Interview: Izak Senbahar, Owner of The Mark Hotel and Caviar Kaspia
Our discussion on hospitality and design in advance of the restaurant’s limited edition caviar bagel in collaboration with PopUp Bagels
Earlier this year, real estate developer and hotelier Izak Senbahar transformed a storefront on the street level of his Upper East Side icon, The Mark Hotel, into the latest location of the decadent restaurant Caviar Kaspia. The Mark is an appropriate home for the glamorous establishment, as the hotel already houses a chic bar and The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges, one of NYC’s most celebrated culinary destinations. For Senbahar, Caviar Kaspia was the final piece of the hospitality puzzle. Since its grand opening in February, aligned with the start of New York Fashion Week, the restaurant and its photo-friendly food items have amassed unending buzz. And continued gastronomic developments—like a delectable lunch menu featuring lobster rolls, king crab cakes and a smoked salmon club; as well as the recent announcement of limited edition, weekend-only caviar bagels in collaboration with local favorite PopUp Bagels—have attracted hotel guests and locals alike.
To step into Caviar Kaspia at The Mark is to feel ensconced in old-world charm. This warm, welcoming and quietly luxuriant design is due to Senbahar’s continued collaboration with celebrated French interior designer Jacques Grange—who also co-designed The Mark Bar, The Mark Restaurant and the hotel’s rooms and suites. For Caviar Kaspia, everything is custom—from the chairs and banquettes to the bar top. And The Mark Hotel aesthetic is meticulously woven into that of the original Caviar Kaspia restaurant in Paris.
“There is a subtle link between The Mark Hotel identity, its reception bar and restaurant, and the new Caviar Kaspia in New York,” Grange tells COOL HUNTING. “This started with the choice of wall-to-wall carpet of the same quality and same pattern but different color. Then, there’s a touch of white and black stripes at the bar, as well as the same desire of warm colors and extreme comfort for both bars and restaurants. But the identity of Caviar Kaspia remains in other details, as per the deep emerald velvet of the banquette, the wall lights, oak and alabaster walls, along with sophisticated and welcoming chairs. It was a real game and challenge, I enjoy this kind of exercise very much.”
To learn more about Senbahar’s mission and vision, we spoke with the entrepreneur following a dining experience at Caviar Kaspia.
Can you discuss your design partnership with Jacques Grange?
I met Jacques 15 years ago when I was looking to gut renovate the hotel and I really wanted to work with someone who had done homes. I am a little bit of a design freak. I follow designers. I’ve read so many design books. I had been following Jacques and I liked what he had done for Yves Saint Laurent and Princess Caroline. I reached out and we became fast friends.
15 years later, he can give me sketches and I can build from them. That’s how we built Caviar Kaspia.
We met at the Caviar Kaspia in Paris, over lunch. Caviar Kaspia at the Mark Hotel is in a space that was previously used for retail. The challenge was how do we make a retail space look warm and elegant and like a townhouse. We wanted it to have a Parisian feel. We started with these ideas and then Jacques sent me some sketches. We took inspiration from a Viennese bar where the seating was wood. We knew if we brought wood, it would warm up the place and soften the look.
How does it feel when you’re in the space?
To be honest, when I am opening something I am always nervous. That’s why I like to see it first on my own. I always want a lot of time. I need an hour or two. I want to sit in every chair and on every banquette. That first feeling is very important to me. Sometimes it’s great; sometimes it’s not that great. For Caviar Kaspia, I liked it the first time I saw it. And when we opened up the bar, I liked that as well. I think we did the lighting very well. It all feels comfortable.
What are your thoughts on the menu?
We sent our people to train at Caviar Kaspia in Paris for two weeks, and then their people came here for two weeks to help with the opening. To do the menu from Paris was one month of training. Since, we have also introduced vegetarian versions of truffle caviar. We want to introduce a caviar pizza. We want to make the menu not just about caviar. If I go there three times a week to entertain guests, I get different things and I want us to be able to do even more. The pasta and the potato are very good. And most people come for caviar; the caviar is great. But I want people to have options.
How does Caviar Kaspia support the other food and beverage outlets at The Mark?
I look at all of it—the hotel, the restaurants—as an entertainment business. Or even a circus, in a way. I love the concept of a three-ring circus. If you get bored with one ring, there are always two others there to entertain. I thought that one more brand under The Mark—one more venue for our guests, one more option for dining—would be a good idea.
And did you think that the values of Caviar Kaspia aligned with those of The Mark?
Caviar Kaspia is a memorable place. The Mark is a memorable place. They both offer unique experiences and both of them are an old-world type of establishment with a European feel. The synergies are there.
Most people that stay in The Mark, they stay for a week. They eat at The Mark at least two or three times. One of the reasons they stay at The Mark is because they love the Jean-Georges restaurant. We have statistics that the hotel audience is looking for something convenient. The same can be said about the neighborhood. We’ve been welcomed by the neighborhood for bringing another hangout to the Upper East Side. Caviar Kaspia a different culinary genre than a lot of what else is around, so I thought it would be good for the neighborhood as well as my hotel.
Is there something you want people to know about The Mark Hotel or Caviar Kaspia?
We want to hire nice people. The first quality you want for a person in the hospitality industry, whether it’s for a restaurant or a hotel, is that they’re nice. If you don’t want to be hospitable, this is not the industry for you.
This is a business where the only thing I want is that people have a good time with good food and they want to do it again. The Mark is like a home. When people tell me they had a great night, I feel good. That’s the reality.
What are your thoughts?