There is a new place to linger at the New Museum, and it is not in front of a painting. Oberon, the museum’s first full-service restaurant, has quietly opened inside the institution’s newly expanded Bowery building. The compact, cork-lined dining room began service on July 7 and now feeds museum visitors by day, then shifts into a standalone restaurant and cocktail destination at night. Its entrance is tucked off the sidewalk in Freeman Alley, which gives the whole operation a low-key, downtown hideaway feel.
Chef-driven, vegetable-forward menu
Co-executive chefs Julia Sherman and Ali Ghriskey are running an ingredient-driven, vegetable-forward kitchen that leans on Hudson Valley producers and a zero-waste approach. The restaurant, which opened July 7 on the New Museum’s ground floor with a street entrance through Freeman Alley, is positioned to serve both art fans and evening diners, as reported by Time Out. The menu includes seasonal spritzes and cocktails, a signature Oberon burger, a chicken entrée rubbed with dehydrated fig leaf, and a melon salad with sage and feta. The operators describe the kitchen as co-led by Sherman and Ghriskey, per The Oberon Group.
Design and art collaborations
The boxy, cave-like dining room was designed by Shohei Shigematsu of OMA and is clad inside and out with sculpted cork, a choice meant to shape acoustics while supporting sustainability goals. Interior fixtures, including a long wooden bar, bespoke booths, and quilted pendants, were created by Minjae Kim, and the bar is backed by an immersive video installation from Ian Cheng, according to Architectural Digest. The project brings in smaller artist contributions as well, including parting chocolates wrapped with work by Laurie Anderson, which underscores the restaurant’s gallery-minded intent.
Where it sits in the Bowery
Operators are pitching Oberon as a neighborhood hub for the downtown art crowd that still feels welcoming to museumgoers and tourists. That hybrid identity is part of a broader wave of institution-backed dining rooms that extend cultural programming into the evening, as reported by Surface. The group behind Oberon has emphasized modest price points and a no-waste ethos so the room can work for artists, collectors, and nearby regulars, not just expense accounts.
Practical details
Oberon is open now at the New Museum, 235 Bowery, with an additional street entrance on Freeman Alley, according to reporting and the restaurant group. The restaurant keeps late hours on many nights, with evening service running into the later end of the night, as Condé Nast Traveler notes. The menu’s Hudson Valley sourcing and waste-minimizing practices remain central to its identity, per Time Out. Operators say booking and menu details are expected to evolve as service settles into its rhythm.
