Shuttered at the end of 2009, this quintessential New York restaurant has reemerged as the elegant establishment it was originally conceived as in 1934 by Englishman Calvert Vaux, one of the designers of Central Park. Philadelphia-based restaurateurs Jim Caiola and David Salama took over the iconic building in 2012. “We were faced with how to transform a space with the structure of a barn into a restaurant that isn’t too rustic,” says Salama, who is also an artist. “We wanted it to look like it had always been there, and we researched Gothic Revival style and consulted books on medieval style for the design of the interior paneling.”

Tavern on the Green’s new Bar Room.  Photo: Robin Caiol

The dining area and open kitchen in the Central Park Room. Photo: Robin Caiola

More popular for it’s location, the restaurant was never known for it’s fine cuisine.  Katy Sparks, new head chef, is setting her sights high to change the past reputation for lack of culinary diversification.  “Her focus will be on high-quality local and seasonal foods—a passion that stems from Sparks’s upbringing on a farm in Vermont. The menu includes such dishes as Heritage Breed pork chop with roasted rhubarb and fennel and Vermont quail with grits, homemade chorizo, and wood-roasted grapes.”