New York West Village Ellie & Co blog

In May, the New York on My Mind team of two, hopped over the Atlantic for New York to conquer the city for the 15th or so time. All year I look forward to my annual trip to New York, to tucking into a good juicy burger, hunting out a new secret restaurant, stumbling on curious and unexpected sights, gallery hopping my way around Chelsea. Those were my goals for my trip to Manhattan, this time around, among a few other things…

 

What We Did

ivy house west village ellie seymour

The West Village is a leafy haven in the middle of the crazy city, so it’s usually my first destination on the GPS for a jet-lag fuelled wander through its quiet, leafy cobbled streets. Even though I’ve done it so many times before, I never get bored and always notice new details…

half house west village jane street ellie seymour

half house west village jane street ellie seymour

Like this tiny narrow ‘half house’ at 9 1/2 Jane Street, behind a gate up an alleyway in between two rows of houses. Cute! It was common in the 19th century for extra little houses to be built at the back of terraces, as extra accommodation to generate rent.

west village stoop new york ellie seymour

And stoops – who doesn’t love a New York stoop?

west village streets new york city ellie seymour new york on my mind blog

So many beautiful brownstones…

charles street west village new york

 

gallery hopping in chelsea new york

Every Thursday night in Chelsea, the galleries have receptions for their new shows, which you can get
dressed up and gallery hop around – and they give out wine. More information here.

 

For an evening with a difference, we bought tickets to Magic After Hours, a cosy show hosted by magician, Noah Levine, in the perfect setting – the oldest magic shop in New York called Tannen’s, which you discover in the least likely of locations at the end of a corridor on the sixth floor of an ordinary Midtown office building opposite the Empire State Building…

tannen's magic shop new york noah levine

Find more information here and book your tickets to Magic After Hours, here

 

bar murals oak room the plaza

Perhaps one of my favourite unexpected adventures on this trip was sneaking into the magnificent Oak Bar and Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel near Central Park. It closed in 2011 – only open for private events – and I never got to live my Mad Men dreams and have a drink in there, sigh, so sneaking in to feel the nostalgia was the next best thing.

bar murals oak room the plaza

Find the Oak Room in The Plaza Hotel at 768 5th Avenue.



Where We Ate

kuma inn lower east side new york secret restaurant ellie seymour

I love hunting out a ‘secret’ style restaurant wherever I travel, like the Kuma Inn on the Lower East Side. Don’t be put off by dirty, scruffy doorway. Instead, go through it and up the stairs…

kuma inn lower east side new york city secret restaurant ellie seymour

Ta da! A a cosy restaurant perfect for date night serving delicious small plates of Filipino, Thai and Asian dishes!

kuma inn lower east side new york secret restaurant ellie seymour

Find Kuma Inn at 113 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side.

 

tartine french restaurant west villageWhen I return to New York, not only do I want to eat at all my favourite restaurants, I also want to try lots of new places – I’m willing to go anywhere! Pretty much 80% of any trip to New York is based around eating and drinking…

tartine french restaurant west villageTartine is a little cheap and cheerful BYOB Parisian-style bistro on a pretty tree-lined West Village street serving simple and cheap dishes like this – the world’s best spicy chicken and fries.

tartine french restaurant west village

Find Tartine at 253 W 11th Street.

 

spotted pig west village new york city Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog

No trip to New York would be complete without sampling the burger and shoestring fries at the Spotted Pig, a constantly busy corner gastro pub full of cosy corners and busy right up until the early hours every night.

spotted pig favourite burger

Find The Spotted Pig at 314 West 11th Street, West Village.

 

I love having drinks in the Rusty Knot. It’s a hip nautical-themed divey-style bar that feels like your grandfather’s basement, with fish tanks, ship paintings, wooden walls and red armchairs. It’s also right on the Hudson River, perfect for a late-night walk by the water to see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Find the Rusty Knot at 425 West Street.

 

Where We Shopped

John Derian New York Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog 2

Not a New York trip goes by without a visit to John Derian. It’s probably my favourite home store in New York – if not the world? – and one of those home shops you want to just move into. His signature decoupage plates and paperweights feature flowers, frogs, ships and gorgeous typography and fill the shop, alongside striped rugs, scented candles, cheeky art books, woodblock prints and colorful quilts.

John Derian New York Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog 3

John Derian New York Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog

Find John Derian at 6 East 2nd Street.

 

strand books new york ellie seymour

If baggage allowance was no issue, I could go nuts in Strand Bookstore, a landmark shop with 18 miles of books that opened in 1927 and pretty much stocks any book you can think of, as well as a good line in souvenirs.

strand books new york ellie seymour

Find Strand Bookstore at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street.

 

Timbuktu lower east side new york home design store

I went nuts in this bohemian home store packed out with Moroccan everything imagining what I’d put in my imaginary New York apartment.

timbuktu lower east side new york

Timbuktu lower east side new york

timbuktoo lower east side new york

Find Timbuktu at 45 2nd Avenue.

 


Where We Stayed

Processed with VSCO with c8 presetWe usually stay here, but decided to try somewhere new, so our home for the week was the Art Deco-style Walker Hotel, a cosy prohibition-style place, with the perfect location on West 13th Street, just off Sixth Avenue in the heart of Downtown Manhattan close to Greenwich Village and Union Square.

walker hotel greenwich villageThe lobby was the perfect place to curl up after a day pounding the pavements.

walker hotel greenwich village ellie seymour

The Walker Hotel Greenwich Village Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog 3

The Art Deco-style rooms come complete with their own dial phone…

The Walker Hotel Greenwich Village Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog 5

..and complimentary toiletries from C.O Bigelow, the oldest apothecary in the United States founded in 1838 in New York City! It’s still going strong on Sixth Avenue and a great place for a souvenir.

The Walker Hotel Greenwich Village Ellie Seymour New York On My Mind blog 4

Find the Walker Hotel Greenwich Village at 52 West 13th Street.

Until next time, New York City!

1 Comment

  1. Never ever could I get bored of that burger, or the one in Corner Bistro, or the one….

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