With three Michelin stars under his belt, Dani Garcia is one of the hottest names in the international fine-dining world. He has been serving cuisine that fuses his Andalusian heritage and the cooking techniques he has picked up from around he world for over 20 years.
Dani recently opened Casa Dani – one of two fine-dining restaurants at Citizens, a 17-storey office complex located between Hudson Yards and Penn Station in Manhattan West – which celebrates his Spanish cuisine heritage. The Rockwell Group, a New York-based architecture and design studio, designed Citizens with multiple bars and a food hall for all to enjoy – employees, local visitors and tourists. Casa Dani is one of them.
“After receiving his third Michelin star for his eponymous restaurant in Marbella, Spain, Chef Dani Garcia wanted to rethink his approach to fine dining with the creation of Casa Dani at Citizens New York. As the name suggests, he wanted to create a more personal restaurant that celebrates his Mediterranean roots,” explains Greg Keffer, a partner and studio leader at Rockwell Group.
Casa Dani is located beside quick-service dining concept Pollo Verde, which specialises in rotisserie chicken. Guests are greeted with a display of terracotta and glazed pots and the chef’s Spanish olive oils. From here, guests are led through a compressed space reminiscent of Spanish villas, with an undulating ceiling and warm walnut parquet flooring.
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On the right side by the entrance, a 9-m-long open kitchen, framed by glass and a brushed stainless steel box, overlooks the double- height dining room. In the kitchen, the cook line directly faces guests, highlighting the theatre of cooking.
Guests descend a staircase with leather-wrapped rails from the bar/lounge area into the main dining room. Custom lace drapery screens divide the main dining room into several booths, larger family-style round tables, as well as two-person tables for intimate dining. Mediterranean tones include light wood, warm clay plaster, tiles, and marble, while Mori pendant lights from RBW emit a lantern-like ambience.
The site presented a design challenge with its dramatic change in height from a low ceiling to the main dining area. Hence, the undulating ceiling and rustic terracotta tile floor that, along with plants, create a sense of dining on a terrace.
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The open fireplace with handmade emerald green tiles echoes the curves of the ceiling. The sights and smells of Casa Dani’s innovative cooking techniques and dishes fill the air, from the kitchen to the adjacent bar and lounge. The L-shaped bar has a green sculpted marble counter, green fluted ceramic tiles, and custom ivory leather stools with a bronze base.
A mirror-backed bar reflects the activity in the kitchen throughout the bar and lounge area. A woven rope art piece next to the bar is
inspired by the fishing villages of Andalusia, where the chef is originally from. Throughout the lounge, custom solid marble tables, banquettes and counter-height seating provide various seating options, while potted olive trees reference the region’s prized exports.
![rockwell-group_casa-dani_photography-nikolas-koenig_6_hr-1024x741-1](https://sonadecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/rockwell-group_casa-dani_photography-nikolas-koenig_6_hr-1024x741-1.jpg)