Dowling’s at the Carlyle – BRINGS LUXURY NOSTALGIA BACK TO NEW YORK
It is a new era at the old NYC Carlyle hotel, as its restaurant reignites classic fine dining traditions that dominated the 1930’s. ‘Dowling’s at the Carlyle’ is named for Robert Whittle Dowling, a real estate investor and philanthropist that acquired The Carlyle hotel in the 1940s. In 1915, Dowling was the first recorded man to swim around Manhattan. This took him about 13 hours and 45 minutes. The dedication Dowling exerted in this pursuit, is exactly how Executive Chef Sylvian Delpique approaches his menu and execution at the revamped restaurant.
This Upper East Side hotel eatery of 80-seats has become an intimate space for Delpique to reinvent and elevate classic American and European dishes. With immaculate service and table side preparations, it could be said that old school dining is successfully making a comeback at The Carlyle hotel.
Inspired by art deco designer Dorothy Draper who originally styled the hotel lobby, the once lively lux restaurant ambiance had since faded to a gloomy brown monotone décor. Modern designer William Paley gently revived the space by packing the walls with pretty and playful wall art and reinventing the rooms palette to a vibrant mix of black, white, and brown. Paley’s carefully chosen art display includes paintings by Ludwig Bemelmans, for whom the adjoining Bemelmans Bar is named. With good judgement, Paley also kept the main room’s adored centerpiece, a classic ensemble of banquettes arranged like a pinwheel.
There is a lot of old that is new at the Dowling. Many of the new featured dishes echo old-school Manhattan fine dining traditions. You are welcomed with warm bread and butter and serviced like royalty for the duration of your meal. Treated almost like a dinner with a show, there are tableside flames, carving stations and saucing. The old-style service includes dishes like the salt-crusted branzino filleted tableside and paired with the dreamiest lemon butter sauce. A flambe station is used to ignite intimate table side interaction with just one pour of cognac. This flair can be seen when ordering dishes like the steak Diane and the flaming Grand Mariner sundae.
The Dowling’s Menu remembers many classic dishes that may have been forgotten. It showcases items like the spicy lobster bisque, pumpkin-ricotta raviolo and a chicken pillared that is perfectly pounded paper thin. Under Delpique’s direction, all items are made fresh and in house. Open seven days a week, be sure to make a reservation in advance to secure your experience.
