Hotel Chelsea Dining Revival: How Teruko, El Quijote, and Café Chelsea Reimagine Old New York Glamour

Hotel Chelsea feels less like a reopening and more like a continuation. First established in the late 1800s, the property has long been a magnet for cultural figures, with names like Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Patti Smith, Arthur Miller, and Bob Dylan woven into its history.

Following its 2022 restoration under hotelier Sean MacPherson, the next chapter has taken shape through its dining program. In collaboration with Sunday Hospitality founders Jaime Young, Adam Landsman, and Todd Enany, alongside longtime operator Charles Seich, the hotel has built a collection of restaurants and bars that reflect both its past and its present.

The result is not a recreation of old New York. It is a reinterpretation, one that understands how glamour once looked and how it translates today.

At Teruko, Executive Chef Tadashi Ono brings a perspective shaped by both tradition and experience. Known for his time at Matsuri and as executive chef of La Caravelle, a defining name in New York’s French fine dining history, Ono approaches Japanese cuisine with a focus on discipline and sourcing.

The menu centers on traditional ingredients sourced both locally and from Japan, creating a balance between authenticity and accessibility. The experience extends into the beverage program, where a collection of more than 390 Japanese whiskies anchors the offering, marking the largest selection of its kind in North America.

The space itself carries a quiet intensity, where attention is directed toward the details on the plate and in the glass.

El Quijote holds a different kind of presence within Hotel Chelsea. Operating for 130 years, the Spanish restaurant remains one of the city’s longstanding dining rooms, now refreshed with a menu inspired by the Basque region.

The culinary direction draws from tradition without becoming fixed in it. The beverage program follows suit, with cocktails built around sherry and classic techniques, reinforcing the restaurant’s connection to its origins while allowing for subtle evolution.

There is a sense that the room remembers what it has been, even as it moves forward.

Café Chelsea introduces a French-American bistro format that feels rooted in New York’s dining history. Led by Chef Jaime Young, the restaurant focuses on dishes that balance comfort with precision, offering a style of dining that feels both approachable and composed.

The space captures a kind of understated elegance, where the details are refined but never overstated. It reflects a version of glamour that relies on consistency and atmosphere rather than spectacle.

At The Lobby Bar, the focus shifts to the ritual of the drink itself. Known for its technique-driven martini program, the bar leans into a style of service that emphasizes craft and intention.

The setting, restored to reflect its original character, creates an environment where time seems to slow slightly. It is a reminder that glamour can be found in the act of sitting, ordering, and staying a little longer than planned.

Across all four concepts, the hotel’s dining program is tied together by a shared team. Pastry Chef Paty Zamarripa, formerly of Michelin-starred Pangea, oversees desserts throughout the property, shaping everything from soufflés at Café Chelsea to black sesame and chocolate-focused creations at Teruko, Basque-inspired desserts at El Quijote, and more familiar sweets at The Lobby Bar.

Beverage Director Brian Evans leads the cocktail and spirits programs, while Wine Director Claire Paparazzo curates wine lists that emphasize a sense of place, drawing from her experience at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

This structure allows each space to maintain its own identity while still feeling connected to a larger vision.

Hotel Chelsea’s dining program does not attempt to replicate a specific era. Instead, it captures the feeling that made the property significant in the first place. A sense of gathering, of conversation, of creative exchange.

The restaurants and bars operate as individual destinations, yet together they form a portrait of what modern New York dining can look like when it draws from its own history.