A series of luxurious surprises greet guests in this innovative and elegantly designed 4,000 SF restaurant. Its inspiration ranges from Spain’s Alhambra Palace to Fellini’s Rome to Manhattan’s own Lower East Side. The space is organized around three rooms, each on its own level:from the ground-level tapas lounge a marvelous staircase leads down to a shimmering grotto where a dinning room sits on an island; and then down to an expansive, skylit second dining room on the lowest level

The tapas lounge, set in the shell of a 1909 building, features a contemporary bar of exotic imported walnut wood and industrial metal. Patrons pass the bar to descend a staircase of stainless steel bar grating suspended over an 18-foot long illuminated reflecting pool to the softly illuminated brick-vaults of the reception hall. Guests may enter either the magical dining grotto or pass through an elegant stair hall to a 14-foot high dining gallery. A island of polished concrete is set in a pool of 7,000 gallons of ozone-filtered water, making it essentially a swimming pool turned inside out. Fifty underwater lights are concealed from view by an eight-inch cantilever shelf. Hidden jets create a soft current in the pool, throwing shimmering ripples of light across the room’s exposed brick walls, vaulted ceiling and iridescent textiles to create a truly unique dining environment.The skylight lounge, located a half story below the grotto and two levels below street level, is accessed by descending poured concrete steps. This unexpectedly tall, color-filled room opens to the sky above. The room is complete with its own walnut and metal bar and a DJ balcony – all in what was once the rear yard of the building. The room is bathed in rich colors inspired by the paintings of Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

The elemental approach to work with the building’s existing material palette creates a seamless blending of new and old architecture. It is impossible to tell where the old space ended and new construction began. The simple palette of brick, mortar, and concrete is embellished with contemporary sensuality of tinted concrete floors polished with automotive wax, elegant plasterwork in the luxurious private unisex bathroom stalls, and slate-colored synthetic concrete surfaces.