Upper East Side views, homes, restaurants, and art galleries
New York is in the midst of a cold stretch, but the Upper East Side is hot. With more new condominium developments in the pipeline than any other Manhattan neighborhood, the stunning reception of The Surrey, a Corinthia Hotel (with a residential component on top), hip new restaurants opening every week, architect Frida Escobedo’s Metropolitan Museum of Art wing design, the soon-to-be revealed Selldorf-renovated Frick, and so much more, the Upper East Side is a hive of activity and the epicenter of culture.
Bloomberg magazine recently named the Upper East Side among its top travel destinations for 2025. Before the influx of even more tourists arrives, take the opportunity to explore the neighborhood's vibrant new attractions, captivating exhibits, and exceptional eateries.
Bloomberg magazine recently named the Upper East Side among its top travel destinations for 2025. Before the influx of even more tourists arrives, take the opportunity to explore the neighborhood's vibrant new attractions, captivating exhibits, and exceptional eateries.
In this article:
Upper East Side Museums
The Metropolitan Museum of Art ("the Met") recently announced their highly-anticipated design of the new Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing by the Mexican architect Frida Escobedo.
Expected to open in 2029, the wing will house The Met’s collection of 20th- and 21st-century art and address the museum’s critical accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability needs, as well as create a seamless connection with the rest of the museum and Central Park.
Expected to open in 2029, the wing will house The Met’s collection of 20th- and 21st-century art and address the museum’s critical accessibility, infrastructure, and sustainability needs, as well as create a seamless connection with the rest of the museum and Central Park.
Ms. Escobedo, founder and principal of her eponymous studio, commented, “The wing is in New York, yet of the world; it reflects the global nature of this great collection and also draws inspiration from The Met’s unique surroundings.”
In 2018, Ms. Escobedo was the youngest architect to design London’s Serpentine Pavilion. She is now the first woman to design a wing in The Met’s 154-year history.
The five-story wing will feature a distinctive limestone lattice screen, inspired by traditional Mexican breeze walls, that will respond to and regulate the natural light as well as deepen the connection to the surrounding nature.
The five-story wing will feature a distinctive limestone lattice screen, inspired by traditional Mexican breeze walls, that will respond to and regulate the natural light as well as deepen the connection to the surrounding nature.
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Staying within the existing wing’s footprint, the new wing will not exceed the height of the museum yet its ceilings soar up to 22 feet, making room for works of all sizes. The redesigned gallery space will increase by 50% with only adding an additional 5,000 square feet to the current 120,000-square-foot wing.
The Met vows to use cutting-edge sustainable design practices with an effort to reduce its carbon footprint and states that the construction will generate 4,000 union jobs, while targeting 30-40 percent minority and women-owned businesses.
The Met vows to use cutting-edge sustainable design practices with an effort to reduce its carbon footprint and states that the construction will generate 4,000 union jobs, while targeting 30-40 percent minority and women-owned businesses.
On display now, the Met’s striking Facade Commission, featuring South Korean artist Lee Bul, was inspired by the museum’s Thomas Hart Benton’s “America Today.” Viewing the work as Mr. Hart Benton’s utopian interpretation of what it means to be American, Ms. Bul envisioned her sculptures as four guardians of the museum. The two human and two animal abstracted forms explore the continuum of admiration and destabilization of history.
Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph presents artifacts from the second-generation Modernist's life and work. It is open through March 16, 2025.
In April, The Frick Collection will reopen at 1 East 70th Street with their long-awaited Selldorf Architects-designed renovation. The museum will reinstall masterworks in new and restored spaces on the first floor with the addition of a new suite of galleries on the mansion’s previously private second floor.
In June, the Frick will present “Vermeer’s Love Letters,” reuniting three of the artist’s works: “Mistress and Maid” which is owned by the Frick, with “Love Letter,” on loan from the Rijksmuseum, and “Woman Writing a Letter, With Her Maid,” from the National Gallery of Ireland.
In June, the Frick will present “Vermeer’s Love Letters,” reuniting three of the artist’s works: “Mistress and Maid” which is owned by the Frick, with “Love Letter,” on loan from the Rijksmuseum, and “Woman Writing a Letter, With Her Maid,” from the National Gallery of Ireland.
