The View Marriott Marquis NEW YORK Danny Meyer and Rockwell Group take Broadway’s revolving restaurant to new heights with supper clubinspired cuisine and theatrical design. Words: Hannah Currie • Photography: © Jason Varney for Rockwell Group
W
hen it was announced that New York’s
Square Café and previously, the Michelin-
only revolving restaurant was coming
starred Eleven Madison Park, the venture made
out of retirement, the press reacted
sense. The opportunity wasn’t just about food or
with the kind of fervour usually reserved for the
real estate, but imagining how a space rooted in
opening of a Broadway show. ‘The View rotates
nostalgia could offer something more current.
above Manhattan once again’ was the line from
Perched atop Marriott Marquis New York, in
The New York Times, while The New Yorker
the heart of Broadway, The View is conceived
wrote: ‘Times Square’s revolving restaurant
as both a cultural reset and a hangout with
comes around again’. Opened in 1985, the venue
edge. “At every turn, no pun intended, we
was once known more for its spectacle than its
want to ground the restaurant in its hyper-local
cuisine – a city curiosity that eventually settled
context,” says Greg Keffer, Partner at Rockwell
into a tourist-friendly buffet format. When
Group, the firm tapped to lead the interior
Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), under
redesign. “We imagine it as a place where
the leadership of Danny Meyer, stepped in, it
Broadway casts and crews will come to unwind
was with one task: to create something the
after hours – impromptu musical performances
industry and locals would take seriously.
encouraged – and New Yorkers and visitors will
“The mission is simple,” Meyer commented
080
rub shoulders.”
at the relaunch. “To capture the lively energy
Entering the space feels less like arriving
of Broadway’s Theater District, showcasing a
at a restaurant and more like stepping into a
familiar American menu with dishes that are
theatre. Once out of the lift on the 48th floor,
even better than you ever knew they could be.”
guests are greeted by plush velvet curtains in
For those familiar with USHG’s strong track
Joseph Urban blue – a nod to the famed stage
record, comprising Gramercy Tavern, Union
designer’s signature hue. An Art Deco host stand