Hotel lobbies are no longer flow-through zones thanks to a growing trend in lobby dining—giving guests a reason to congregate in what is effectively a hotel’s living room. No need to make reservations. Just walk through the hotel door, find the first available chair, sink in, and enjoy.
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The Lobby Bar at Westchester Marriott - Advertisement -
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The Lobby Bar
Westchester Marriott
670 White Plains Rd, Tarrytown (914) 631-2200; marriott.com
A coffee bar by day and a cocktail bar at night, The Lobby Bar is within sight as soon as you wander into the Westchester Marriott. From 6:30 to 11 am (closed Monday), you can pick up artisanal coffees (Illy), iced coffees and lattes, croissants ($2), fruit cups ($4), and other baked goods. In the evening (5 pm to midnight, closed Sunday) you can order pizza, burgers, Westchester wings, salads—anything from the Tavern menu, along with specialty and standard drinks. Enjoy your breakfast, dinner, or beer at the polished white counter or take your bites to available tables, or to the red and blue upholstered chairs scattered throughout the soothing, bright, marble and wood lobby.
The Lounge
The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester
3 Renaissance Sq, White Plains (914) 946-5500; ritzcarlton.com/westchester
The Ritz-Carlton brand is renowned for over-the-top service, and that begins as soon as you enter the whisper-quiet lobby. Soft rumba music plays as you ease into plush sea-foam green chairs set around small glass tables alongside the contemporary, glass-and-stone center-room fireplace. The whole refined space becomes a table-service dining area from morning to night (6:30 am to 11 pm) where you can request just about anything from omelets to oysters and specialty cocktails like The Bee Sting ($12)—a blend of Port Chester’s own Comb 100-percent honey-distilled vodka, local organic wild honey, and tangy lemons. Interactive theme nights seven nights a week—e.g., Farm-to-Table, Comfort Classics, Charcuterie & Cheese, Mangia, Chip n’ Dip—feature chef-hosted display tables from 6 to 8 pm and are a big hit with guests and residents.
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Mix Cocktail Bar & Kitchen at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains |
Mix Cocktail Bar & Kitchen
Crowne Plaza White Plains-Downtown
66 Hale Ave, White Plains (914) 682-0050; crowneplaza.com
The Crowne Plaza lobby is a busy place, with check-ins, a bank of free-for-guests computers, and lots of seating. Add to that a coffee/cocktail bar serving lobby loungers, and you’ve got a bit of a party going. Chow down on small plates such as chicken sliders ($11), soup samplers ($7), and lobster mac and cheese ($14). Or go whole cow with steaks, burgers, and the like. In the evening, sip on old-style cocktails like the Manhattan ($12) or the sidecar ($12).
The Bistro
Courtyard by Marriott
631 Midland Ave, Rye (914) 921-1110; 475 White Plains Rd, Tarrytown (914) 631-1122; marriott.com/courtyard
Even the humble Courtyard by Marriott now boasts a cool Euro-style walk-up eatery serving breakfast (6:30 to 9:30 am) and dinner/drinks (5 to 10 pm; Happy Hour from 5 to 7 pm) in the small lobby that proffers blue leather banquettes, a high communal table, tables for two, and comfy couches in a sunken “living room” area. Or take your meal outside to the courtyard. Enjoy a smattering of small plates that encourage guests to “share” and “indulge”; four-cheese mac and Caesar salad ($10.75), spicy chicken and spinach flatbread ($8.95), cocktails, wines, and all types of domestic, imported, and craft beers.