Following the stark minimalism of their Jenny Holzer exhibit, the Guggenheim Museum presents Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910-1930, an exhibit filled with works from Marcel Duchamp to Sonia Delaunay. The “compositions are dancing and cinematic, existing somewhere between expressionism and cubism with ambiguous shapes and contrasting colors” up the Frank Lloyd Wright spiral. It is open until March 9, 2025.
In one of the annexed galleries, the Collection in Focus: Piet Mondrian, Ever further displays Mondrian's distinctive abstracts utilizing primary color blocking, the exhibition aims to chart the artist's life course with his rare sketchbooks on display. It closes April 20, 2025.
Upper East Side Galleries
Coinciding with their 30th anniversary, the London-based White Cube opened their first US gallery on the Upper East Side in September 2023. The three-story space will present a solo exhibition of works by Etel Adnan celebrating the life and career of a leading voice of Arab-American culture. Showcasing works from the last 20 years, the exhibit will include a large-scale ceramic work, tapestries, paintings, works on paper and leporellos - folded books that, when open, extend nearly 20 feet. It opens January 22.
Brooklyn-based ceramic artist Stephanie H. Shih’s upcoming solo show at Alexander Berggruen will exhibit her painted sculptures of everyday, mass produced objects through Shih’s unique lens. This will be Ms. Shih's first solo show with the gallery, and opens January 22.
Almine Rech's Upper East Side location, one of 11 galleries around the world and one of two in Manhattan, will open “Marie Laurencin, Works from 1905 to 1952” on January 9th. “In a 1952 article for TIME, the French artist Marie Laurencin was asked about her unwavering interest in the female form. Born in 1883, she had been producing paintings, watercolors, and drawings depicting elegant young women since her twenties. Now in her late sixties, she indicated to the TIME journalist that she had no intention of changing course. ‘Why should I paint dead fish, onions and beer glasses?’ she quipped. ‘Girls are so much prettier.’”
Opening a location on the Upper East Side in 2020, the David Nolan Gallery specializes in modern and contemporary works by international artists, from different generations and cultures, working in a variety of media. On January 10th, the David Nolan Gallery will present Erwin Pfrang: The Ghosts Ask, its sixth solo exhibition of the German painter, printmaker, and poet.
Occupying the 17,500-square-foot former home of arts philanthropist Archer Huntington and sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, the Rafael Viñoly-renovated space is dedicated to diverse, non-traditional, cutting edge, international art. Salon 94’s next exhibit, opening January 10th, will show artists Miles Greenberg and Takuro Kuwata.
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New Upper East Side restaurants
Restaurateurs and brothers David and Joshua Foulquier, lifelong Upper East Side residents, already made their mark on the neighborhood with Sushi Noz, a two-Michelin-starred hot spot on East 78th Street. In December, they expanded their stake in the Upper East Side by opening Chez Fifi, a French restaurant honoring their late mother, around the block from where they grew up. Serving a Basque-accent infused menu, the 2,000-square-foot space spans two levels, accommodating 40 diners in the main dining room and 28 in an upstairs salon.
Chez Fifi marks the U.S. debut of the acclaimed Joyn Architectural Design Studio, a women-owned Stockholm-based firm celebrated for its work on Sweden's renowned Frantzén. The restaurant's design marries nostalgic Parisian charm with contemporary New York sophistication, featuring gleaming mahogany paneling, deep blue accents, upholstered banquettes, and moody mirrors that complete the sumptuous ambiance.
Hailing from South Beach, Casa Tua brings its signature flair to the Upper East Side, replacing Café Boulud with a stylish public restaurant and a soon-to-open private club, discreetly accessed through The Surrey’s lobby. Casa Tua’s interior channels the warmth of a luxurious library, with dim lighting, curated bookshelves, plush banquettes, and moody mirrors that exude sophistication.
