The Surrey has chosen Frenchman Daniel Boulud, best known for his eponymous New York eatery, to take care of the food side of things at the hotel. The space itself was conceived by New York architect James Harb and Parisian designer Patrick Naggar and features rice paper shades, Tibetan-inspired wool carpets and smart wood panelling. A round the tables, laid with Rivolta Carmignano linens, Limoges porcelain and Spiegelau glassware, are custom-designed, mahogany framed chairs with burnt coral leather seats and cocoa banquettes which ensure a truly comfortable dining experience. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch as well as a daily prix-fixe menu. The beautifully presented continental breakfast buffet is one of the options for the morning meal, however, there is also a choice of eggs, sausage, bacon, waffles, cereals and bagels.
With Boulud's four culinary muses (la tradition, classic French cuisine; la saison, seasonal delicacies; le potager, the vegetable garden; and le voyage, the flavors of world cuisines) in mind, executive chef Gavin Kaysen and pastry chef Noah Carroll deliver a French cuisine including a red wine risotto with braised oxtail and castelmagno cheese or poulet rouge coq au vin with carrots, fingerling potatoes and celery at lunch and white asparagus gratinée with poached hen egg, speck ham and frisée salad or seared short rib dumplings with daikon radish, shiitake mushrooms and scallion vinaigrette in the evening. Finish off with caramelised apples with walnut sable, vanilla bavaroise and calvados ice cream or the molten chocolate cake with coffee ice cream. Oenologists will find their calling with the US/French dominated wine list which features hundreds of bottles.
Just next door to the restaurant is Bar Pleiades, named after the French restaurant popular with Manhattan's art elite during the 70s and 80s. The Art Deco décor, inspired by Coco Chanel, features black and white lacquer finishes, quilted walls and leather banquettes. Just like the cuisine next door, the signature cocktails follow Boulud's four muses.