Setting a dramatic 10,000-square-foot stage in Midtown Manhattan, interior designer Andres Escobar has created an exciting two-story paean to haute cuisine and fine living at NOIR, 151 East 50th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues. The site of a circa 1926 opera house, former speakeasy and posh 1950s supper club, it is where Edit Piaf made her U.S. debut, Desi Arnaz sang Babbalu and Abbott & Costello’s hilarious high-jinx entertained a nightly audience.
“My mandate was to create an urbane destination for both after-work relaxation and romantic dining,” says Mr. Escobar. “The bones and history were already there, so I embraced the soaring ceiling heights and expansive space in the design to create an elegant, uplifting environment.”
The entrance to NOIR opens to a bustling lounge that flows into the main dining room, visually separated by an Art Deco-inspired spiral staircase, with marble steps and leather railings. The two-level restaurant is surrounded by dark wood walls with lush curved Hollywood booths, and is punctuated by an enormous silver anthracite chandelier and lighting dim enough to make everyone beautiful. The glamorous effect hearkens back to Madison Avenue’s mid-century heyday in a setting fit for Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. At the very end of the main dining room is a glass-enclosed private dining area with seating for 20. On the second floor is a lounge with music spun by some of the city’s top DJs.
Owned by veteran restaurateur George P. Iordanou of GPI Entertainment (TAJ Restaurant and Lounge and One51), NOIR features a contemporary menu developed by Michelin-star rated Chef Jean-Yves Schillinger, best known for his Alsatian restaurant JYS is in Colmar, France. More information about NOIR Restaurant may be found at www.noir-ny.com <http://www.noir-ny.com> .
About Andres Escobar & Associates
Founded by award-winning designer Andres Escobar in 1989, Andres Escobar & Associates, www.escobardesign.com <http://www.escobardesign.com> , is a leading interior design firm based in Manhattan and Montreal that has been responsible for a broad range of residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, corporate, institutional and private residential projects in cities worldwide, including New York, Miami, Montreal, Toronto, Dubai, London, Paris, Geneva, as well as in India and Asia. In addition, Mr. Escobar has designed his own signature line of furniture.
Over the years, the eponymous firm has developed a name synonymous with sophistication and fine style; with work best recognized for sensitive detailing and the use of high quality, often exotic materials. With a team lead by Mr. Escobar, recent projects include the adaptive re-use renovation of the original New York Times Building and such signature Manhattan condominium projects as District (111 Fulton Street) and The Olcott (27 West 72nd Street), a conversion of an Art Deco hotel. In addition, Andres Escobar & Associates has designed the interiors of Harsen House (120 West 72nd Street), the first LEED certified project on the Upper West Side, The Corner (200 West 72nd Street), Z Hotel (Long Island City) and Columbus Square (775, 795, 805 and 808 Columbus Avenue).
During a storied career spanning more than two decades, Mr. Escobar has worked on myriad residential, retail and hospitality projects with such preeminent architects as Costas Kondylis, Karl Fischer, DeWitt Tishman, BKSK, Thomas Phifer and Partners, Greenberg Farrow, Gertler & Wenke, Thomas O’Hara, Gene Kaufman/ Gwathmy Siegel, Goldstein Hill & West, Gruzen Samton, James Scoth, Marco Piva (Milan), Arcop International, Robert Dupuch Paris, Tirant Associates Seychelles and Didier Dove Mauritius.
