The Waldorf Astoria Is Finally Reopening With Three New Restaurants | Eater NY
"The only one of the trio that formerly operated at the hotel — an import from the 1890s — this originally cocktail-focused lobby bar has been upgraded to a full-service restaurant with Jeff Bell (of Please Don't Tell and the forthcoming West Village project, the Los Angeles import Tacos 1986, opening in Greenwich Village) overseeing the cocktail menu. Offerings include cocktails like the absinthe-laced Waldorf Cocktail ($38) and the 50th Street Martini ($40) made with Tanqueray, Vetiver, and dry vermouth; a raw bar with lavish seafood towers stocked with oysters and a lobster roll dressed with caviar and truffles; and doggedly classic items such as pigs in a blanket and a Waldorf salad. Designers returned to the earliest plans for the lobby — maple burl veneer, black marble columns, black lacquer and marble bar, and ornate French-leaning Art Deco flourishes — and the Cole Porter Steinway will still anchor the room with a pianist once again playing nightly, a spokesperson confirms. The historic lobby clock, a gift of Queen Victoria in 1893, has been restored for the space. The venue is open daily with a breakfast and an all-day menu; reservations are available via Resy or the hotel website." - Melissa McCart
