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New York

Everybody out of the Pool Room?

TRD does some gawking over lunch at the Four Seasons before the fun gets drained

The Pool Room at the Four Seasons
The Pool Room at the Four Seasons

The famed Four Seasons Restaurant has taken some punches of late. But Philip Johnson’s masterfully designed mid-century Pool Room and Chef Pecko’s expertly crafted menu still hold a nearly irresistible cachet for the city’s power brokers — real estate executives included.

Industry regulars include Blackstone co-founder Pete Peterson and CEO Steve Schwarzman, Thor Equities’ Joe Sitt, one-time mogul Kent Swig and 432 Park developer Harry Macklowe.  Recently, The Real Deal spotted another habitual patron: Douglas Elliman’s Faith Hope Consolo.

“Everyone has a favorite restaurant, a neighborhood place ‘where everyone knows your name.’ My neighborhood place just happens to be in the Four Seasons,” said Consolo, who lives and works nearby. “I’m there at least once a week…. I have a set table under this stunning, gigantic tree. I’m there so often, and the staff knows me so well, that I never read the menu — the chef knows my order!”

On another visit, TRD spied One World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein having a roundtable lunch, complete with stacks of paperwork and eight or so men and women. It was an unusual sighting, since Silverstein rarely lunches outside his office.

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He hardly touched his food, but the entire dining room found a moment to pause and gape as a waiter carefully carried the restaurant’s signature foot-tall pink cotton candy dessert to their poolside table.

But the revelry may be short-lived. In the half-empty lunchroom, business people endure the presence of “selfie”-taking tourists, who photograph even the menu — a sure sign that the Pool Room is edging toward cliché.

And in September, the restaurant suffered an epic blow when Seagram’s building owner Aby Rosen plucked the iconic Picasso tapestry “Le Tricorne” from the restaurant’s entryway. Moreover, Rosen has hinted at booting the restaurant when its lease expires in July 2016, or tripling the rent to roughly $3 million a year, plus a cut of the revenue.

Social media was buzzing last month when restaurant owner Julian Niccolini briefly posted on Facebook (the post was soon removed) that he had “booked rock ’n’ roll royalty for a blow-out celebration of New York on 7/31/16,” promising “a party so delicious, it’ll take 21 months to prepare.”

The question is, will it be the last?