Towards the tail end of a New York City heat wave, casually dressed guests gathered at Soho hotspot King yesterday to kick off summer and fete the arrival of Toast—the beloved British lifestyle label that opened its first US store across the bridge at 367 Atlantic Avenue earlier this month. The Boerum Hill location was picked because, according to the recently appointed head of brand in North America Renda Mansour, “We have an affinity with artists, we really appreciate craft, so we wanted to be in a place that really celebrates that.”
Back in Manhattan, as servers passed around Provençal-style chickpea fritters and slices of the tomato tart displayed on a long wooden plank, they donned uniforms by the brand. Prints reminiscent of an English garden and linen apron dresses were well-suited to the restaurant’s rustic interiors. “The shape and the form of the clothes are very natural in the same way we rely upon the natural form of the food,” explained King’s head chef Jess Shadbolt.
As the evening progressed, attendees, including Laura Brown, Simone Bodmer-Turner, Elizabeth Falkner, Clare Reichenbach, Katy Tur, and Aminatou Sow, were all smiles as they moved from the outdoor terrace to the main dining room, which felt more like the inside of a friend’s home. Standing in front of tables decorated with sunflowers and candles, Shadbolt and her business partner Annie Shi shared their belief that the reason you have a restaurant is to have a party—and party was very much the mood.
Patrons sipped on the new King rosé which is packaged exclusively in a large format as it’s made to bring people together. Those who opted for the roasted prawn starter were encouraged to use their fingers—“If it’s not if it’s not dripping down your chin, you’re not enjoying it enough!” Shadbolt quipped—and the sounds of live jazz music from the cocktail hour were replaced by the clanking of pans and fires roaring over the stove in the open kitchen. The menu, like the setting, was simple yet sophisticated, and the common thread tying the group together was a sense of community.
At the end of the night, friends new and old hugged goodbye with fresh stains on their The Row, grabbing snow cones for the road as the temperature outside finally began to cool. Wrapping up a handful of cherries for someone to take home, Shadbolt told Vogue she hoped the event was “convivial and celebratory and generous and chill, but also special.” Mission accomplished.