NYC hotel dining gets hotter in 2010
Locanda Verde at The Greenwich Hotel
New York Magazine recently published its Where to Eat in 2010 issue, a guide to the newest, most definitively up-and-coming restaurants around New York City. According to the magazine's restaurant critic, Adam Platt, the days of noteworthy restaurants in grand hotels are on the rise again. But while the elegant restaurants of yore are making a comeback, we've seen an influx of hip, on-the-go restaurants setting up shop in hotels as well. Take, for example, Danny Meyer opening a Shake Shack in the soon-to-open InterContinental New York Times Square, or the sandwich-only outpost of Brooklyn’s inventive No. 7 landing at Ace Hotel. Luckily, in a city as big as New York, there’s plenty of room for both types.
Below we'll tell you about the hotel restaurants Platt wants you to check out in the new year.
Le Caprice, the first U.S. outpost of a hot London restaurant, opened at The Pierre in October 2009. The chic eatery serves brasserie-style fare (dinner entrees are $22 to $45) in a black-and-white dining room. Homesick Brits will appreciate the fish and chips and the English-style breakfast.
David Chang has ventured up to midtown for the first time with Má Pêche at the Chambers hotel, where the Momofuku chef will offer Vietnamese-French comfort food. A limited menu is currently available on the hotel's mezzanine, and the full space opens in a few months.
Meat lovers will love the Ace Hotel's new Breslin Bar and Dining Room, a gastropub from Spotted Pig veterans April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman. Given Friedman's fondness for "nose-to-tail" cooking, it's no surprise that the menus include smoked belly with mashed potatoes for two ($50) and a whole suckling pig for six to 12 people.
The cozy-chic Gramercy Park Hotel got even hipper in November with the addition of Danny Meyer's Maialino, an Italian trattoria serving updated versions of Roman classics. Braised artichokes, spaghetti alla carbonara, and suckling pig ragu over torn pasta all make appearances on the menu.
Robert De Niro is a part owner of Locanda Verde, the rustic Italian restaurant attached to the Greenwich Hotel (of which De Niro is also a part owner). Opened in May 2009, the restaurant serves rustic Italian food like a wood-fired pork chop ($28).
The Standard Hotel New York popped onto the scene in 2009, bringing with it several hot-spot bars and restaurants. The Standard Grill serves basic American fare (burger, strip steak, swordfish), while the outdoor Standard Biergarten caters to a more casual crowd with pingpong, bratwurst, and -- of course -- draft beer.
In addition to Adam Platt's above recommendations, we suggest keeping your eyes peeled for a new restaurant by Scott Conant at the Cooper Square Hotel, which, foodie blog Eater.com reported yesterday, will open in the coming weeks.