At Dinner with Romilly Newman in New York

Tastemaker and chef Romilly Newman made her styling debut with an intimate salon dinner hosted at Armadillo’s recently opened New York City Flagship.

An invite to one of Romilly Newman’s New York salon-style dinners is among the city’s most coveted invitations, so it was no surprise the guest list for her intimate evening at Armadillo’s Manhattan showroom was filled with a slew of influential tastemakers, editors and creatives. For her first interior design collaboration, Newman transformed our brand new Flatiron space into an exclusive, invite-only salon, hosting a night to remember.

Photography by Ethan O'Grady

The guest list brought together a cross-section of New York’s creative set, including artist and designer Ella Emhoff, creative director Gabriella Khalil and photographer Hunter Abrams, as well as Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell, the design duo behind Tanner Fletcher. Also in attendance was Armadillo co-founder Jodie Fried, who welcomed guests with a toast to an exciting new chapter for the brand and its New York home.

As the sun set over Broadway, guests gathered for cocktail hour with signature cucumber margaritas in hand, before sitting down to a menu designed by Newman herself. A chicory and radicchio tardivo salad was followed by agnolotti al limone with ricotta, with a filet of white sole finished with a lemon-butter-caper emulsion as the main.

Marking her design debut, Newman was tasked to transform Armadillo’s showroom for the evening, bringing her layered and textural approach to the space, utilising pieces from our latest Linea collection. “I adopted this more dramatic, romantic neo-classical design style that I'm typically drawn to,” Newman said. “It was a very special moment for me. It was a new chapter for my career and I couldn’t have thought of a better brand to work with.”

A master of the table, Newman spent the evening asking the star-studded guest list for their golden rule for hosting – among them: put down your phone, guests eat first and always have a signature cocktail – before sharing her own. “My number one hosting tip is prep,” she told us, adding, “and say thank you to your host!”

Before guests departed, one final surprise awaited: The Pudding Room. True to form as host extraordinaire, Newman had one last treat up her sleeve – an entire room dedicated to dessert with decadent bombe Alaskas, profiteroles, berry pies, sponge cakes and indulgent chocolate ganache.

A sweet send off and the perfect close to an unforgettable New York evening.

For more, see inside our New York Flagship showroom here