Chef James Taylor isn’t chasing fuss, he wants feeling. “I won if in 30, 40, 50 years people have a night at The Joyce that they remember,” he says.
That ethos guides the 45-seat brasserie tucked inside a converted 1930s hotel on cobblestoned Española Way, where low light, emerald drapes, and dark walnut millwork cast a touch of Old Hollywood across the room. Taylor co-owns the space with art collector Andre Sakhai, whose imprint is impossible to miss: Gio Ponti chairs, Joe Colombo barstools, and a rotating lineup of Basquiats and Picassos pulled straight from Sakhai’s private collection.
Taylor’s fine-dining pedigree (Alinea, Roister) surfaces in the details. He wants the food to strike an emotional chord. “It should take you back to a memory,” he says. “And if it doesn’t, I hope it creates a memory.” His menu sharpens the American canon: charred chicken wings, a snapper sandwich on buttered challah, and a roster of high-end steak cuts. The burger—a three-year obsession—is a certified showstopper, also available at The Window, the walk-up annex next door.
Behind the bar, Japanese mixologist Takuya Mizuguchi plays with form and flavor, serving up Liquid A5s (whiskey fat-washed with A5 wagyu, Armagnac, and sherry) and Drunken French Cooks (bleu cheese rum, calamansi, and St. Germain). Beverage director Andrew Herron’s wine list might be the most interesting edit in the city with over 100 bottles, lauded by somms and connoisseurs alike.
But don’t be put off, The Joyce knows how to have fun, or as Taylor puts it, “It’s classic American, I don’t like to make it fancy.
Watch more installments of our Designing Delicious series, presented by Dorsia.
