Metropolis In Downtown Manhattan Redefines Dinner And A Show

Drama is an understatement at Metropolis.
Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson
As Manhattan’s downtown begins to bustle again, and the Perelman Performing Arts Center stands now as one of the last key components of the 2003 Master Plan to redevelop the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, the growing opportunities for dining and entertainment are adding up. Amidst the 129,000 square foot building Metropolis restaurant by Marcus Samuelsson commands attention. Going into its second year, the restaurant has proven to be reason enough to trek downtown, and is as much of a show as any within the actual performance space.
If you know anything about Marcus Samuelsson, you know he makes an entrance wherever he goes. Whether it is his beaming smile, his vibrant sense of fashion, or the colorful displays on each plate, there’s a signature flair one can expect from him; at Metropolis, it is no different. The architectural equivalent to the chef and restauranteur’s largess just might be David Rockwell, whose team designed the restaurant. Known to design beautiful, luxurious structures on a massive, grand scale--Nobu, W Hotels, Union Square Cafe, to name a few--Rockwell Group created a space for Metropolis that is undeniably a theatrical statement.
Act I: From design space to culinary craft
“I want Metropolis to be the show," mentioned Executive Chef Sherry Cardoso when talking about the eye-opening drama of the space. "I want it to be the spotlight and for guests to come downtown just for us." Cardoso picked up the baton from opening chef Ed Tinoco last summer, and has not looked back.
Executive Chef, Sherry Cardoso
Tom McGovern
Born in New York City, Cardoso grew up in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where a connection to food couldn’t be more natural as she had sugarcane fields and mango trees from her family farm always in view. After moving to the U.S. at 14, she set her sights on a small culinary program but went on to landing a position at the nothing but small, and certainly legendary, Le Cirque, under Chef Christophe Bellanca.