These 9 Spots Prove That Hotel Restaurants Are Better Than Ever
Hotel restaurants are no longer just a corporate hotel amenity, as generic and familiar as a complimentary bathrobe (you know, the kind that looks like it’s been pressed in a waffle iron). Instead, they’ve become places that really rep the city—hang-outs meant for locals, not just visitors. So as much as we never thought we’d come back from vacation hyped up on a hotel restaurant, these are the nine places we can’t shut up about.
Courtesy of American Son/Eaton1/9American Son at Eaton DC, Washington, D.C.
How do you turn watery, crumbly tofu into plush gnocchi? Or break plain old spaghetti squash out of the zoodle box and make it into a fun-to-eat but not gimmicky vegetarian take on ssam? Give them to chef Tim Ma, who delivers all this and more at his new restaurant inside the very millennial Eaton DC (it’s got a DJ booth, yoga classes, and crystals everywhere). He’s taken immigrant cuisines that have become American staples and rejiggered them into something entirely new but also just so delicious. —Elyse Inamine, digital restaurant editor
Courtesy of Hotel Figueroa2/9Breva at Hotel Figueroa, Los Angeles
It may be haunted (flickering lights, elevators operating on their own), but the historic Hotel Figueroa’s recent renovation brought with it a sexy Basque-inspired restaurant called Breva that’s worth braving a few ghosts for. Sink into one of the cushy jade green banquette and order up a round of giant gintonicos along with pinxtos and not-so-small plates—the roasted mushroom foie gras toast and Fred Flinstone-approved bone marrow doused in chimichurri won’t disappoint. —Hilary Cadigan, associate editor
Photo by Alex Lau3/9Carpenter Hall at The Carpenter Hotel, Austin
The Carpenter Hotel, started by Ace Hotel alums with an assist from our very own editor at large, Andrew Knowlton, anchors itself around the spacious, light-flooded dining room at Carpenters Hall. Must orders at the restaurant include the club sandwich with milk bread, vaquero dip, and the hashbrowns dripping in hot pepper béarnaise. The restaurant’s tagline is “A neighborhood spot that just happens to be in a hotel,” which is probably why it succeeds. So often hotels try and cater to their guests. Carpenters Hall caters to the city of Austin. —Rachel Karten, associate director of social media
Courtesy of The Elysian4/9The Elysian Bar at Hotel Peter & Paul, New Orleans
The minute I showed up here, I realized I had made a huge mistake not booking a room at the Hotel Peter & Paul, housed in a magically re-born 19th-century convent/church/rectory. This is not just a bar: It’s a multi-room wonderland, with a sunny patio, elegant parlor room, and a bar that feels straight out of a glowy Hollywood movie set. There’s not much more you need in this setting than a vermouth spritz, which makes it all the more amazing that you can have a duck-egg omelette with Louisiana caviar too. —J.K.
Photo by Katie Newburn5/9La Neta at The Hoxton, Portland, Oregon
While La Neta’s space might look and feel like a (nicely furnished) hotel lobby, La Neta’s food neither looks nor tastes like any that I’ve ever been served in any hotel lobby (however nicely furnished). The menu, overseen by Submarine Hospitality (a.k.a. Ava Gene’s Joshua McFadden) and run by the chef Johnny Leach, is Mexican with a vegetable halo: The kale enchiladas are not to be overlooked. —J.K.
Photo by Bea da Costa6/9Henry at the Life Hotel, New York City
You could walk into Henry at Life Hotel and the only signal that it’s a historic hotel is the iconic red and white sign out front. Inside, the stylish restaurant and bar shifts from cozy to bumpin’ the longer you stay into the night. Order the collard green salad with coconut dressing and the cornmeal-crusted branzino, but definitely get the phenomenal, fragrant Afropot with a few friends—draw straws for the biggest lobster claw. —Alex Beggs, senior staff writer
Photo by Rinne Allen7/9Tiny Lou’s at Hotel Clermont, Atlanta
The Clermont has long been a local standby for Atlantans: decrepit motor inn on top, crusty-iconic strip club on bottom. But now, while the strip club remains unchanged, the inn upstairs has transformed into an impossibly hip boutique hotel—like, you get a can of PBR when you check in. There’s a rooftop bar and a plush eatery called Tiny Lou’s, where the move is to go big or go home. Order a few small plates (duck consomme poured over light-as-air foie gras dumplings is a must) and a bottle of wine, choose from a well-balanced menu of mains (which features a refreshing array of seasonal seafood and vegetarian options—porcini tart FTW), and don’t forget to save room for pastry chef Claudia Martinez’s Venezuelan chocolate mousse with cardamom ganache for dessert. —H.C.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee8/9Couvant at The Eliza Jane, New Orleans
Just steps outside the French Quarter (read: close enough to party, far enough to sleep), the Eliza Jane is named after the country’s first female newspaper publisher and features a gorgeous French brasserie called Couvant. The name of the game here is by-the-books French classics like buttery escargot with garlic and parsley, juicy steak frites, and big beautiful salads paired with fresh shellfish from the central oyster bar. —H.C.
Photo by Matt Harrington9/9Joann’s Fine Foods at the Austin Motel, Austin
Most people who go to Joann’s probably don’t even realize it’s associated with a hotel—which is, of course, what makes it such a good hotel restaurant. One of the newest spots from the reigning king of Austin restaurants Larry McGuire (he of Jeffrey’s, Josephine House, June’s All Day, etc.), Joann’s is a dream of a retro Tex-Mex diner, where you can have huevos rancheros for breakfast, a turkey club for lunch, and chicken-fried steak with gravy for any meal of the day. —J.K.
