Make a reservation first though, especially if you’re going for lunch as there is a waiting list every day for the 33 tables in the Grill Room.  Ideally you should make a reservation at least two weeks in advance.

But, I’m ahead of myself.  Before we talk to Julian, let’s look at why the Four Seasons is the quintessential New York City institution, a regular haunt of the movers and shakers in the city’s business, celebrity and political world for the past almost 50 years.  

The Four Seasons described by the Zagat Survey, the US’s authoritative guide to restaurants, as an “architectural and gastronomical wonder that never goes out of style". 

Housed in the landmark Seagram Building between Park Avenue and Lexington in the primarily business area of Manhattan, the Four Seasons made headlines when it opened on 20th July, 1959, having cost nearly $5 million to construct – an exorbitant amount of money at the time. 

The elegant interior was designed by legendary and often controversial architect Philip Johnson, famous for his Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, one of the world’s most celebrated works of Modernism.

(Left) Lenore Hershey, former editor in chief Ladies' Home Journal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill, toasting their book called 'One Special Summer' about a trip the sisters took to Europe on their own, back in 1951. Taken at a great literary party in the fall of 1974.
(Right) Nelson and Happy Rockefeller, 1968 

There are five dining rooms, the main ones being the Grill Room and the Pool Room.  The world’s largest Picasso adorns the hallway between the two rooms, part of an eclectic collection of modern art masterpieces decorating the restaurant.  Artists include Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Robert Rauchenberg.

The Grill Room at lunchtime is the place to congregate, to meet, discuss deals, and see and be seen.  If you can get a table, that is!  If you can’t, there is always the option of the bar, where great drinks and casual food is available.  Mind you hamburgers do come priced at $30 a piece.  It has been attributed to be the place where the term ‘power-lunch’ was created in the early 1970s, inspired by the elite lunchtime crowd that consistently gathered at the restaurant. 

The Pool Room with its classic white marble, undulating metal curtains and bubbling pool surrounded by seasonal trees is more popular in the evening or for more intimate dining. 

The spaciousness provided by the 20’ ceilings and large open dining spaces was and still is a luxury in New York City.  In most expensive restaurants it’s often impossible to hold a private conversation because the tables are packed in side by side.  At the Four Seasons, the comfort and privacy, along with the opportunity to rub shoulders with each other, has appealed to wealthy New Yorkers for decades.

The restaurant was never meant to be trendy but rather a classic, designed to stand the test of time.  That it has done.  However, it has also been a trend setter.  

From the get go, the focus has been on stellar service, fresh and simple Modern American cuisine, and exceptional quality wines, hard to find anywhere else. 

Since its inception, the Four Seasons has attracted mayors, governors (New York Governor George Pataki had his birthday party there recently), presidents (John F. Kennedy celebrated his 45th birthday, George W. Bush Sr. and Bill Clinton); millionaires, A-list celebrities and other movers and shakers, with the emphasis more on business and government.

For the luminaries and the celebrities of the day the Four Seasons was the exemplory New York restaurant, one that drew them back time and time again.  

Much of the restaurant’s success is about relationships with their clients, many of whom come on a daily basis, or at least once or twice a week. 

According to Julian, there is a little bit of clubiness, with guests trying to keep up with each other and see and be seen.  “Our regulars regard the Four Seasons as their ‘club’, where they can discuss business, make deals, arrange family events – we get a huge number of weddings, bar mitzvahs, celebration parties - or merely enjoy a healthy meal, without the angst of having to go to a different restaurant every day.”

The staff is trained to remember who they are, their likes and dislikes, and some never even see the check – it’s sent to their accounts people for payment.  One rule though is that, with very few exceptions, they can’t have the same table every day – Julian believes that it makes operations more difficult and also invites ‘ownership’ of the restaurant, which could encourage elitism and unhealthy competition between his regulars.

An exception was the restaurant’s architect Philip Johnson who, according to the New York Times Christopher Mason, loved attention and cultivated his celebrity by holding court daily in Manhattan at a reserved table at the Four Seasons.

One of the criticisms of the restaurant has been that you have to be ‘in with the in-crowd’ in order to be treated well.  Julian assured me that every customer gets served in the same way.  The only difference is that first timers aren’t known and so can’t be acknowledged in the same way as someone who dines there regularly.  “We still need to get to know our newcomers likes and dislikes.”

“As a restaurateur, one has to understand that you cannot consider yourself a guest, you are here to serve your guests, and you need to do whatever it takes to make them comfortable.”

Watching Julian, Alex and the Maitre d’ of 20 years, Lorenz Pretterhofer, work the room from my strategically positioned banquette, I got my first clue as to why people come back for more.  

For each new season there is a new menu, new plantings and new hues to match the changing leaves. The Vitality of the Four Season's lies in its restless creatvity, its revernece for perfection in each nuance. May we always change!

The welcome is exceptional.  Anyone who has been there more than once or twice, they know their name.  The emphasis is on the subtle – a hand movement, a lifted head or a nod.  A gentleman sat down at the table next to me and immediately a waiter greeted him by name and assured him his ice tea was on its way.

