tables where diners can choose between a bar menu, or the full menu. Upstairs, the back room seats 30 and there’s a secluded table for eight which can be closed off with sheer curtains for a little extra privacy. Jovia also has a lovely garden patio on the second floor that can be booked for private affairs, or combined with the back room as a reception space.
For Some Privacy—With a View
There’s more to the Time Warner Center than that cluster of high-profile restaurants. Namely Asiate, the Mandarin Oriental’s inhouse restaurant on the 35th floor. The booths for four along the north wall feel nicely separated from the rest of the space, and at lunchtime you can soak in the all that daylight from the floor-to-ceiling windows, along with the view of Central Park (and, right now, some serious construction around Columbus Circle). And the three-course bento box lunch for $39 offers an easy-to-order taste of chef Noriyuki Sugie’s adventurous food. (He makes a soup modeled after Caesar salad, with bacon foam.) There’s also a private dining area for 10.
More Options
Telepan
Bill Telepan’s busy new restaurant near Lincoln Center is now open for lunch Wednesdays through Fridays and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The dining room is comfortable, with an understated green and brown color palette and a menu filled with dishes using fresh local ingredients.
Le Cirque
The new location of Sirio Maccioni’s much-loved restaurant, which catered to a highprofile and high-spending crowd in its last incarnation, is slated to open May 30. When it does open in its new digs (in the Midtown complex that houses Bloomberg LP), the same elite crowd is sure to be back.
Cipriani Dolci
Is it possible to be off the beaten track yet in the center of everything at the same time? Cipriani Dolci manages to do both. The menu features all the classics of its sister restaurant downtown at substantially lower prices, like the artichoke and avocado salad and all the house-made pastas. Reservations are accepted and a snap to get, and diners can enjoy the view of Grand Central Terminal’s busy concourse.
—Caryl Chinn, Chad Kaydo, Mark Mavrigian & Anna Sekula
Photos: Dan Hallman for BiZBash (Dani), Michael Tulipan (Gusto), Courtesy of Novo.
Posted 05.17.06
Related Stories
10 Business Entertaining Biggies
10 Hot Restaurants for Business Entertaining
5 Conversation Starters for Business Entertaining
5 Under-Hyped Spots for Business Entertaining
5 Quiet Cocktails Spots for Business Entertaining
5 Sparkling Scenes for Business Entertaining
Ask the Experts: Business Entertaining
Novo
Dani
Gusto Ristorante
Asiate
