Above the wine bar Lei in New York’s Chinatown, a new spot takes a speakeasy-style approach to private dining. Designated as Lei Flat, the secluded dining room was born from an old apartment and caters to groups who crave uninterrupted connection over Chinese home cooking and delectable wines.
Lei Flat complements the 28-seat, James Beard Award-winning restaurant that first opened in June last year. ‘We wanted to have a space that could open the experience for longer dinners and bigger parties,’ says owner Annie Shi, adding that Lei Flat is built for ‘an evening unconcerned by the time constraint of other reservations.’
Shi called upon her longtime friend Rachel Vineberg-Jones of Vine Projects, who designed the main bar, to overhaul a second-floor unit in the building. ‘We didn’t envision a hospitality interior,’ says Vineberg-Jones. ‘Instead, we created a dining room scaled for close conversation and enrobed in deeper hues that encourage you to lean in at the table.’
Lei Flat succeeds a former social club where mahjong was a common pastime. To get there, guests enter a ground-level door and head up a quirky stairwell to a residential-looking unit labeled 2A. A grey, timeworn door acts as a portal into the moody atmosphere, ‘where old and new rub together in a combination that is quintessentially New York,’ says Vineberg-Jones.
Inside, the walls are swathed in the deep plum shade (Poe by Portola Paints) with a Roman clay finish. Dark sapele wood wainscotting and an off-white ceiling enhance the room’s warm elegance. ‘We channeled the spirit of decadent garments, hot pavement and chance encounters reminiscent of [filmmaker] Wong Kar-wai’s Hong Kong,’ adds Vineberg-Jones.
Several details nod to Lei Flat’s specific sense of place, including the wall-mounted Guanyin altar left by the previous owner that was respectfully rearranged. Art from New York-based creatives with Chinese roots bring contemporary flair, such as a large painting by Xiangjie Rebecca Wu and print by Dominique Fung.
The roughly 400 sq ft room is outfitted with two custom rectangular dining tables that can be pushed together or separated to accommodate various configurations, from a seated dinner for eight people to a standing party for 12.
Every booking is staffed by a Lei sommelier and cook, who operate out of Lei Flat’s small, open kitchen featuring green tile and stainless steel cabinetry with octopus tentacle handles. Other necessities complete the tiny pad, with a shiny black-tiled powder room among them.
Under the dining room’s sultry glow, fueled by burgundy candle sconces and soft spotlights, Lei Flat is a glamorous pocket for forging unforgettable nights.
Lei Flat is located at 15-17 Doyers St, New York, NY and is bookable through Lei’s website.