Inspired by Chef James Kent’s beloved childhood Long Island shore house, Modellus Novus brought together utilitarian materials conjuring the land and sea for the chef’s second standalone restaurant to achieve both familiar comfort and unexpected elegance. Shortening the distance between the metropolitan location and the sound, the seafood restaurant features an all-day lighting program evoking the sun pattern of Long Island’s East End, with breeze-block CMU walls lining the main dining room and terracotta tile floors to echo coastal domesticity.
Eschewing the glitzy window-lined entrance expected on Park Avenue South, guests enter through the northern side street, as if passing through the mudroom of a home: a no-fuss approach that feels familiar and intimate. The entry vestibule itself is domestic in its scale and materials, awash with a tan textured plaster to transition guests into a new atmosphere. From here, the first introduction to the restaurant is the standalone cocktail bar. Welcoming and surprising, the bar becomes the nucleus of the restaurant, a place to gather before guests disperse under a bar gantry inspired by Donald Judd in both geometry and lighting.
