New Andaz Wall Street restaurant kicks off renovation project

Andaz Wall Street, located in the heart of Lower Manhattan in New York City, opened its new signature restaurant, Andaz Kitchen & Bar, helmed by the hotel’s new Italian-born executive chef Pietro Consorti. Inspired by the diverse cultural melting pot of New York City, Consorti’s Italian roots and the culinary team’s diverse cultural backgrounds, Andaz Kitchen & Bar offers a fusion of international cuisines with authentic global flavors and ingredients. The new Andaz Kitchen & Bar is the first stage of a multiphase renovation the hotel is kicking off this year.

The culturally diverse concept of Andaz Kitchen & Bar has been introduced by the Consorti, and was inspired by the varied cultures, ingredients and cooking techniques he picked up throughout the course of his global culinary career. Consorti’s love for cooking began in his hometown Prato, in Tuscany, Italy, where he grew up cooking with his grandmother. After working in neighborhood restaurants, he moved to Milan where he gained further experience at fine dining restaurant Il Ristorante Trussardi alla Scala under Michelin-Starred Chef Andrea Berton. He also worked on the opening of the Michelin-Starred restaurant VUN at Park Hyatt Milan, where he spent eight years as executive sous chef.

Consorti’s culinary career most recently took him to the Hyatt Regency Louisville in Kentucky where he was introduced to a new set of Southern flavors and cooking techniques. After joining Andaz Wall Street as executive chef, Consorti spent time getting to know the ethnically diverse culinary team and was inspired by their stories and the cuisine they proudly cooked that was representative of their home countries. He felt his team was a true representation of the melting pot of cultures that characterize New York City and taking this into consideration, along with his own diverse culinary background, the concept of Andaz Kitchen & Bar was born.

Andaz Kitchen & Bar’s new menu features a mix of traditional Italian, Caribbean, Asian and American dishes along with daily international specials which rotate with cuisine from the home countries of the staff including Jamaica, Philippines, Italy and Vietnam, among others. Highlights from the lunch menu include soups and salads such as the Tuscan vegetable soup, Caribbean chicken soup and the puntarelle salad, a Roman specialty green salad made with hearth chicory, burrata, extra virgin olive oil, lemon and salted anchovies. There are handmade pastas such as the ravioli with ricotta, anchovies, red pepper, parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano; spaghetti chitarra with cacio e pepe; and the Kentucky-inspired Bourbon Mash Risotto with roasted corn, barley, malt, smoked blue cheese, ash and saba. Diners can also choose from a variety of sandwiches and large plates such as the Jamaican braised oxtail served with butter beans casserole and white rice; the Philippine Chicken Adobo served with bok choy and garlic fried rice; red snapper served with panzanella (Italian bread salad), green olives and guazzetto; and the bacon burger made with grass-fed beef and served with white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and sweet pepper aioli.

The dinner menu features many of the same dishes as lunch but with an additional selection of sharable internationally inspired small dishes such as the lacquered spare ribs with kung pao glaze, crushed peanuts, scallions and cilantro; stuffed yellow plantains with beef peccadillo and queso fresco; prosciutto crudo & tomatoes; jerked pork slider with house made jerked pork and pickled chayote; and Vietnamese mussels in a herbed spicy broth. To end the meal with something sweet, both the lunch and dinner menus offer a selection of fresh desserts including a flan de leche, New York cheesecake and fresh berry tart.