For founder Miky Grendene, establishing Casa Tua on the Upper East Side fulfills a long-held aspiration. “The energy and sophistication of the neighborhood have always resonated with me,” he explains. “The Upper East Side defies trends — it’s timeless, much like Casa Tua itself. In many ways, this feels like the perfect fit. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
For founder Miky Grendene, establishing Casa Tua on the Upper East Side fulfills a long-held aspiration. “The energy and sophistication of the neighborhood have always resonated with me,” he explains. “The Upper East Side defies trends — it’s timeless, much like Casa Tua itself. In many ways, this feels like the perfect fit. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
The newly-minted Michelin-starred Cafe Boulud closed during the pandemic and has since moved from its previous location in The Surrey to East 63rd Street and Park Avenue. With the Art Deco-inspired interiors perfectly matching the French fare’s presentation, the restaurant offers four prix-fixe menus inspired from Daniel’s Rhone roots: La Tradition (French classics), La Saison (seasonal specialties of the market), Le Potager (the vegetable garden), and Le Voyage (exotic flavors from the world’s great cuisines).
As the newest member of the Lusardi family restaurants, Nightly’s sits on the same side of the same Second Avenue block as Lusardi's, Uva, Uva Next Door, and speakeasy Key and Heels. “Each distinct restaurant serves their own unique fare, “complementing each other like outfits in a wardrobe,” comments Massimo Lusardi, the son of Mauro and nephew of Luigi, the founders of this homegrown restaurant row.
“With each location we designed and created an experience that transports guests to different worlds. Uva is a rustic Tuscan farmhouse. Uva Next Door is 60s deco meets an Italian living room. Keys and Heels is old Hollywood glam meets Savannah. And Nightly’s anchors you right where you are. It is a true quintessential New York City neighborhood joint.”
At 90 years old, Giorgio Armani shows no signs of slowing down. This fall, Armani made a fashionable triple debut on Madison Avenue with the introduction of Armani/Ristorante, The Giorgio Armani Residences, and his Armani/Casa products. The restaurant infuses contemporary design and vintage charm, à la brand. The spacious main dining area has soaring ceilings and furnishings with soft lines and green lacquer accents complemented by eucalyptus wood details, with a more intimate room for special occasions. The menu blends traditional Italian recipes with a New York twist.
Grabbing the headlines, the reveal of the Louis Vuitton stacked-luggage trunk lookalike building opened at 6 East 57th Street in late October 2024. On the fourth floor, the Cafe Louis Vuitton’s dining room is decorated in neutral tones with a 650-title library filled with wall-to-wall books. Offering everything from coffee to cocktails, the restaurant’s menu is French inspired, serving their signature Trio of Eggs and the Noisette Entremet.
Upper East Side Listings
The Sussex, #7D (Sothebys International Realty)
The Viscaya, #18
$2,100,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Condominium | 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths | 1,200 ft2
The Viscaya, #18 (Sothebys International Realty)
35 East 68th Street, #2A
$3,850,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths | 1,710 ft2
35 East 68th Street, #2A (Compass)
Goldstone, #6S (Sothebys International Realty)
133 East 64th Street, #9A
$6,295,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 5 Bedrooms, 5 Baths | 4,000 ft2
133 East 64th Street, #9A (Compass)
857 Fifth Avenue, #7thFloor
$7,250,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 4 Bedrooms, 6+ Baths
857 Fifth Avenue, #7thFloor (Sothebys International Realty)
Trump Park Avenue, #PH27
$9,995,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 5.5 Baths | 4,205 ft2
Trump Park Avenue, #PH27 (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
136 East 79th Street, #9
$12,500,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 6+ Bedrooms, 6+ Baths
136 East 79th Street, #9 (Compass)
The Parkville, #4
$14,490,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Condominium | 5 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths | 4,184 ft2
The Parkville, #4 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
520 Park Avenue, #18
$16,750,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 6+ Baths | 4,613 ft2
520 Park Avenue, #18 (Modlin Group LLC)
778 Park Avenue, #12FL (Corcoran Group)
The Spencer Condominium, #PH
$28,000,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Condominium | 5 Bedrooms, 5.5 Baths | 4,661 ft2
The Spencer Condominium, #PH (Compass)
825 Fifth Avenue, #15FL
$37,000,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 3 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths
825 Fifth Avenue, #15FL (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Contributing Writer
Michelle Sinclair Colman
Michelle writes children's books and also writes articles about architecture, design and real estate. Those two passions came together in Michelle's first children's book, "Urban Babies Wear Black." Michelle has a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in the Cities Program from the London School of Economics.
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