The New York City power lunch is not dead. It lives on in the glossy restaurants around Hudson Yards, a district on the west side of Manhattan that – for those who have not visited the city for a few years – seems to have sprung up fully formed and glinting with glass and steel. Tucked into its warren of new-build towers and pedestrianised walkways where NYC executives sit and lunch is Zou Zou’s – a newcomer feeding the upmarket clientele at the recently opened Manhattan Pendry West hotel.
Zou Zou’s has “power lunch” written all over it for several reasons: as well as being in the so-now location to open an office, it has wow-factor high ceilings, big windows letting in the light and instantly zesty interiors. Globe light fixtures like rings of giant pearls dangle above hot terracotta banquettes; Moorish-style tiles pave the way to your table; and tendrils of greenery frame a glam, jade-tiled cocktail bar on one side.
Above you is an intricate criss-crossing wooden ceiling that draws the eye. Running along the inside wall is the very open kitchen, where chefs skewer and smoke juicy chunks of meat, vegetables and lobster, plating up goodies influenced by food from the eastern Mediterranean and Levant: namely Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
We kick off our taste of the region with a platter of mixed dips – we expect to love the creamy hummus and umami-packed babaghanoush, but end up raving about the clean coolness of the whipped ricotta topped with sticky, saffron-infused apricots. All of the above arrive on a retro, Casablanca-feel gold platter in pretty individual ceramic bowls, with freshly pummelled and grilled flatbreads just waiting for us to dive in hands first.
We eavesdrop on suited guys dropping names and making deals around us as we move on to whole grilled artichokes with garlic butter, and a shaved vegetable fattoush speckled with pomegranate seeds and candied pecans. The proliferation of vegetables on this menu will delight veggies and vegans – we didn’t even get to the carrot muhammara dip, the caramelised cabbage or the roasted sweet potato.
The artichokes are a little anticlimactic – after you’ve peeled back several layers of slightly woody, chewy “petals”, a central ’choke the size of a champagne cork is tasty but petite. The fattoush is delicious and full of freshness in a city where we’d inevitably overdosed on melted cheese and red meat.
But best of all are the meaty skewers, packed with Middle Eastern herbs and zingy with lemon juice and pairing beautifully with the veggie sides. Chef Madeline Sperling (formerly of Gramercy Tavern and The NoMad) comes to chat to us about the atmosphere and how the open kitchen and visible grills interplay with the dining room. She’s assisted by Juliana Latif in a female-led kitchen, creating food that matches the room in inviting colours and intriguing detail.
There’s elements of showmanship here that will wow your most important client, too. A fire-roasted leg of lamb is shaved onto the plate at your table, while a duck borek wrapped in flaky pastry is brought whole and sliced up with a mezzaluna. Mint yoghurts and rich pickles come in dinky side dishes, leaving you to load up each forkful exactly as you please. Cocktails are also a big rush of Mediterranean sunshine: think fig, orange blossom, Aleppo pepper, mint and muskmelon garnishing refreshing spritzes and Manhattans with a twist.
Everything on this menu sounds incredibly tempting, but most dishes feature either a name or an ingredient you may not have had before. And with Levantine cuisine not available all over this city, Zou Zou’s feels like a destination in itself.
385 9th Ave Suite 85, New York, NY 10001 | zouzousnyc.com | +1 212 380 8585
