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By the end of the 19th century, women were being put to work. Due to the growth of manufacturing and industry, there was an increase in demand for female labor in factories and mills as well as white collar jobs, including clerks, secretaries and stenographers. However, as women relocated to major cities to find work, including New York City, they were quickly met with high rents and the societal rejection of an unaccompanied, unmarried woman traveling alone. Simply put, these women needed a place to stay.
Enter the Margaret Louisa Home for Protestant Women. In 1891, heiress and philanthropist Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt founded the six-story home in Union Square to house such self-sufficient working women. As of last year, the building has now been converted to the luxury hotel and exclusive members club import from London, The Twenty Two. Still under construction at the time, the coming ground floor restaurant was always slated to be open to all. Carrying on the legacy of this historic home, the restaurant is now open, powered by an award-winning women-led team.
One of our anticipated openings for 2025, Cafe Zaffri opened on February 8. The team behind the Michelin-starred Musket Room and Raf’s lead the charge here, including sisters Jennifer and Nicole Vitagliano, alongside executive chef Mary Attea and executive pastry chef Camari Mick. The menu travels through chef Attea’s Lebanese heritage, on the plate with dips and spreads and Moroccan spiced mains to sumac-dusted and arak-forward cocktails.
The first thing you notice about Cafe Zaffri is the elegance of it all. After walking down a short entryway, the entrance to the restaurant gives way to a beautiful marbled mosaic floor and an illuminated bar. The marbled floor continues to the lounge with rust-colored couches and grand arched mirrors. Beyond the peachy curtains, the beautiful atrium opens to you. Flooded with natural light during the day and a sultry, candlelit find in the evening, the room seats a mix of white couches, rattan seating and a reclaimed wooden fireplace sourced from a European chateau. The end of the hallway leads to the formal dining hall with white tablecloths, an embroidered green wallpaper with flowers that truly pop and a stunning red-and-white Tiffany glass ceiling. Nodding to those who came before them, a portrait of the former lady of the house can be found on the wall overlooking it all.
Starters must include an order of the Breads & Spreads. In a metal basket, comes three breads: Pita, the flaky flatbread M’Smen and Lavash. Three dips in crystal bowls come along with it including a smooth labneh with pearls of trout roe, roasted and blended eggplant with a coriander chili crisp on top and za’atar oil. Appetizers continue with small cigar-shaped rounds of Fried Syrian Jibneh Cheese with preserved lemon for dipping and a lovely Fried Eggplant with small dollops of black sesame, urfa biber (a Turkish chili pepper) and a wonderfully garlicky Lebanese sauce known as toum.
Skewers service is also on the menu here and at quite the cost—$45 only gets you a choice of two skewers on the list, ranging from Veal Sweetbreads & Tarator and Pork Belly & Baharat, all served with a side of pickles, Lebanese rice and bowls of toum and shatta, a chili pepper-forward hot sauce. Leading into the entrees, there’s a Lamb Wellington complemented with grape leaves, labneh and za’atar while Attea's tahini-spiced Grilled Dorade Samke Harra, which retains its head before being butterflied and grilled, calls back to a dish she grew up eating. Note, the large entrees do not come with a side, but you can add on the Lebanese Rice, Greens or the crispy fried potatoes, or Batata Harra, for $14 more.
As is with any visit to Musket Room and Raf’s, room must be saved for dessert. Pastry chef Camari Mick's menu travels alongside Attea, as the tiramisu is topped with ashta, a thick, Middle Eastern-style clotted cream and the Cardamom Chocolate Coulant sits over a wonderfully tangy spread of tahini yogurt sabayon. But if you really can’t decide, get the Sweet Mezze for two which comes with Mick’s signature, her cookies, one baked with chocolate chips and tahini and the other with baharat sugar served with Persian Love Shortbread. The full spread continues with a range of frozen desserts from coconut rose sorbet to the Saffron and Pistachio Syrian Ice Cream.
Less than a week old, the revue has already begun to generate a buzz, notably hosting an NYFW after party this past Saturday with Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber in attendance. But regardless of social status, all can and should enjoy the latest triumph from the team.