The famed Garden restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel looks like it was stuck in a time warp as the iconic property finally reopened its doors Friday after being shuttered for four years.
The exact same 20-foot-tall acacia trees still soared majestically among the identical 86 seats that made the Garden a favorite destination for locals and tourists alike during its heyday.
But an exclusive tour of the property and sit-down with the Garden’s new executive chef earlier this week revealed there are plenty of changes — and not just on the menu — at the hotel owned by Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner.
Maria Tampakis – who previously worked for Heston Blumenthal in London as well as Gordon Ramsay, and most recently helmed the kitchen at the Four Seasons in downtown Manhattan – plans to play on the nostalgia while adding as many twists as the undulating trees in the Garden.
“People are nostalgic for the classics they remember, but I’m going to do them differently, so they’ll remember the flavor, but it will be in a new dish,” Tampakis, the restaurant’s first female executive chef in decades, told Side Dish.
She cited a signature “Steak Diane” tartare as an example. The flavors of cognac and wild mushroom will be turned into an emulsion and folded into the steak tartare.
There are other decadent delights on the revamped menu, including foie gras parfait in the shape of an apple, “welcoming you back to the Big Apple,” Tampakis beamed, as well as lobster thermidor.
New dishes will also include a tiered platter of smoked fish — a classic part of New York’s cuisine for more than 100 years — served with mini bagels and a caviar option. There will also be serious classics, like Beef Wellington but with a twist — served with shaved truffles and truffle cream.
The Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, native – who now lives on Staten Island with her family – said the dishes will be northern Italian influenced. They include a panettone French toast, as well as agnolotti stuffed with short ribs and caramelized onion and pecorino fondue.
However, she does plan to keep the always popular lemon ricotta pancakes.
Aside from the Garden, another popular spot that has hardly changed at the 52-story Art-Deco hotel, designed by I.M. Pei, is the Ty Bar, formerly called the Ty Lounge.
Named for the hotel’s reclusive owner, it remains in the grand lobby, with its 33-foot-high glass ceiling and marble columns. Ty Bar features cozy lounge tables and chairs for small parties, giving the open space an intimate feel, though diner faves like the Korean beef tacos, will no longer be on the menu.
“When we came back in here, the vision was very clear,” Tampakis said. “We didn’t want to mess with the bones. It was so important for everyone who came through here. It triggered a core memory of the last time they were here and so the direction was, ‘We aren’t going to change the footprint, but we will change the food and elevate it.’”
Ty Bar will serve some luxe bites along with craft drinks that run through the city’s cocktail eras “sip-by-sip,” starting with Gilded Age-inspired “Ty Manhattans,” to a “Don Draper”-style three martini lunch flight to the “5th Ave. Cosmo.”
Although the cocktails are classics, they all come with a twist. A gin and tonic, for example, might come with a delicate pear flavored note, or sage and rosemary flavors that unexpectedly work.
“You can go anywhere, so we want not just good, but great bar food. We want to take you to the next level so you want to come back to try the rest,” she said.
During the preopening visit on Wednesday, Tampakis took a break from working — which included tasting a new pasta dish, and instructing the cook to make the flavor a tad more subtle — to talk about the hotel’s history.
She noted how most of the front of the house staff will be “the same faces you remember,” many of whom have worked here for 30 years, while about 55% of the kitchen staff will be the same, giving her a chance to bring in some new energy too.
“I’m conscious of the struggles we’ll face with a team that hasn’t been here for four years,” Tampakis said. “But this is such an iconic property, and it’s such an incredible opportunity to bring new life here, a new facelift, a new experience.”
The swanky tower at 57 E. 57th St. will now have 219 hotel rooms from floors 20 to 52, while long-term rentals will be from the fifth floor to the 19th floor.
Sizing down is the trend these days “to better focus on the guests we have. There is so much potential,” said Tampakis, who is also in charge of room service.
As The Post reported, the Four Seasons is poised to restore its claim as New York City’s priciest hotel, with rooms starting at $2,450 and the Ty Warner suite priced at an eye-popping $80,000 a night.
