Words by Yeong Sassall, Vogue Living
Thanks to a certain quartet of fictional Manhattan-dwelling friends, there are few things more quintessentially New York than brunch with a side of champagne. But if you’re looking for a peak New York experience like no other, consider combining lunch with a visit to the Fifth Avenue store made famous by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I was lucky enough to visit Tiffany & Co.’s Blue Box Café during a recent trip to NYC with (yep, you guessed it) three friends, and combined with the fun of shopping with a champagne buzz, it was one of the best days we spent in Manhattan.
Image: Yeong Sassall Opening in November last year amid a flurry of praise for its pretty Tiffany & Co. blue tableware, brushed steel table tops and marble walls; The Blue Box Café quickly landed at to the top of many tourist’s NYC bucket lists. And for good reason – the cute café is tucked away in a corner of the fourth floor of Tiffany’s iconic flagship, offering visitors the chance to shop, eat and dine out on its chic, robin blue interiors.
Image: Instagram/_xxin818
In fact, it’s worth setting aside more than enough time to browse all four floors of the Tiffany & Co. flagship before lunch (or, as we did, before and after dining). With four floors to navigate, including an entire level dedicated to Tiffany’s famous sterling silver pieces, you’ll want amply time to browse the collections. Side note: it’s fair to say our quartet spent the better part of two hours choosing a T Collection piece, aided by the lovely and ever-patient shop assistant Carlos.
Image: Instagram/Yu_Japan
Given it’s Tiffany’s first-ever dining concept, The Blue Box Café sticks to a tried-and-tested range of New York café favourites. While the Breakfast at Tiffany portion of the menu was tempting (serving classics like smoked salmon and bagels or avocado on toast), the two-course lunch menu offers fresh and delicious options for every palette. Starters like burrata with grains, snow peas and radish or Belgian endive with strawberries, toasted almonds, blue cheese and citrus vinaigrette are a fittingly refined East Coast entrée to mains like 57th Street flatbread, Fifth Avenue salad (with Maine lobster, of course) and olive oil poached halibut.
Shared over a bottle of bubbly, it’s hard not to feel overcome with a bit of Holly Golightly/Sex and the City giddiness when dining at such a landmark spot overlooking Central Park. But before you leave to browse the Tiffany homewares also located on level four, don’t forget to order a tray of Tiffany tea cakes to finish. From mini Tiffany bird’s nests to Blue Box petit four and key lime tarts, each dessert is one more tiny and intricate than the next – and the sugar high is worth it for the Instagram alone. Just don’t forget to book.
Feature Image: Tiffany.com
