Marlow East has been the late-summer sensation of the uptown dining scene. Happy food-lovers pack the place nightly for chef Braxton Decker’s delicious, Southern-tinted American dishes in a pretty two-level setting and on a civilized row of sidewalk tables.
Marlow East at Lexington Avenue and East 73rd Street, open since late May, is almost as hard to book as Lexington’s over-hyped Chez Fifi, Cafe Commerce and Casa Tua.
It’s more gracious than any of them, and its mellow vibe and creative-but-not too clever cuisine better attuned to savvy adult tastes than any new restaurant between Central Park and the East River.
Emily Blunt filmed a scene in the dining room last month for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” but the house is normally filled with stylish, ordinary mortals. There was nary an empty seat on my three visits — even on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, when the entire 10021 Zip Code supposedly piles into Hamptons-bound Jitneys.
The last restaurant at the location, unlamented French bistro Casimir, closed eight years ago. The venue seemed jinxed before Macedonia-born Elena Ristovski and her husband Dragan Ristovski — who also run the popular Mediterranean restaurant Marlow Bistro on the Upper West Side — unlamented French bistro Casimir. They signed a lease in late 2024 and tapped designer Larisa Mihajlova to craft a colorful, crowd-pleasing venue.
In contrast to moody Chez Fifi, cramped Cafe Commerce and clubby Casa Tua, Marlow East’s two floors are spacious and airy with a sleek marble bar, blonde wood walls, soft-glowing globe lights, peach banquettes and white tablecloths.
Gleaming mirrors reflect neighborhood facades through mullioned windows. Doors are open on soft Indian summer evenings for an indoor-outdoor vibe. Unfortunately there’s nothing soft about the noise level upstairs if you’re seated close to a birthday table.
When it comes to the food, Decker, who previously ran the kitchen at Marlow Bistro after a two-year stint at Musket Room, devised a modern-American menu with just enough southern and international twists to make them distinct.
“I wanted our next restaurant to be American, and Braxton is from West Virginia,” Elena said of the menu.
A thick cut of steelhead trout ($38) was cooked sous vice to a flaky consistency and set in a light ham- dashi broth brimming with littleneck clams, sea beans and clumps of beech mushrooms — a harmonious medley of southern and Asian flavors.
Chicken breast ($38) got the sous vide treatment as well, resulting in pleasingly moist meat. Carolina gold rice, homemade Cajun spice, tabasco and pickled okra completed the plates and delivered the down-south goods.
I got my late-August corn fix with sweet corn agnolotti ($35) presented with jumbo lump crab and chanterelle mushrooms. We also enjoyed a pan-full of kernels ($13) seared and seasoned with salt and pepper, topped with cheddar cheese foam, and sprinkled with spicy Mexican Tajin .
But there’s more to Marlow than its cuisine. For five years, Marlow Bistro on Amsterdam Avenue at 110th Street has partnered with well-pedigreed nonprofit Rethink Food, providing up to 1,000 meals every Sunday to the soup kitchen at Cathedral of St. John the Divine two blocks north.
“You’d be shocked by how many families go there,” Elena said.
The couple plan to launch a similar program to serve local food banks from Marlow East by the end of the year.
“We believe in giving back to the community that we’re part of,” Elena said. “I strongly believe my primary job is to make sure people are genuinely happy.”
The job gets done well at Marlow East.
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