A Look Inside The Pool, A Contemporary Seafood Restaurant in NYC's Former Four Seasons

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The Pool Sign. Photo by Daniel Kreiger.

The Pool, a seafood restaurant on 99 East 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, has occupied the Seagram Building’s Four Seasons former space since July. The space, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, has a marble pool as its centerpiece. The Pool is the second restaurant after the more meat-centric the Grill, which opened in May, to open in the space. Both spots are owned by Major Food Group.

Once famous for the Four Seasons restaurant, opened in 1959 and closed in 2016, the Seagram Building’s space was known as the first restaurant in the United States to feature a seasonally changing menu.

The Pool restaurant features a mezzanine once used for private parties, which now has been converted an elegant bar. Now called the Pool Lounge, this area overlooking the lower dining room and the Pool itself serves a selection of caviar, toasts, cocktails, and champagne. Though the Grill already had a bar, the Pool did not and was thus newly built and decorated upon the conversion from the Four Seasons.

The Pool dining room. Photo by Scott Frances.

The Pool Lounge. Photo by Scott Frances.

Offering “seafood prepared with an eye towards simplicity and a focus on fun,” The Pool’s menu features a wide array of aquatic fare, with appetizers such as charred octopus and scampi ravioli, and entrees like Alaskan halibut, Maine lobster, and Scottish salmon. The cocktail menu features a selection of wines along with a large selection of meticulously garnished cocktails offered in flavors like grape, watermelon, mango, jalapeno, and cinnamon.

The contemporary seafood restaurant is run under the hand of chef Rich Torrisi, a founder of Major Food Group, whom The New York Times called “one of the city’s best chefs.” Despite some controversy with the Landmarks Preservation Commission discovered by The Times, The Pool is worth a visit for an evening of lavishly simplistic food and cocktails. The restaurant is located on the Seagram Building, located at 99 E 52nd St, between Park and Lexington Avenues. Be sure to call ahead for reservations.