Across from me was 29-year regular John Holmes, who knew Julian when he was a waiter assigned to Table 13.  The first person with whom he ate there was Peter Monk, now managing director at Goldman Sachs.  Today he was having lunch with American Venture Capitalist Steve Rattner.  Would love to have shared with you the deal they were discussing but I couldn’t hear what they were saying!

One of the challenges facing the Four Seasons has been the trend toward casual dress and lifestyle.  Twenty years ago people were more inclined to dress up to go to a ‘smart’ restaurant.  More recently, that has changed and people at all levels have become more informal, no longer dressing up for traditionally formal occasions like a night at the opera or when dining out in an exclusive restaurant.

While some compromise has been necessary at the Four Seasons, such as ties are now “preferred” rather than required, a jacket is still a necessity.  But don’t worry you don’t need to carry one with you, as there is a full assortment of freshly laundered designer jackets to choose from when you arrive.

So I asked Julian how it has been possible to continue to pull it off when other luxury restaurants have not?  He believes that there are still many people who want the comfort, privacy and dignified experience that the Four Seasons offers.

"The authors (I bring here) always eat alot, because they're afraid they'll never get another meal, and they want to get something back from the publisher," said Simon & Schuster editor in chief at the tIme, Michael Korda. 

Since the beginning, the menu has been created around the four seasons, hence the restaurant’s name.  Four times a year, the menu changes to take advantage of the fresh produce that is in-season.

When Julian and Alex took over the helm, they were way ahead of the latest trend toward healthy and fresh, with a real emphasis on healthy dishes (a phenomenon common amongst executive chefs today).  Not much butter, cream or complicated recipes. 

 “Rest assured.  You won’t gain weight if you eat regularly at the Four Seasons.  You will eat healthy, fresh and what you like,” Julian joked.

According to Alex: “Four Seasons reminds people what a real tomato tastes like.  We go with the seasons and present foods when they are at their best.”

Swiss born executive chef Christian Albin has been working at the restaurant for 34 years, holding the top job in the kitchen for almost 20.

Julian believes that it is important for the kitchen not to repeat themselves.  “We are continually reinventing ourselves through our menu, focusing on freshness.  The wild striped bass is not farm raised, the steaks have no hormones and we’re careful where the  poultry comes from.  We don’t cut corners, which is a challenge from a price perspective and one of the reasons we have to keep our prices so high.”

So how does the Four Seasons continue to shine?

It seems that the philosophy is that all the parts are crucial for the top quality experience a restaurant like the Four Seasons must present.

To ensure that the Four Seasons stays ahead of the crowd, Julian goes out on the town every day to network and see what people are doing; what food is being served, and why Four Seasons’ clients are going to a particular restaurant.  He told me that it has been necessary to make some major changes in the past five to ten years, without compromising the essence of what the Four Seasons is.  For example, a bar menu was added for individuals wanting to dine alone but be around company. 

The extensive wine list, for which the Four Seasons has won awards, has undergone change too.  The list, which in itself is a work of art, allows guests to choose their wine as they page through a photographic history of the restaurant.

The range of wines was increased to provide both the Best of the Best and others that might not be as well known but which pair well with the food.  A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that I enjoyed with my mouthwateringly fresh Kumamoto Oysters. 

Julian pointed out today’s New York clientele is very unwilling for a sommelier to decide what wine he or she should drink.  They are far more educated than they were and want to be much more involved in the decision.  “We’re seeing less and less of showing off by guests ordering the most expensive wine on the menu.  We do still have the Chateau Petrus Pomerol 1996 at $2,100, but we also have $95 Chateau Sinard, St. Emilion 1995 at the other end of the scale.  Ten years ago mid-priced ($150-200) Châteauneuf-du-Pape hardly sold.  Now we basically keep it in stock.”

 

Many celebrities happily signed the Four Seasons' guest book, including couturier Yves Saint Laurent, who added one of his current designs. 

 

 

They are also serving Pinot Noir from Oregon, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon from California, which they would never have considered ten or twenty years ago.  As a leading restaurant, the team is always prepared to pioneer change and the Four Seasons was the first restaurant on the east coast to promote California wine – a great leap of faith for a high-end restaurant whose clientele still generally believes that French and Italian wines are the only wines worth drinking.

When I was executive director of the Long Island Wine Council, Julian and Alex agreed to present not one but two Long Island winemakers dinners, which were served to sold out crowds.  Long Island wine, from a small wine region in New York State, garnered serious media publicity from the events and were proclaimed as the wine region’s coming out parties.

One of the challenges the restaurant now faces is being able to get any wine it wants.  Previously, distributors didn’t need to ‘sell’ wine to us, as we could obtain the wine directly from the source.  Nowadays, high-end restaurants like ours are fighting with the customer for the limited or older vintages.  The liquor store around the corner has wealthy clients who are now asking for that same wine.

© Jane Baxter Lynn 2007
JBL Public Relations Strategies
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JBL Public Relations Strategies is an international public relations, communications and marketing consulting business, specializing in the Arts, Travel & Tourism, and Wine industries.  The firm provides a senior level consulting resource, focusing on branding, strategic planning, and marketing communications, with particular emphasis on business development.  Its mission is to help clients expand awareness, manage reputations, increase revenues and reduce costs through effective strategies.  The company also serves as an on-site 'bridge' during management or company structure changes, or at times of extraordinary workload for communications executives. 

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