The VNYL restaurant review - New York, USA

At The VNYL, a new bar, restaurant, and club in New York City’s East Village, Irishman owner James Morrissey – who also operates the Lower East Side bar The Late Late – is devoted to keeping the Irish bar alive, but with a contemporary spirit.

Interior designer Sarah Abdallah, of Functional Creative Design, has brought a lush, cheeky feeling – and of course disco balls – to the club’s themed lounges and dining room, creating a mash-up of 1970s luxury residential with a rock ’n roll edge.

Set over four storeys, a polished concrete entryway, that doubles as a record store and coffee shop, opens to the ground floor restaurant, where walls, clad in walnut timber or geometric David Hicks wallpaper, set the tone for a mishmash of custom-made furnishings, vintage pieces and curved banquettes and bar stools that are wrapped in rich tiger leather, manufactured in Ireland by Orior New York. Vintage sconces are complemented by modern Flos pendants by designer Michael Anastassiades and patterned accent fabrics by Schumacher and Pierre Frey and plush velvets by Angela Brown LTD help create a sense of stepping back in time.

Food, by executive chef Jordan Andino, is modern American, inspired by California. Sample DIY lettuce wraps with avocado, lobster, tortilla strips and cherry tomatoes, followed by the juicy fillet mignon, served with roasted vegetables and yoghurt chimichurri.

After indulging in the cookie dough spring roll, head up to the light and humorous Champagne Garden to sip on a postprandial cocktail surrounded by Tommy Bahama palm leaf upholstery and end – or perhaps begin – your evening in the second floor Black Rose Room, where dark green velvet sofas, brass and black marble tables and gold damask-inspired wallpaper by Brooklyn-based wall covering outfit, Flavor Paper, create the perfect sultry setting for beverage director Gareth Howells’ potent concoctions.