CHEZ FIFI
Tucked into an Upper East Side townhouse, this intimate 44-seat bistro oozes opulence without being stuffy. A passion project of brothers Josh and David Foulquier, who built a cult following at Sushi Noz—their two Michelin starred omakase parlor nearby—the new restaurant is an homage to their late mother, whose art collection lines the walls (with work from Miro, Dumas, and Calder).
DÉCOR: The interior of the slim two-story space channels Paris in the 1930s, according to designer Helena Eliason, of Stockholm-based Joyn Studio. The dining room, with its mahogany paneling, framed mirrors, plush banquettes, and beamed ceiling, is designed to feel like “the perfect setting for a fictional Mademoiselle Fifi and her colorful friends to unwind,” says Eliason. Plentiful mirrors help open the space,“creating an infinity illusion,” with vintage Artemide table lamps from the 1960s adding a contemporary touch.
CUISINE: Chef Zack Zeldman offers luxurious spins on a mix of French and Basque classics. The whole roasted chicken with foie gras ($160) and wild Dover sole a la plancha ($162) are both large-format stunners perfect for sharing. Begin with frogs’ legs persillade, a wild mushroom and black truffle omelette, or the signature deviled crab Txangurro, which arrives beautifully gratineed in the shell.
WINE: Sommelier Tira Johnson has compiled an eye-popping list of French treasures, including a head-spinning selection of grower Champagnes from top producers like Jacques Selosse, Frédéric Savart and Chartogne-Taillet. But Burgundy is the sweet spot here, with a few accessible bottles and many exorbitant ones, including a 2020 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet at $3,800, a 2020 Faiveley Musigny Grand Cru at $5,500, and a 1970 Domaine de la Romanée Conti La Tache at $10,000.
INSIDER TIP: The intimate second floor bar, Salon de Fifi a L’Etage, is a destination in its own right, comfortably appointed with couches, with loungey dining at low-slung tables. When a reservation is impossible to score in the dining room, the salon just might squeeze you in.
LA TÊTE D’OR
On the ground floor of gleaming office tower One Madison Avenue, La Tête d’Or reimagines what a New York steakhouse can be, with top chef Daniel Boulud adding French flair to the classic formula (the restaurant is named for a park in his hometown, Lyon).
DÉCOR: The high-ceilinged dining room, with its tall mirrors, dark wood, leather paneling and curvy velvet banquettes, takes its design cues from classic French brasseries. Designer David Rockwell, a long-time Boulud collaborator, framed the open kitchen in a showstopping sculptural hood, featuring a gleaming metallic mosaic from Belgian artist Jesse Willems. The handsome bar, in a separate salon at the front of the restaurant, features a beautiful bronze-colored quartzite bar-top under a high-gloss inlaid metal ceiling.
CUISINE: Premium cuts of beef cooked on a wood-fired grill come with a choice of French sauces—bordelaise, au poivre, and périgourdine, among others. A copious seafood tower is a high-wattage way to begin (the $250 Royale serves 4 to 6 diners). The Prime Rib here is the marquee entree, a Wagyu ribeye from Scharbauer Ranch, carved tableside from a roving trolley ($115 for a ten-ounce slice) and served with gigantic popovers, creamed spinach, and butter-drenched pommes purée.
WINE: The doorstopper list, heavily focused on reds, features some 900 wines from around the world. “We can boast one of the city’s best Bordeaux lists with vintages of virtually every classified château,” says head sommelier Evan White. Along with the Lafites and Latours, though, there are Bordeaux values as well, from the likes of Château Cantemerle, Château Lynch-Moussas and Château du Tertre. There are also a few bottles for billionaires, including a 2021 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti at $20,000, a 1982 Château Pétrus at $13,000, and a 1904 Château d’Yquem at $10,000.
INSIDER TIP: Regulars know there’s usually a stool open at the wraparound cocktail bar, where you can order from the entire restaurant menu—no reservation necessary. The smaller bar bites, like truffle fries and sweetbread nuggets pair well with top shelf cocktails like LTD Dirty (with olive-oil washed Belvedere vodka and house-made filthy brine).
CRANE CLUB
This 18,000 square foot West Chelsea behemoth, in a turn-of-last-century former Nabisco factory building, is a partnership between Michelin-starred chef Melissa Rodriguez, restaurateur Jeff Katz, and Tao Group Hospitality (known for its mega restaurants from Las Vegas to Dubai). The restaurant took over the soaring space that once housed Del Posto, the Italian fine dining destination where Rodriguez was also head chef (and where she scored a 4-star review in the New York Times).
DÉCOR: The cavernous dining room features soaring arches, double-height ceilings, and herringbone wood floors. “In this iconic space we created a journey through rooms with different personalities,” say the designers behind it, Natalia Coll and Santiago Hinojo of Laseu Studio. In contrast to the grand dining room with its enormous custom chandeliers (the lights dangling like garlic cloves) and prominent archways in a lime wash with gold trim, the intimate bar is all red on red, with paprika velvet upholstery, crimson wall coverings, and red marble atop the 12-stool bar.
CUISINE: Meats, cooked on a 12-foot-long Spanish Mibrasa Grill, are the big-ticket splurge here—a 50-ounce porterhouse steak ($275) will feed a whole family. Start with blistered bone marrow or fire-roasted cherrystone clams, or a selection from the raw bar trolley, heaped with shrimp, oysters, and lobster on ice.
WINE: Wine Director Cat Fanelli’s globe-spanning list covers the gamut, from small grower- producers at approachable prices, to iconic estates with a strong showing in Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Piedmont, among other regions. Italian wine nuts will flip for the verticals from top Barolo producers, including Mascarello, Bruno Giacosa and Giacomo Conterno, with wines going all the way back to the 1960s. A few big ticket bottles stand out: a 1988 Bruno Giacosa Falletto di Serralunga d’Alba at $8000 and 1999 Domaine de la Romanée Conti Richebourg Grand Cru at $13,000.
INSIDER TIP: The former basement cocktail lounge will soon become a hush-hush invite-only private club. No details have been released yet, but it’s sure to be very opulent, and very exclusive.
THE HEDGES INN
The hottest Hamptons reservation this summer, I suspect, will be The Hedges Inn located in East Hampton. The inn at 74 James Lane was built in 1873, and purchased this year by Andrew and Sarah Wetenhall, the proprietors of The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. “Our purchase of The Hedges Inn is not just a real estate transaction; it is a commitment to protecting this important piece of our community’s history for future generations,” says Sarah Wetenhall, who, with her husband, have been multi-generational property owners in East Hampton and current residents of historic Sag Harbor.
Seating 100 guests for both indoor and outdoor dining and serving three meals a day, the restaurant features classic American cuisine with a continental accent, and sources ingredients from local farmers and purveyors. Breakfasts are elaborate. “We pay tribute to Caroline Hedges’ breakfast legacy,” Wetenhall continues, referencing the original inn owner. “We are serving fresh pastries, pancakes, signature cereal-crusted French toast, soft scrambled eggs with chives and crème fraîche, and local granola with honey and berries—a modern homage to her warm hospitality in years past.”
The breaking news is that every Sunday night at 5PM, The Hedges will offer Trivia Night, a signature of Swifty’s at The Colony Palm Beach, where teams of up to twelve players tackle rounds spanning pop culture, history, and music, competing for prizes. Will the Wetenhalls name their new Hamptons restaurant Swifty’s? As of press time, not yet decided.