José Andrés New Rooftop Bar in NYC Merges Japanese & Spanish Food

By:  Dean Weiner

José Andrés is one of the busiest chefs in the world. He recently opened a rooftop bar that The New York Post calls sublime, Nubeluz at the Ritz-Carlton Nomad. He is now opening a Midtown location of his internationally renowned tapas place, Bazaar.

Andrés began his culinary career in New York City 30 years ago when he arrived from Spain at the age of 21 to work the Spanish restaurant Eldorado Petit. He has since opened many or his own restaurants across the United States. His previous Bazaar branches in Beverly Hills, Chicago, Miami, etc have all been hugely successful.

The newest Bazaar outpost will be the most innovative yet. Andrés wants to celebrate a little know era of Spanish history. In the 1600’s, Japanese samurai visited Spain. Although he doesn’t have specific evidence of how those men influenced Spanish cuisine, Andrés says, “Japanese samurai warriors came to Spain in the 1600s,” Andrés said. “They didn’t have a culinary influence. But I’m telling their story. Bazaar is always eclectic and here in Nomad I will be creating Spanish and Japanese dishes that aren’t totally one or the other. I am more than a cook,” the 53-year-old Spaniard added. “I’m a storyteller, and this is the story I wanted to tell. The food won’t be purely Spanish or Japanese. It will be a unique mix.”

When contacted by The New York Post, “We needed to find the perfect location, and partners, and this is it,” said Sam Bakhshandehpour, president of the José Andrés Group. “Nomad is in the midst of a transformation and it’s exciting to invest in the community. Our partners are visionaries, and our Spain-meets-Japan theme will be a game changer.”

The exclusive New York Post report states that the restaurant, designed by Lazaro Rosa Violan, will seat around 130 people. It is in a new building designed by starchitect Rafael Vinoly and developed by Flag Luxury Group. It comes on the heels of Andrés in late September unveiling Nubeluz, the 50th-floor cocktail bar that also tells a story, Andrés says, of the city itself, which lights up at night in front of guests’ eyes beyond the window walls.

The source of the name, according to Andrés is an amalgam of the Spanish word “nube” (clouds) and “luz” (light) — “the story,” Andrés says, “is the view itself. You are touching the clouds.”

Jennifer Gould of The New York Post writes Over the summer, Andres also opened Zaytinya, a Mediterranean eatery on the ground floor of the Ritz-Carlton, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The name plays on the Turkish word for olive oil and is an ode to the food of Turkey, Greece and Lebanon. The 140-seat eatery was designed by David Rockwell. (The first Zaytinya is in Washington, DC.)

The spate of openings are the first major expansion for Andrés into New York since Mercado Little Spain opened in Hudson Yards in 2019. That 35,000 square-foot space is a bustling Eataly-style food hall, with three sit-down restaurants by Andrés: Spanish Diner, a 100-seat space with its own entrance on the corner of 30th Street and 10th Avenue; Lena, with 65 seats, and Mar, with 40 seats.

Andrés has made it a point to give back to those less fortunate. According to Wikipedia, In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Andrés formed World Central Kitchen, which provides healthy food to families and individuals touched by disasters.