NYC’s Flex Mussels Gets a Chic Interior at Its New Flagship Restaurant – Robb Report

Seafood restaurant Flex Mussels not too long ago unveiled its new flagship location on New York Metropolis’s Higher East Facet. Initially opening its doorways in 2008, the eatery spent 15 years within the East 80s (and in addition has a West Village department), however after a hearth and eyeing a close-by area, the institution is again once more with a wonderful two-story spot on East 81st Road and third Avenue. For its newest venture, Flex Mussels tapped inside designer Sasha Bikoff to showcase her tackle coastal-chic design.

Bikoff is thought for her use of daring shade and unapologetic maximalism impressed by her worldly travels. Her initiatives are dominated by whimsy, from fantastical silhouettes and ultra-bright hues to contrasting patterns and sudden execution. Her self-described model is Marie Antoinette at Studio 54, however all of her work is exclusive and client- and site-specific.

“We have been launched to Sasha’s work by a detailed hospitality contact [legendary restaurateur Ed Schoenfeld],” says Alex Shapiro, proprietor and daughter of Flex Mussels’s cofounders, Bobby and Laura Shapiro. “We have been instantly enamored together with her design. What I really like about Sasha’s inventive imaginative and prescient is how it’s totally trend-proof. She marches to the beat of her personal drum, and her work constantly feels unique and totally different. All through the design course of, I didn’t really feel as if I used to be designing a restaurant [where] I’d see the identical lighting fixtures repeated or the colour scheme turning into overused. It felt as if we have been designing Flex as a dwelling, respiration being that had its personal distinctive character.”

The beloved neighborhood restaurant, which opened on this new location on the finish of the summer time, has 160 seats unfold over two flooring. Its design is completely distinctive to this spot and is a stark distinction from the unique eatery. The decor options refined nautical motifs, however in sudden methods; Bikoff outfitted the area with heat pastel tones, plaster partitions and rustic prints.

“The inspiration behind the area was coastal stylish, that means that we wished to trace at coastal references, however we didn’t need it to really feel too gimmicky,” the designer tells Robb Report. “The problem is that the restaurant is in New York City and never by the ocean, so it was about being impressed by the menu however not letting it essentially drive the design course of. Our preliminary inspiration was drawn from a picture I posted on my Instagram of the steps at Resort Cala di Volpe in Sardinia, Italy.”

An abundance of texture and shade will make you are feeling comfy whilst you dine. The partitions are impartial with a touch of pink; Bikoff says the aim is to make visitors really feel like they’re seated inside a conch shell. And in lieu of the everyday blue-and-white hues synonymous with nautical interiors, you’ll as a substitute discover a lagoon-inspired green-blue shade dotting the institution, paired with a darkish wooden. Different refined sea-centric components embody the hostess stand, which echos the sides of a seashell. True to her preliminary inspiration of a Sardinian resort, the restaurant has an old-world European rustic vibe, emphasised with classical architectural components of curved arches, French bistro chairs and colourful terrazzo tiling.

“Murano orange pendant lights dangle all through the area with orange bar pendant lights, each of which have been impressed by the colours in Nineteen Twenties and ’30s Cote d’Azur journey posters and Alex’s branding for Flex,” Bikoff says. “I designed the French bistro chairs in an array of enjoyable colours, additionally as a nod to the photographs and colours in these classic posters.”

Extra design particulars embody saddle-colored vintage leather-based banquettes in a wave sample with lagoon-blue piping; customized limewash paint from Portola Paints; Pierre Frey wallpaper and Maison Gatti chairs. Bikoff additionally notes there was one other key consider creating the stylish inside.

“Alex, being a younger feminine restaurateur, additionally drove my inspiration for the area, as there may be an apparent recent aptitude of sophistication and playfulness,” the designer says.

Flex Mussels, recognized for serving Prince Edward Island mussels and quite a lot of delectable seafood dishes, can also be increasing its menu. Count on further oyster varieties, extra uncooked bar choices, similar to razor clams, and a caviar program in partnership with Kya Bya.