![]() ![]() True to the TAO brand, the space is bookended by custom-made Buddha sculptures. The stair can transform into a runway for fashion shows or serve as bleachers for movie screenings. “We wanted to create a restaurant that was about encouraging social interaction-it’s less about planting yourself at your table, and more about getting up and moving around,” Sullivan says. Made of wood, the stair has deep landings with rounded custom banquettes along the edges and tables and bench seats positioned at the center for prime people watching. The focal point of the voluminous space is the 40-foot-long grand stair. The old brick basement walls were revealed and layered with Chinese calligraphy by Studio Hoon Kim and murals of geisha-style women by UK–based street artist HUSH.Īfter reaching the hostess station, patrons turn right and enter the restaurant bar on the mezzanine level and experience a “wow moment,” according to Shawn Sullivan, a partner with Rockwell Group, as they take in the view of the entire length of the restaurant, down into the main dining room on the cellar level. This move also allowed for a dramatic entry procession that begins with coat check and extends down a long passageway framed by portals made from weathered wood slats. The space it occupies had previously contained a restaurant and a music venue, and Rockwell Group chose to relocate the entrance from 16th Street to Ninth Avenue to differentiate TAO from those former establishments. The 22,000-square-foot restaurant-which spans an entire city block and seats up to 400 throughout-is mostly below grade. “Our mantra for TAO Downtown was’next level shit.'” “We knew that we had to reinvent ourselves due to the fact that we were opening a second location in New York and because the original design, while timeless, was conceived such a long time ago,” says Rich Wolf, co-owner of TAO Group. Capitalizing on the brand’s success, the restaurant and nightclub group engaged Rockwell Group to design TAO Downtown in the lower levels of the Maritime Hotel in the Chelsea neighborhood near the Meatpacking District in New York.Īlthough Rockwell Group did not design either of the previous TAO locations, TAO Group had established a relationship with the firm while collaborating on the Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas and could count on it to deliver a standout interior. The price level is quite standard for Chelsea, so expect to pay around $20 for a cocktail.TAO Group pioneered the Pan-Asian cuisine trend in 2000 when it opened TAO in Midtown Manhattan, followed by a Las Vegas location.Arrive just when they open at 11pm, as the line outside quickly builds up after midnight. It can be tricky to get in on weekends, even if you’re dressed up and with a group of girlfriends, so I would recommend that you get in touch with a good promoter and make sure to get your name on the guest list. If you start your night at the restaurant, you can enter the nightclub from within (if you get past the bouncers), but if you only come for the club, you’ll have to use a separate entrance around the corner from the main entrance to the restaurant, and this is the spot I’ve marked on the map below. The club is located one stair down and it’s so intimate and dark, it almost feels like a speak-easy. A lot of people don’t even know there’s a nightclub, as it is tucked away in the corner of the huge Tao complex, away from the dining area. Now please note that it’s the nightclub and not the restaurant/lounge I’m talking about. ![]() I think you can say that Tao is good looks without the attitude. Not because the club is full of old cougars, but because it’s a really cool place with a non-pretentious, yet super-chic vibe that I haven’t found at any other place in this part of the city. However, the nightclub at Tao Downtown is an exception. Clubbing in Chelsea is fun when you are in your 20s, but nowadays, I feel too old for most of the venues.
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