Buying Manager at Net-A-Porter Lydia Zacharis shares her city guide to New York.
"Whilst I have not yet lived in New York, it is a city that I have got to know well through my regular visits for Fashion Week and beyond over the last ten years and whose pulse always fills me with energy and excitement. Below are a few only of my favourite spots that I suggest to combine with a visit to the Completedworks pop up, its first one in the US!"
Restaurants
Estela - an intimate Michelin-star bistro with modern American food, their cured tuna with ponzu is delicious.
Bridges - a hot new restaurant in Chinatown by the owners of Estela, only open since late September. Its Comté tart, a savoury chanterelle cheesecake, is unmissable.
DAE - a café, design shop, and event space in Brooklyn by a Korean duo who met working as buyers at Opening Ceremony. Sleek and innovative, with steel details taking centre stage.
Raf’s - rich French and Italian food in a sophisticated setting of candle-lit tables, mosaic floors and vintage chandeliers.
My friend Vik, founder of VSJ Consulting, who works with Completedworks in the U.S., is a regular!
Waverly Inn - a West Village townhouse landmark, serving high-end takes on American home-cooked classics in a very cosy ambience.
Drinks
Clemente Bar - an intimate cocktail bar and chef’s counter named after the artist Francesco Clemente with sumptuous murals from Clemente himself.
Bemelman’s - a New York institution and one of the most beautiful art deco bars I have been to, with live music, great cocktails and murals by Ludwig Bemelmans who received a year and a half of accommodation at the Carlyle for himself and his family as payment.
Chelsea Hotel - another historical location which served as a symbol of counterculture in the 1960s as it was originally a housing cooperative and the home of numerous known artists, writers and musicians; now a luxury hotel since 2022.
Retail therapy
Chowa Library in Bushwick, a by-appointment library/shop/teahouse/Japanese showroom, where no cell phones or shoes are allowed and L'ENSEMBLE, a new very tasteful, multi brand boutique.
Cultural fix
Jacqueline Sullivan gallery - housed in a former textile factory loft, a gallery dedicated to collectible design and decorative arts.
Donald Judd studio - run by the non-profit foundation preserving the work of American artist Donald Judd, with guided tours of his former New York living and working space in a five-storey cast-iron building on Spring Street.
New York Public Library - The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on Fifth Avenue as a the flagship branch and a prime example of beaux arts architecture, open since 1911.
Neue Galerie & Cafe Sabarsky - a museum of early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design, known for its Gustav Klimt collection, with an old-school charming Viennese café.
FORM Atelier - a Tribeca space with beautiful, modern pieces from the past from the likes of Pierre Jeanneret, Isamu Noguchi and Pierre Chapo.
Take a self-indulging break
Spencer's Spa - a very chic spa in Soho with impeccable interiors.
TERA - a new contemporary by-referral Studio and reformer Pilates Club.
Practise, Inc - for a rejuvenating facial treatment with Kristyn Smith and her team who make you feel at ease straight away.