Inside Our New York City Restaurant & Bar: Where Fifth Avenue Meets Paradise

On the corner of 45th & Fifth, tucked into the historic Fred F. French Building, there's a restaurant known as one of Midtown's premier dining spots—but it’s nestled away in a little slice of paradise, elegantly hidden at the top of a grand spiral staircase. The noise of Fifth Avenue fades. The light changes. By the time you reach the top, you've left Manhattan’s fast-paced lifestyle and concrete jungle behind entirely.

This NYC destination is Tommy Bahama’s flagship restaurant and bar. With island-inspired food and drinks, warm hospitality, and original art works throughout the space, the effect of being transported somewhere else is immediate.

"We are known as a power lunch destination where business relationships are built and deals are brokered," says Christopher McLeod, General Manager of our New York City restaurant. "Yet the moment guests step inside, they are welcomed into an oasis of tranquility.”

The Art of Relaxation

Every detail of our New York City restaurant was intentionally designed to feel like an urban getaway. Coastal-inspired artwork lines the walls. Tropical foliage fills the corners. Natural light pours in, softening the hard edges of a Midtown office building into something that feels tropical.

Our restaurant does more than provide an escape from the metropolis, though. It pays homage to the Big Apple by incorporating another iconic landmark into its walls: the Coney Island Boardwalk. Throughout the restaurant, bar—and store—you’ll see window shutters made from Ipe wood salvaged from the historic boardwalk. When part of it was replaced, our design team acquired and repurposed the wood, bringing a piece of the city’s waterfront to our flagship.

“The decades of exposure to sun, salt, wind, and sand give the wood a natural patina that can’t be replicated,” Christopher notes. “Approximately 2.5 miles of the reclaimed boardwalk wood were purchased for the project, and those shutters visually connect the street level with the upper floors of the flagship.”

Another design centerpiece of the restaurant is the two large shell macramé curtains that hang from the wall at the top of the spiral staircase. These beautiful installations were painstakingly handcrafted by artist Jim Olarte, who combed beaches for shells that naturally had holes worn into them. Then, he tied them all together using cord and suspended them from driftwood.

These natural materials, reinforcing themes of island living, sustainability, and craftsmanship, add layered textures and depth to the space.

At the back of the first floor, a hand-painted mural wraps around the private room of the Marlin Bar (which you can book for your own private events). Flamingos peek through foliage, while lily pads and bright botanicals dot the landscape.

Painted by artist Julie Goldman and inspired by Henri Rousseau’s lush jungle scenes, this finely detailed work of art turns the space into a nature retreat. The mural took weeks to paint, with Julie wearing the same pair of pants throughout the entire process.

These paint-stained pants are today framed on the second floor, a quiet testament to her hard work and craft.

Live the Island Life

This devotion to artistry and craftsmanship is not only found in the design features of our NYC restaurant and bar; it is also woven into our menu—from our craft cocktails featuring scratch ingredients, to our dishes highlighting Hudson Valley produce and fresh Northeastern seafood.

“Every detail of the restaurant is intentionally designed to transport our guests, while every interaction from our team, from the first greeting to the final farewell, reinforces our brand promise,” says Christopher.

“Our goal is for every guest to leave believing they experienced more than a meal—they experienced the Tommy Bahama island lifestyle in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.”