Dinner during New York Fashion Week is tougher than it sounds: A grueling schedule all over Manhattan — and, increasingly, Brooklyn — is married with a desire to enjoy a meal at a well-regarded restaurant that carries a bit of buzz. That’s not always an easy feat, which is why every editor, blogger and buyer can recall dinners that were little more than a glass of champagne and a few passed hors d’oeuvres at a store opening attended for 10 minutes in between shows.
The fashion crowd loves to cling to its favorites. Ralph Lauren’s The Polo Bar continues to be a tough reservation, unless you’re okay with dinner at 5 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. on Monday or Tuesday, as a recent search on OpenTable revealed.
If you’re seeking options in Midtown, Fig & Olive’s Fifth Avenue location (on E. 52nd St.) reopened on Tuesday after a remodeling, while a few blocks away, Armani Ristorante recently unveiled a new menu by chef Michele Brogioni, a healthy selection of Italian comfort food — with vegetarian and gluten-free options — served amid Armani furnishings on the top floor of the designer’s Fifth Avenue flagship.
A few hotspots are conjuring ways to cater to NYFW attendees. Via The Mark Hotel, famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten created a Mark Fashion Week Fuel Box, offered every day during Fashion Week between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at The Mark Bar. Available for $25, the on-the-go meal includes a vegetarian sandwich, fresh fruit and sparkling water and comes in a branded black lunchbox.
Meanwhile, through Sept. 15, L.A. restaurant Delilah is partnering with SoHo lounge Socialista to create invitation-only parties that kick off each night at 10 p.m. and blend the space’s Cuban vibe with Delilah’s 1920s style and its menu of specialty cocktails, including the Delilah Mule, made with Elyx Vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime. And Midtown hotel WestHouse is hoping NYFW attendees will duck into its clubby lounge, The Den, to order its cocktail specially created for Fashion Week, the Fizz À la Mode, made with cantaloupe juice, rum, agave, lime juice and egg whites.
Half the fun of dining during Fashion Week is checking out new and buzzworthy spots. Here’s a handful that opened their doors since the women’s shows in February – most are new, while an A-list stalwart also returns.
