The hotel lobby restaurant is back

If you’ve watched “The White Lotus” on HBO every week, then you know the hotel lobby is ripe for excitement. A lot of that has to do with its public-private nature: you may not be able to explore the floors above, but just about anyone can walk into the lobby.

This city in particular has a long tradition of eye-catching hotel lobby bars — Bemelman’s Bar at the Carlyle, King Cole bar in the St. Regis – but the stature of the hotel’s great lobby restaurant is shakier. The NoMad hotel, and its restaurant run by Daniel Humm, no longer exists. Jean-Georges Vongerichten Mercer kitchen at the Mercer will close on December 18. And To the flowers at the Langham recently lost its Michelin star.

But there is still hope. Here are some hotel lobby restaurants that caught my eye.

I recently ate at K’Far Brooklyn, the two-week-old restaurant across the hall from the Hoxton in Williamsburg. Like with Laser wolfalso in the Hoxton, the original K’Far is based in Philadelphia, where you can enjoy forearm-sized bagel sandwiches and flaky Jerusalem borekas for breakfast and lunch. But at the Brooklyn location, they also give you food, down the stairs and to the right of the main lobby.

If Laser Wolf is a stadium concert, K’Far is an indie show. It’s quiet, cosy, romantic. The menu is more streamlined than at its rooftop counterpart: small plates, large plates, sides, desserts. My perfect order would be the pull-apart challah buns, so smooth with butter you can see your reflection in them; fried halloumi served baklava style with quince and pistachio; the warm Caesar salad with roasted fennel; and one of the fish dishes, because they have yet to disappoint me in that category. (And get both the pecan cake and chocolate kanafi for dessert.)

Our restaurant critic, Pete Wells, does a big fan of the Viennese inspired dishes that chef Markus Glocker prepares Kolomana new restaurant in the lobby of the Ace Hotel in Manhattan.

I had it easy enough to get a table (although that may not be the case since Pete’s Nov. 29 review) and faithfully followed in his footsteps. The bread service: top class. The shallot-filled gougères and the cheese soufflé: light as air. The salmon en croute with its crispy, buttery crust: I’m still thinking about it. And, oh my goodness, the desserts: eight to choose from, all as exciting as the next, but the caramelized milk bread was my favourite.

The third member of this trifecta of hotel lobby restaurants is Corner Bar, the latest project from chef Ignacio Mattos at the Nine Orchard hotel. I don’t know what to think of this restaurant. Is it lovely to watch? Yes. Is the service good? Quite. But should a chicken dish, no matter how good, cost $62? I do not think so! The best chicken in town – at Barbuto – is half price.

My advice: go to the hotel Swan Room instead, and order a drink and snack. The experience will feel glamorous – after all, you’re in a pink marbled 110-year-old couch, where guests are encouraged to “dress for a night out” – but the bill won’t be a total shock. And if that isn’t the true ethos (and ecstasy) of the hotel lobby lifestyle, then I don’t know what is.

As Tejal Rao says in her newsletter: The Veggie: One more thing! I am happy to help you with questions about Christmas and holidays. If you want options to brighten up the season, or have any other pressing holiday food related questions, please email me at [email protected] and you may see your question here.

  • This week, Pete Wells reviewed S&P lunch, formerly known as Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop (and before that, well, S&P Lunch). While the premises have changed a bit, he found Court Street Grocers’ management “made everything a little better – and in some cases more than a little – without pushing the flavors to the limit or twisting things into creative new forms. “

  • Openings: Following Naro, Jupiter and Le Rock, chef Greg Baxtrom has opened Five acres at Rockefeller Center; Christophe Bellanca, known from Le Cirque, opens his own restaurant, Essential by Christophe, tomorrow on the Upper West Side; and cocktails and oysters are offered at Down & Out in the East Village.

  • Felipe Valls, the Cuban exile turned restaurateur and inventor of Miami’s walk-up coffee windowsdied Nov. 26 at 89. Our reporter Christina Morales, who grew up in Hialeah, Fla., wrote his Times obituary.

  • Robert Simonson reported On the return of the unshaken, unstirred, but thrown cocktail, as well as a number of bars where you can experience the magic thrown for yourself.

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