George Clooney, Brooke Shields, Emma Roberts—no, it’s not a red carpet lineup, it’s the recent guest list at New York City’s newest celebrity hotspot 9 Jones.
Co-owner and nightlife veteran Richard Wheeler has plenty of experience running celebrity favorites (1 Oak to name just one), but with 9 Jones, he’s going less for Tao and Buddakan vibes and more for cozy neighborhood hangout.
“You can live in the neighborhood and have dinner, and you can dine next to a celebrity, but without the cameras and the hoo-ha,” says Wheeler, who opened the restaurant in the West Village in November.
To shed 9 Jones’s clubstaurant persona, Wheeler and his team debuted two summer prix-fixe menus—$45 and $58 three-course specials—where the restaurant’s Greek food is front and center and more diners feel welcome. Read on for more on the exciting food lineup, the one-of-a-kind drinks cart service, and the sexy ambiance.
Leaning into the seafood tower renaissance, 9 Jones has a blowout, sparkler-studded, three-tier version with lobster tail, shrimp cocktail, clams, and East Coast oysters all served with an apple tarragon mignonette.
Chef George Lambracos continues to celebrate all things seafood with dishes such as heart-shaped tuna tartare with gold leaf and Madagascar colossal shrimp that’s drizzled with a rich buttery and garlicky chile sauce. “They are as big as lobsters,” Wheeler says, referring to the shrimp. “They are really spectacular.”
There are plenty of vegetarian options, too. The tzatziki, beetroot hummus, and tirokafteri (a spicy Greek feta spread) dip trio has been a surefire hit since the restaurant’s opening, as have the truffle linguine and the beet tartare, a spin on the tuna version featuring red and golden beets. Many of these dishes can be ordered as part of the new prix-fixe menus, which include the $45 Mykonos Sunset option that’s available 5 pm to 7 pm Tuesday through Saturday.
9 Jones sets itself apart from the crowd with an interactive drinks cart where diners can be their own bartenders. For $150, the restaurant brings out different kinds of booze, mixers, and garnishes with recipe cards featuring suggestions on what to make. “If it’s a big group, it can be a fun activity,” Wheeler says. “If you’re on a date, I call it an icebreaker. You might mess it up, but it’s a fun date experience.”
The drinks menu embraces that levity elsewhere with options such as Bumps and Bubbles—a glass of champagne with a small serving of caviar—and a cotton candy-topped tequila cocktail that’s set social media aflame.
Plus, 9 Jones is celebrating the summer with house cocktails such as Mood Swing with coconut, pineapple, and dark rum, and Nothing in the Summer with bourbon, crème de cassis, and fresh blackberries.
“It’s like a British supper club meets New York,” Wheeler says. By that, he means an intimate restaurant with petrol-blue walls, low lighting, large mirrors and portraits on the walls, velvet banquettes, and highlights of pink and gold throughout. “It definitely has a very sexy feel,” he says.
Keeping with its desire to appeal to all kinds of diners, 9 Jones has some curtained-off areas for added privacy—not that that’s been much in use since the restaurant’s opening. “Celebrities will often just leave the curtains open because people in New York are chill,” Wheeler says.
9 Jones doesn’t take itself too seriously—nor do the diners that return for its playful yet chic atmosphere.
9 Jones is open Sunday through Thursday from 5 pm to 12 am and Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 1 am.
—Tanay Warerkar is OpenTable’s New York writer and a content marketing manager
