A restaurant, floral boutique, and community education space all in one, this Elizabeth Roberts–designed New York eatery is a flower-powered oasis.
By Annie Dahl with Claire Butwinick
Photographed by Emily Hawkes
The bloom of Spring has arrived early in New York’s NoMad district with the opening of Il Fiorista, one of the city’s latest restaurants, which is dedicated to all things floral.
It houses not only a café, bar, and restaurant, but also a florist’s shop, community educational spaces, and a boutique devoted to flowers.
Helmed by chef Garrison Price, the petal-mad restaurant serves edible flowers, herbs, and seasonal dishes that complement the bright, organic-feeling space designed by New York–based architect Elizabeth Roberts. The 85-seat restaurant is filled with ash-topped dining tables, walled with floral-hued frescoes and bronze paneling in the private dining area and at the center of the bar, and graced with a selection of new and vintage light fixtures. The dining room’s oak chairs are by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola and have natural rope backing and woven fabric seats, while the sweeping marble-topped bar is lit by antique brass pendants.
Guests enter the restaurant through the glossy black storefront and continue through the boutique area, where floor-to-ceiling cedar shelving holds home goods for sale and a round table full of colorful flower arrangements sets the tone. The main dining space is separated from a 20-seat private dining room, which also accommodates educational floral workshops, by a Roberts-customized ribbed-glass interior window.
