Last week, I visited Blue Box Cafe, a seated restaurant/pastry/coffee shop that is owned by Tiffany & Co. and is located in their flagship NYC jewelry house. It was my first time at the cafe, not to mention my first time in the NYC Tiffany house. The cafe, which was created by Daniel Boulud, required a reservation be made in advance, and when I went online to book a table, there were only two spots (two people) for one table available for the entire duration of the available booking dates. I snagged the second-to-last available table for two weeks later.
When my friend and I arrived at the Tiffany store, we both were a bit overwhelmed by the sheer glittery-ness of the store – with diamond necklaces adorning the space and Tiffany’s custom-created Basquiat on the wall straight ahead of us by the elevators, the place was undeniably ornamental in all the best ways.
I made my way to the sixth floor, where the cafe was situated. Upon entering the room before the entrance to the cafe, I came upon a large dining room table, set with gorgeous, robin’s egg blue and gold plates that practically made me swoon. On this floor, the walls were decked with a whimsical variety of different, unusual items Tiffany has made over the course of its history, such as a silver picnic basket, a robin’s egg blue toy sports car, and a chess set with pieces of their signature color as well.
When the time came for my friend and I to eat, we were led to a table for two in a cozy room with a ceiling that – quite literally – dripped with Tiffany boxes (hence the name of the cafe) and a fanciful floor with abstract shapes in color blocks that were reminiscent of play dough colors.
We ordered coffee and quickly settled on two desserts. I chose the Noix de Pecan, a dulce-de-leche-inspired confection, while my friend settled on the Gateau Arlequin, a slice of chocolate cake layered with pistachios and vanilla. Our coffee and desserts came out within ten minutes of ordering them, and we dug in.
The verdict? The desserts were enticingly sweet and mouth-watering. However, if a thousand calories had a taste, I imagine these desserts are what it would taste like, so they were absolutely a treat to indulge in only on occasion and not every other day.
We finished our desserts quickly, and left within a half hour of arriving and then went on to explore the floors of the Tiffany house for another 45 minutes or so. The most noteworthy piece in the collection would probably be a necklace that had a room of its own, that apparently was a copy of the iconic Tiffany necklace Audrey Hepburn had worn in the beloved movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.
Having finished our own version of a breakfast at Tiffany’s and thoroughly toured the flagship store, we happily went on our way to enjoy the rest of the day. The adventure was an absolute hit, and I highly recommended it to anyone wanting to add a little glamor (and chocolate cake) into their daily routine!
