Vandal: Street Art meets Fine Dine in NYC Restaurant

The 12,000-square-feet space incorporates boasts open dining areas, a “secret garden,” sub-terranean lounge, clandestine dining spaces, and a curated “flower shop” at the foyer. Designed by the Rockwell Group (an award winning architecture firm in New York with satellite offices in Madrid and Shanghai) and the renowned British street artist HUSH, the extravagant and eccentric design of the restaurant is a fine illustration of art, architecture, and food of international street traditions from all over the world.

Deliberated at one of the oldest streets in Bowery, the restaurant is a unique venture by the TAO Group and Chef Chris Santos celebrating the history and culture of the downtown, lasting on the streets since 17th century. The two-level space includes a bar/lounge, restaurant, garden dining area, private dining room, and cellar bar/lounge.

The interiors of the restaurant are highly electrifying, with seven internationally-acknowledged “vandals” commissioned to craft site-specific installations inside and outside the restaurant. An eye catching decor comes up from the mystic blend of local street art with the restaurant’s internationally inclined fusion food. The street artists indulge into the various exciting possibilities of art through dissimilar mediums and techniques to create humongous murals; lending an inimitable aesthetic to the decor.

The most striking feature at the restaurant is a minimalist flower shop designed by creative floral studio Ovando. A vaulted brick tunnel is constructed to greet visitors with an 11' tall break-dancing rabbit installed outside of the murals. The idea behind the dancing piece was stimulated by the break-dance culture significantly found on the streets of Bowery. The Rockwell Group were so enthused that they actually recreated a now-discontinued shade of Krylon spray paint called “Icy Grape” particularly to polish the rabbit. The paint was such a hit with the taggers, that the paint manufacturers actually started making it again - mostly for adorning the graffiti on city streets.

“I wanted to bring the outside inside” said HUSH. In addition to the British artist, various other artists like OBEY, Apexer, Tristan Eaton, Eelus, Vhils and Will Barras have contributed in designing the colossal murals for the project, starting from the secret gardens, to the back bar or to the lounge room. Truly the Vandal’s built environment is  exciting, intriguing and appealing - and it is certainly one of the most worth-visiting spots around the NYC!!!