10 NYC Interiors That Stop Time

Restaurants with unforgettable ambience

Something I love about eating in Jackson Heights is that almost every restaurant has the power to be incredible with little to no decor. Take Angel for example, my favorite Indian restaurant in New York, that has food so good you’d be surprised if they decided to ever hang a painting on the wall. Or Cafe Euroasia in Brighton Beach- an incredible Uzbek restaurant (that doesn’t even have a website) and has nothing other than old TVs playing infomercials in Russian. For these places, no decor is decor.

…But then you go to a place like Manuela where you’re eating amongst hundreds of paintings and sculptures from artists around the world and you realize how powerful an interior can be. How an interior [or lack there of] can make you feel when you’re within it, contrasting what’s outside the door on the other side when you leave with a branded box of matches and return to the rest of your day.

NYC’s most magnificent interiors:

1. Hoexters

Old school New York comes to life at this bistro that hugs central park and is the perfect balance of a casual to upscale from onion rings to caviar. When you walk in, you’re greeted by wallpaper covered in leaping leopards and a lively bar that has an incredible “bar only” burger.

If you step in one room further, the walls are covered in red plaid and have sketches of NYC socialites that dined at the spot in the 70s. My favorite room is their main dining room, which has a celestial mural with moons and stars to truly make you feel like you’re in heaven when you’re eating the best ice cream sundae in the city (I do not say this lightly).

2. Il Totano

This West Village Italian spot is dripping in jewel tones and feels like summer all year round. The massive booths that fit up to 6 people are upholstered in brightly colored velvet, and every plate on the table has little sea creatures sketched on the porcelain.

I also love when a cocktail program matches the room- every single one of their drinks brought out the yellows, oranges, and pinks. My friends and I quite literally shut the place down last time we were here, we came on one of those “first warm days” of the season in spring and it just felt right to be here eating a passion fruit crudo.

3. Monsieur

This East Village cocktail bar from the team who owns The Nines is for my renaissance fair people or my theatre kids. It has THE most magnificent medieval themed interiors with stained glass and tapestries covering the walls designed by Baz Luhrmann’s (director of Moulan Rouge) wife Catherine Martin who has the most eccentric taste.

If you're lucky [or have a lot of money], you can sit in the private booth behind velvet curtains and enjoy a truffle grilled cheese or a banana espresso martini amongst owls and knights.