Here's a look at new New York hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this spring. The new and renovated New York venues are available for conferences, meetings, corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, and more.
Vandal, an expansive restaurant and bar from TAO Group, opened in January on the Bowery. The 22,000-square-foot, 360-seat venue serves a global street fare-inspired menu and features art from seven famed street artists. For private dining, there is the Secret Garden room that offers nature-inspired design elements such as ceiling joists strewn with vines and string lights and glass globe lights filled with gold butterflies. The room also has two walls covered in applied wheat paste murals by Shepard Fairey. In temperate weather, a wall of glass garage doors can open onto the sidewalk while a row of tall planters still allow for privacy. The space seats 70 or holds 100 for cocktails. Another option is an elevated seating area in the back dining room partitioned off by expandable bronze screens. It seats 32 guests.
Located on the 68th floor of 4 World Trade, WTC360 Riviera at the World Trade is a 34,000-square-foot private event space operated by Riviera Caterers. Offering a blank slate for event planners, the column-free space offers amenities such as 10-foot windows with sprawling views of lower Manhattan and the Hudson River, an in-house power source for audiovisual and lighting needs, and multiple high-speed elevators. Riviera is the in-house event producer and caterer at the venue, which opened in early December. It holds 440 for reception-style events.
One of the few fine-dining Chinese restaurants in New York is La Chine, which opened at the Waldorf Astoria New York in November. The noted Chinese chef Jereme Leung helped develop the menu of authentic regional Chinese cuisine, and a team from the restaurant visited several Chinese provinces to get inspiration on how to translate dishes and tastes for a New York audience. As indicated in the restaurant’s name, the menu also has French influences. The beverage service features Chinese wines and Asian spirits such as sake, shochu, and baijiu, as well as a selection of teas all sourced in China. Studio Gaia designed the elegant interiors, which use traditional Chinese motifs such as cherry blossoms and geometric screens as well as nod to the hotel’s original Art Deco design. Statement pieces like a three-tiered chandelier and a white travertine floor complete the look. The main dining room seats 125, and custom screens section off a semiprivate dining space. The restaurant also has a private lounge called Meng that holds 20 for receptions and a private dining room that seats 16.
The latest incarnation of the legendary Chelsea nightclub Limelight is a Chinese restaurant with ample private dining space. Jue Lan Club, named after an early 20th-century Chinese arts society, opened in December after taking over the former Todd English restaurant Château Cherbuliez. It has a larger footprint, however, since it uses more of the building. The venue consists of seven dining rooms, each decorated with a different concept. On the first floor is the front bar and lounge, which seats 50, and the main dining room, which seats 75 at circular booths upholstered in emerald-green velour and leather and at other custom-designed tables. The second floor features three spaces for private events: the 14-seat Forbidden Room; the 30-seat 1932 Room; and the Warhol Salon, which seats 33 or holds 50 for cocktails and includes a full-service bar. Two spaces are outdoors: the seasonal Imperial Garden, which seats 75 or holds 100 for receptions, and the backyard Graffiti Alley, a 25-seat V.I.P. space that is accessed through the kitchen. New York-based Dutch East Design created the interiors, which make nods to the building’s former life. The second-floor bathroom is covered in wallpaper made from an image of Andy Warhol’s medicine cabinet. The hallway leading to the Forbidden Room is papered in trading-card images of the club kids who once frequented the Limelight. Other touches, like the photography of modern-day China and red paper lanterns in the alley, remind visitors of the restaurant’s current life.
Howl at the Moon, the chain of live music bars, opened its 17th location in the theater district. The vibe is upbeat and fun, and entertainers are available to set the scene, from light dinner music to a full band playing contemporary hit music. The venue spans both a main floor and mezzanine, and both levels can be used for private events, or the entire venue can be bought out for receptions of as many as 600 people or plated dinners for 400. The main floor holds 400 for cocktails or seats 200 for dinner. The space can be broken into two for smaller events. The mezzanine, with views of the stage and dance floor, holds 200 for cocktails or 150 for buffet dinners.
The Tribeca Grand hotel has a new name—the Roxy—and has opened new venues including Jack's Stir Brew Coffee and the Django, an underground jazz club. Designed with a vintage Parisian look, the space has red leather banquettes, arched ceilings, and a stage for live music. It seats 150 or holds 200 for receptions. The hotel also is renovating its 201 guest rooms, a project slated to finish this spring.
A live music venue called Flash Factory has taken over the former Shadow nightclub spot in Chelsea, offering a space that can hold 1,000 people for events. Occupying 10,000 square feet, the space underwent a gut renovation that lasted three years and sought to present an authentic, lived-in vibe in contrast to the city’s glossy nighclubs. Its design uses repurposed materials such as ceiling arches made from reclaimed wood from a church and a stained glass piece behind the DJ booth. The main room, which features a full stage, holds 750 guests, while a smaller room holds 250 guests and has a DJ booth. They can be used together or separately for private events. The space features a custom sound system and lighting design from Barcelona-based LEDsControl, as well as two large bars. The venue opened in January.
A second, larger location of the French bakery and café Maman has opened in TriBeCa in December. Serving seasonal South of France fare from Michelin-starred chef Armand Arnal in a 2,000-square-foot space with generous 160-foot ceilings. In the front is a casual room with counter service and cozy daybed-like seating.The back dining area, called the salle a manger, has its own bar and can be used for private events. The room has moveable communal tables that seat 40 altogether; the room holds 60 for cocktails. The look mixes vintage and French country styles with exposed whitewashed bricks, dark wood floors, and blue and white accents.
Inwood Bar and Grill opened in November. The two-story, 11,000-square-foot New American restaurant spans two stories and has a terrace and outdoor beer garden, which all can be used for events. The main dining room seats 150; for buyouts that use indoor and outdoor space, the venue holds some 1,000 guests. Amenities include 30 flat-screen TVs and a full sound system.
The cardio fitness studio 305 Fitness opened a second New York location in Midtown in January. The 5,000-square-foot space covers two floors and has amenities like sprung wood floors, an audio system, a DJ booth, and a lounge. The studio’s is known for its multisensory cardio workouts that feature a light show and music from a live DJ. Designer Robert Bloom created the light show using 150 LED lamps. The venue’s Studio B is available for private event rental and fits 25 people for receptions.
