The Waldorf Astoria Is Finally Reopening Alongside Its Three New Restaurants

Eater

14-07-2025

One of the biggest openings of the year, the trio of restaurants in the iconic Waldorf Astoria New York, is happening any day now — a project years in the making.
The landmark hotel, circa 1931, has been closed for renovations since 2017, following the purchase of the building by the Chinese Anbang Insurance Group in 2014 for $1.95 billion (now the state-owned Dajia Insurance Group). The reopening, under the Hilton umbrella since 1949, is a historic event as far as real estate is concerned, as it's one of the most recognized hotels in the world. The renovation is described as 'a total transformation of the building' by Frank Mahan of the architectural firm behind the overhaul, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The hospitality spots will open by mid-July; reservations for the redone hotel rooms, which debut September 1, opened earlier this year.
Frequented by political figures from Queen Elizabeth to the Dalai Lama, just about every U.S. president, and tons of celebrities over the decades (it has even inspired the name for a Muppet), the hotel is poised to showcase its history, remade for 2025.
The marquee restaurant called Lex Yard features chef Michael Anthony leading the kitchen; it is the first new project that the Gramercy Tavern chef has embraced in the 20 years since he's led the kitchen at the Danny Meyer restaurant, where he will remain executive chef. (The restaurant is not under Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group umbrella.) Japanese spot Yoshoku will also debut in the space with chef Ry Nitzkowski. The lobby is home to Peacock Alley, the original name for the lobby bar, with Jeff Bell of Please Don't Tell behind the cocktail menu.
At 47 stories, the Gilded Age hotel at 301 Park Avenue, between 49th and 50th streets, was once the tallest in the world. During this recent near-decade-long renovation, it went from 1600 rooms total to 375 rooms, on the lower 18 stories, with another 372 residences on the upper floors.
The three new restaurants replace La Chine (formerly Oscar's Brasserie), Bull and Bear Steakhouse, and the bar version of Peacock Alley, which closed for reservations in 2017. In the lobby, the clock that was a gift of Queen Victoria in 1893 has been restored for the space.
Here's what we know so far about the restaurants:
A big new project for one of the city's best-known chefs
Named for the Lexington Avenue Track 61 that once connected the property to Grand Central, the 220-seat brasserie, Lex Yard, is a lavish, two-story restaurant designed by AvroKO, offering elevated classics as well as seasonal dishes. (The underground train depot is no longer accessible to visitors.) The restaurant offers an a la carte menu as well as a seasonal prix-fixe menu, the latter of which is available on the second floor. The more casual first level has a menu with raw bar offerings, platters, seasonal grilled vegetables, a fully-loaded lobster roll, leek ravioli, burgers, and beef-fat fries. Prices for first courses and vegetables range from $18 to $40, while mains run $34 and up. The restaurant displays one of two variations on the Waldorf salad in the building — with this one, a salad 'good enough to make people who try it want to eat it again,' Anthony tells Grub Street.
Desserts come from Jennie Chiu, formerly head of pastry at Rosewood Miramar Beach hotels in California. Here, her spin on red velvet dessert made famous at the Waldorf includes a red velvet souffle tart with cream cheese, raspberry swirl ice cream.
A storied space goes all-in on a burgeoning trend
Kaiseki is seeing momentum around New York in places like Chinatown's Yamada and Union Square's Kappo Sono. Yoshoku in the lobby adds a boost. The minimalist wabi-sabi space with views of Park Avenue centers around the building's 1939 'Wheel of Life' mosaic. Expect items like toro tartare, grilled lobster, and king crab. Drinks range from sake to champagne, Japanese spirits, and cocktails like the Tokyo Sidecar, with Kikori rice whisky, yuzu, and sakura.
A hotel bar icon expands to a full-service restaurant
Peacock Alley is the only of the trio of openings that was formerly at the hotel — an import from the 1890s. Originally a cocktail bar, it has been upgraded to become a full-service restaurant. Jeff Bell, known for PDT and the forthcoming West Village project, the Los Angeles import Tacos 1986, opening in Greenwich Village, is overseeing it.
Cocktails like the absinthe-laced Waldorf Cocktail ($38) and the 50th Street Martini ($40) made with Tanqueray, Vetiver, and dry vermouth are on the menu, while a raw bar offers lavish seafood towers stocked with oysters, a lobster roll, caviar, and truffles. Other items remain doggedly classic, like pigs in a blanket and a Waldorf salad.
For this renovation, the designers went back to the earliest plans for the lobby — maple burl veneer, black marble columns, black lacquer and marble bar, ornate French-leaning Art Deco flourishes. The Cole Porter Steinway will still anchor the room. A pianist will, once again, play nightly, a spokesperson confirms.
The ground floor of Lex Yard is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Its second-floor dining room is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner. Yohoku is also open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Peacock Alley is open daily with a breakfast and an all-day menu. Visit Resy or the hotel website for reservations.