The sun is pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows when the bar begins to fill with bespoke suits on a Tuesday in August at Four Twenty Five. The new restaurant from Jean-Georges Vongerichten is on the first floor of a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, beneath the offices of financial giant Citadel Securities. And the traders are thirsty.
This might sound like a familiar ritual: happy hour. But the trappings of that timeworn American workplace tradition—5-to-7 p.m. drink specials, plates of chicken wings, and an “everyone’s welcome” vibe—are nowhere to be found at Four Twenty Five. Here, the mostly male finance-industry crowd quaffs $25 olive-oil-washed martinis and munches on sea urchin crostini with yuzu and serrano chilies. There are no two-for-one drink deals or discounted bar snacks. Also: It’s only 4:15.
