Rubbing shoulders with Manhattan fixtures like the Maritime Hotel and TAO Downtown would be an intimidating proposition for some, but not for chef Mario Batali and restaurateur Joe Bastianich. The culinary duo recently arrived on the Chelsea block with La Sirena, where their Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group (B&BHG) collaborated with New York-based TPG Architecture to craft a midcentury modern design consistent with the spirit of the trattoria-style cuisine and the hotel in which it’s located. “Everything was driven by Mario and Joe’s plan for the F&B program—Mediterranean influenced and on the more casual side,” explains TPG studio director Diana Revkin.
The restaurant boasts two massive dining rooms—North and South—linked through the Maritime lobby and its outdoor plaza. The location of the kitchen behind the North dining room posed a hurdle for establishing an organic connection to the South dining room. “The solution was to create a glass-enclosed loggia parallel to the hotel lobby, taking over part of the plaza to do so, thus creating a connection between the two dining rooms—and a major opportunity for a dramatic bar area,” Revkin explains.
The exterior of the dining rooms and bar is outfitted with a new glass and steel curtain wall system so that the indoor environment to feel like more of an extension of the plaza, and other necessary infrastructure changes included cutting back both dining areas in order to add more seating to the plaza. “The design language was intended to be very clean and edited—with as much natural light as possible spilling in from the plaza during the day—and subtle lighting at night, heightening the drama,” says Revkin.
The plaza’s aesthetic translates a 1960s Italian Riviera vibe through a modern lens, with numerous mosaic and tile combinations considered to achieve the most authentic look. Original poured terrazzo, from the 1960s and ’70s—leftover from the previous tenant—is refurbished in both dining rooms, and globe-like light fixtures perpetuate the midcentury theme while referencing the circular motifs of the Maritime Hotel’s windows and flooring. “By running a continuous floor material both inside and out the bar area and outdoor plaza dining area feel like a single space,” Revkin adds.
The central, 38-foot-long white quartz bar glitters just beyond the dark portico and host station. Dramatically lit, it balances the bold floors with a neutral surface—an ideal backdrop for quality cocktails. After dark, the glowing back bar and small pin-spots and candles help set a more intimate mood after dark.
The dining room, with it’s minimalist black and white palette designed to emphasize the food, features a central server station finished in gunmetal gray to match the windows and entry vestibule and complete with a dramatic floral arrangement. Disrupting the uniformity is a Tuscan red entry door—B&BHG’s signature color.
