Terraces Open And Martini Trolleys Roll As New York Hotels Set Out Their High-Season Tables
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's terrace at The Mark and Marea's courtyard on Central Park South anchor the alfresco season, while The Carlyle, The Fifth Avenue Hotel and The Knickerbocker build programmes around a single cocktail.
New York's warm-weather dining season is underway, with Marea marking the opening of its courtyard terrace on Central Park South in early May with unlimited pours of Champagne Delamotte and oysters from the Montauk Pearl farm, served under blue-and-white umbrellas alongside dishes including sea bass tartare and fusilli with octopus and bone marrow.
Uptown, The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges sets tables at East 77th Street and Madison Avenue beneath the hotel's black-and-white striped umbrellas, with a Maine lobster burger at lunch and a black truffle and fontina pizza at dinner; Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Haute Dog Cart operates outside the lobby door. At Trump International Hotel & Tower, the seasonal Nougatine Terrace faces Central Park with Philippe Starck-designed interiors and Dedon woven furniture. Downtown, Tartine keeps sidewalk seating at West 4th and West 11th streets, still without reservations, while Fanelli Cafe, at 94 Prince Street since 1847, continues its pandemic-era cobblestone patio.
Indoors, the martini has become a programme in its own right. Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle, whose bartenders reportedly pour more than 1,000 a night, runs a 45-minute Martini Masterclass. The Fifth Avenue Hotel sends a white-jacketed butler to guest rooms nightly between 5 and 7 p.m. for its Martini Ritual, using the Portrait Bar recipe. The Knickerbocker's fourth-floor Martini Lounge prepares the hotel's 1919 recipe tableside from a trolley with a caviar-topped croquette, and The Wall Street Hotel's Lounge on Pearl prices its Martini Clock from $8 at 4 p.m. to $15 at 7 p.m.