Every Saturday, New Yorkers and tourists alike make their way to the Upper East Side for a night of drinks and naughty fun at ZAVO Restaurant and Lounge. The popular Midtown restaurant transforms its upstairs venue into a club, featuring performances that capture the excitement of a secret hole-in-the-wall cabaret show sprinkled with Middle Eastern flair.
As the Upper East Side and Midtown East become home to more and more millennials taking on the big city, ZAVO’s location promises that they will not have to travel far on cold winter nights for an experience. Even the younger crowds tire of being pushed around in a club, where drinks are spilled on them, and where music batters their ears. ZAVO ensures that their Saturday evenings are still ripe with excitement—a high-end type of excitement, that is.
Upstairs, private events develop a unique atmosphere nestled between Jerusalem stone on one wall and modern art on another. Rooms accommodating groups of up to 300 guests allow for private dining experiences that are hard to find in New York City. Personalized menus are curated for each group, ensuring a five-star catering service for every event. For the right party size, the entire second floor can be made into a single large event space that runs from 60th to 61st streets, with windows that offer a rare view from one city block to another.
“50 Shades of ZAVO,” for example, is one of many celebrations that the venue has to offer. It is a seductive and sophisticated event, complete with fire performers, aerial acrobats, live entertainment, and a burlesque show. Once upon a time, shows such as these would be completely unwelcome on the Upper East Side, where high society would eschew acrobatic dancers and fire performers. ZAVO challenges the status quo by offering a space where the unruly and the questionable become not only acceptable but part of what makes this experience so high end.
“50 Shades” sound a little too risqué? ZAVO’s other show is called “1001 Nights,” after the famous saga of stories collected in medieval Cairo. If stories of Ali Baba, Aladdin, and Scheherazade pique your interest, this show is for you. ZAVO’s interior design is right for it as well, since it captures a unique atmosphere with its Israeli-inspired stone finish. In Sex and the City 2, Carrie Bradshaw screams “Middle East me!” when she, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda agree to go to the UAE on an all-expenses-paid trip. The folks at ZAVO tend to think that you’ll be saying exactly the same when you and your friends agree to come to our “1001 Nights.”
On January 17, 2019, ZAVO will be hosting its newest show, “Middle East Meets Venice,” to mark the anniversary of shows at ZAVO. What better way to celebrate making it to Friday in the cold N.Y.C. winter than with an East-meets-West vibe, artisanal cocktails, and a show sure to stun on a Thursday night?
