The famous NYC restaurant Four Seasons just opened, remains a food garden

The famed Garden Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel seems to have been stuck in a time warp as the iconic property finally reopened its doors on Friday after being closed for four years.

The same 20-meter tall acacia trees still tower majestically among the 86 identical sites that made the Garden a favorite destination for locals and tourists during its heyday.

But an exclusive tour of the property and a meeting with the Garden’s new executive chef earlier this week revealed there are plenty of changes — and not just to the menu — at the hotel owned by Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner.

Maria Tampakis – who previously worked for Heston Blumenthal in London as well as Gordon Ramsay, and most recently headed the kitchen at the Four Seasons in midtown Manhattan – plans to play with nostalgia by adding as many twists as the wavy trees. in the Garden.

“People are nostalgic for the classics they remember, but I’m going to make them differently, so they’ll remember the taste, but it’ll be in a new dish,” said Tampakis, the restaurant’s first female executive chef in decades. . Side dish.

She cited a signature Steak Diane tartare as an example. The cognac and wild mushroom flavors will emulsify and fold into the steak tartare.

There are other decadent delights on the revamped menu, including foie gras parfait in the shape of an apple, “welcome back to the Big Apple,” Tampakis wrote, as well as lobster thermidor.

New dishes will also include a smoked fish dish — a classic part of New York cuisine for more than 100 years — served with mini bagels and a caviar option. There will also be serious classics, such as Beef Wellington, but with a twist – served with shaved truffles and truffle cream.

The Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, native — who now lives in Staten Island with her family — said the dishes will be influenced by northern Italy. They include a panettone French toast, as well as agnolotti stuffed with short ribs and caramelized onion and pecorino fondue.

However, she plans to keep the ever-popular lemon ricotta pancakes.

In addition to the Garden, another popular spot that has remained almost unchanged in the 52-story Art-Deco hotel designed by IM Pei is Ty Bar, formerly Ty Lounge.

Named for the hotel’s reclusive owner, it remains the grand lobby, with its 33-meter-high glass ceiling and marble columns. Ty Bar features cozy tables and chairs for small parties, giving the open space an intimate feel, though favorites like Korean beef tacos will no longer be on the menu.

“When we came back here, the vision was very clear,” Tampakis said. “We didn’t want to deal with the bones. It was so important to everyone who came here. It triggered a quintessential memory of the last time they were here and so the direction was, “We’re not going to change the track, but we’re going to change the food and elevate it.”

Ty Bar will serve up some sumptuous bites alongside craft drinks that take you through the city’s cocktail era sip-by-sip, from Gilded Age-inspired Ty Manhattans to a lunchtime martini flight Don Draper” to “5th Ave. Cosmo.”

Although the cocktails are classic, they all come with a twist. A gin and tonic, for example, can come with a subtle hint of pear flavor, or sage and rosemary flavors that work unexpectedly.

“You can go anywhere, so we want not only good food, but great bar food. We want to take you to the next level so you want to come back to try the rest,” she said.

During Wednesday’s pre-opening visit, Tampakis took a break from work — which included tasting a new pasta dish and instructing the chef to make the flavor a little more subtle — to talk about the hotel’s history.

She noted that most of the front of house staff will be “the same faces you remember”, many of whom have worked here for 30 years, while around 55% of the kitchen staff will be the same , giving her a chance to bring in some new energies.

“I’m aware of the difficulties we’re going to face with a team that hasn’t been here for four years,” Tampakis said. “But this is such an iconic property and it’s such an incredible opportunity to bring new life here, a new facelift, a new experience.”

The magnificent tower at 57 E. 57th St. there will now be 219 hotel rooms from floors 20 to 52, while long-term rentals will be from the fifth floor to the 19th floor.

Downsizing is the trend these days “to better focus on the guests we have. There’s so much potential,” said Tampakis, who is also in charge of room service.

As The Post reported, the Four Seasons is poised to reclaim its claim as New York City’s most expensive hotel, with rooms starting at $2,450 and the Ty Warner Suite at a staggering $80,000 a night.