So we went in search of the five best-designed restaurants and bars in New York, and as you can surely imagine, it was not a simple task and the screening process was unbearable. But at the end of the day, we chose the finalists who hysterically nailed the design scene in the big apple. Oh, and we snacked a bit 😊

1. BOBO

BOBO restaurant was established in 2007 in the West Village, as a project done by the design office Dekar Design.

The restaurant was designed with inspiration from a French village, which is exactly what we felt when walking into the restaurant- like we came to visit a provincial family home in France.

The restaurant has a Happy Hour every day from 5-7 pm, dinner till late at night, and brunch on the weekends. Highly recommended.

Address: 181 WEST 10TH STREET, New York, NY 10014

2. Vandal NYC

Vandal is a restaurant and an underground nightclub with an industrial design and an artistic twist. Feels like walking into a museum of exclusive street artists.

The restaurant, which is spread out over 365 square meters, is another design project created by the chef Chris Santos and the TAO group (you’ll hear more about them soon enough).

David Rockwell, who founded the successful architecture firm- David Rockwell Group, and was responsible for the restaurant’s design, wanders along with his team, around cities throughout the world to get inspiration from street culture, with a strong focus on art, architecture, and food. Which explains why this firm’s projects are always so successful and genuine.

Only when viewing the execution video below, we understood the scope and quality of the design production. Very extraordinary.

This space was built around the concept of a maze, where you can find small spaces and closed corners all around.

An additional 8 famous street artists participated in the project, and their amazing creations are showcased on almost every wall inside the restaurant.

Address:  199 Bowery, New York, NY 10002

3. TAO Uptown

The TAO group is known for its fantastic menu served at all its branches in the US, and for its unique and irregular design style that you cannot help but marvel whenever your lucky legs walk into one of their restaurants.

The Rockwell Group was also the design firm managing this project (a thing which we didn’t know when choosing the finalists, so be sure that it’s not a biased choice (: )

Address: 42 E 58TH ST – NEW YORK, NY 10022

4. Nomad hotel

The library at the NoMad Hotel that also hosts a café and part of the hotel’s restaurant is a small, dark place of magic.

Something in the book-covered walls, with the right lighting, really creates that warm feeling.

The restaurant was designed by the artist Jacques Garcia who wanted to make the place look classy and exclusive.

Address: 1170 Broadway, New York, NY 10001, USA

5. Rosemary’s

Rosemary in the West Village is an Italian restaurant that was established in 2012 by Carlos Suarez– the owner of BOBO.

The restaurant is named after his mother with its design being inspired by her house in Tuscany.

Like BOBO, Dekar also designed Rosemary’s, but this time with a completely different design direction. Lots of light, plants, and amazing food.

Address:   18Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10011

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