‘Top Chef’ Host Is Leading a Members-Only Fine Dining Restaurant in Nomad

In the latest move that pairs a big name with a hotel restaurant, Bravo Top Chef alum and current host Kristen Kish has teamed up with London hotel import, the Ned Nomad (1170 Broadway, at West 28th Street). However, there’s a catch, as she’s running a members-only restaurant. The general public can sample her cooking in the hotel’s Atrium (a ground-floor space) and the bar. No word yet on the name, though it’s on track to open in spring of 2025.

It’s Kish’s first restaurant in New York, having run one in Texas since 2018 at Austin’s Arlo Grey in the Line Hotel. The Ned, which opened in 2022, already houses a branch of Cecconi’s and cocktail bar Little Ned. In 2023, Kish replaced Padma Lakshmi on Top Chef; she won the series in 2012 when she was a chef at Boston’s Menton from Barbara Lynch, now closed. The Ned comes from Soho House creator Nick Jones and Ron Burkle, who, at Dumbo’s Soho House (55 Water Street, at Main Street), recently opened London’s Berenjak from Kian Samyani, a members-only homestyle Persian restaurant. The original that’s open to the public launched in 2018, earning a Bib Gourmand.

Meanwhile, the iconic Waldorf Astoria New York (301 Park Avenue, at East 50th Street) that’s been closed for renovations since 2017, is moving closer to reopening. Room reservations go live on December 10 for 2025 stays. And its restaurant, where Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony will oversee the kitchen, has a name. Lex Yard derives from its Lexington Avenue location and the underground train depot, Track 61, below the hotel (though it’s not accessible to visitors). Anthony isn’t leaving Gramercy Tavern, but rather he’ll be wearing two hats. The new restaurant will feature an American menu of seasonal dishes and “reinterpreted and elevated classics,” he says. There will be an a la carte menu as well as a five-course seasonal option.