Hotel brings the best of N.Y.’s dining scene to the guestroom

Move over farm to fork; the next thing in hotel dining is “restaurant to room.” At least it is at the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, which coined the term as part of a program it launched this summer, the Restaurant-in-Room Chef Series, which puts some dishes from New York’s most well-known chefs and eateries on its room service menu.

Launched in collaboration with several of New York’s most highly regarded chefs and restaurateurs, the program started this summer with a few favorite recipes from Danny Meyer’s Blue Smoke restaurant and continues this month with chef Leah Cohen from Pig and Khao. It will be followed by chef Anthony Ricco of Andrew Carmellini’s Leuca and chef Stefano Secchi of Rezdora. Each menu is in place about two months.

I sampled the Danny Meyer menu while at the property in early August, wondering if Blue Smoke’s signature buttermilk fried chicken could be expertly re-created by the cooks in Four Seasons’ in-house kitchen.

It was delicious. Tender and crispy and accompanied by a flaky biscuit, mac ’n’ cheese and deviled eggs. The menu also includes Blue Smoke’s Key lime pie.

While room service upgrades have certainly made in-room eating during the pandemic better, it’s tough to replace what top chefs serve up in their restaurants, especially in a city offering some of the world’s best cuisine. The Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown enables guests to enjoy the best of both worlds; and in my case, it was with uninterrupted views of the lights of Manhattan from the 15th floor. It’s a great spot to enjoy any room service dinner, but it certainly adds to the experience knowing you’re not sacrificing a taste of the city’s best plates.

The property cited an uptick in demand for in-room dining over the past year as the catalyst for the program, as it looked for ways to enhance the experience. The Four Seasons’ executive chef, Maria Tampakis, selected some of New York’s most well-known chefs with the idea “to bring the flavor of the city’s best dishes from restaurant to the room.”

Every two months, the featured chef will curate a menu of three to four dishes highlighting their specialty cuisine. A portion of each dish sold will be donated to the chef’s charity of choice.

“We are always dreaming up new experiences to help our guests discover our city,” Tampakis said of the program. “What better way to do this than through the eclectic food scene we all know and love.”

It was also good to know that Blue Smoke, which debuted in the city 20 years ago and is currently based in its Battery Park City neighborhood, was just minutes from the hotel if Meyer’s dishes left me wanting more.

The Four Seasons said that the Danny Meyer options sold well this summer and that the hotel plans to continue the series throughout 2023. It will unveil its next group of partner chefs later this year.

By Johanna Jainchill