The historic Spanish restaurant El Quijote, located in the Hotel Chelsea reopens this week after being closed since 2018 as the hotel was undergoing renovation (swipe left for 2nd photo of the bar area while the restaurant was closed showing its gorgeous vintage cash register).
El Quijote was first opened in 1930 and purchased by Manuel Ramirez in 1978 and although it’s located inside the landmarked Chelsea Hotel (only the hotel’s exterior with its Queen Anne architecture is landmarked and cannot be altered), it has its own entrance. The restaurant with new owners and chef de cuisine,has now been reduced in size and will no longer serve the massive portions of paella 🥘 and pitchers of sangria.
We will certainly miss the old El Quijote and Joseph Ramirez, the 2nd-generation owner who we interviewed in 2010 for our book “New York Nights” and told us so many great stories about the restaurant & its history (Patti Smith, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix were regulars) and also how his father came up with the idea for the restaurant’s daily double of two lobsters 🦞, salad and a side of vegetables or rice.
• • • • • #disappearingfaceofnewyork #jamesandkarla #spanishfood #paella #paellavalenciana #chelseahotel #chelsea
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