In the beginning of the Audrey Hepburn 1961 film, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Hepburn’s character Holly Golightly stares into the window displays while eating a croissant out of a paper bag (this scene does not occur in the Truman Capote book the film was based on, although she does reveal at one point that whenever she is anxious Tiffany’s is the only thing that can calm her). Since May of 2023, after the flagship Tiffany and Co. store reopened after a gorgeous renovation, star chef Daniel Boulud’s Blue Box Cafe has allowed you to eat a real breakfast – or lunch, or early dinner – at Tiffany’s on the sixth floor. I recently celebrated my daughter’s birthday here and it far surpassed expectations (and my expectations were high!).
The first thing to figure out was how to get a reservation, as they are not easy to acquire. You can find out more about the cafe at its website (Blue Box Cafe) but reservations are only taken online at Resy. If you want a specific date and time, reservations open up 30 days in advance at midnight, and you need to be fast. However, in playing around with the site I noticed that often last minute reservations would show up a day or so before. You can’t order a celebration cake less than 48 hours in advance (more about that later) but otherwise it is a good option if you don’t get a reservation right at the 30 day mark. Also, note that last minute reservations tend to be for later in the day, I suppose because most people want to say they had “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
The space is exquisite – large windows looking west onto Fifth and north to Central Park, an abundance of little Tiffany blue boxes hanging from the ceiling, and an intimate space where regardless of the small size of the space you aren’t crowded right next to other diners. Service was excellent, as well. Immediately upon being seated, two coin-sized discs were placed in a bowl and hot water poured over them so that they would blossom into warm towels to remove the grime of the city from our hands.
Here are the menus – a wine list, cocktails, desserts and nonalcoholic beverages, an afternoon tea prix fixe, a la carte entrees and sides, and the signature “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” prix fixe selection. Everything was tempting but we both ended up getting a gin-based cocktail called “Holly’s Delight” along with “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Between 10am when it opens and noon, there is also a lighter breakfast option you can choose.
All the silverware and china were of course by Tiffany! The cocktail was delicious.
The first thing brought out was “A glass of Golightly,” a fresh fruit and vegetable juice with a touch of ginger. Then the “Breakfast at Tiffany” service came out with six different delicacies, two of each since we had both ordered this.
The “egg in a shell” was ingenious! A hard boiled egg shell had been hollowed out, and a delicious serving of scrambled egg with cream and chives used this shell as a container. This comes with caviar on top but I don’t care for caviar (I know, most people do!) so I asked for mine without and it was very tasty.
There were three pastries, a croissant, a chausson aux pommes (apple turnover) and a madeleine. They were all excellent (and for some reason, I forgot to take a photo of the madeleine, very anti-Proust of me to find they made me forgetful. . .).
There was a lovely pineapple rosace fruit dish with strawberry, vanilla and lime. There was also a yogurt parfait with granola and a layer of mango and passionfruit. Everything served was elevated in some way and made the entire experience feel special.
Since we were celebrating a birthday, I had ordered a “celebration cake” in advance. To do this you first need to have a reservation, then email the restaurant more than 48 hours in advance of the reservation to fill out an order form and have that linked to your reservation. The choices for flavor are either vanilla cake with seasonal fruit, or chocolate with caramel (which is what we had selected). They bring the cake out with a slab of chocolate personalized with the message of your choice with icing. The cake came with a lit candle, and they let us take pictures of the intact cake (which was beautifully detailed in Tiffany blue with chain decorations) before taking it away to cut for us and box the rest to take away. They asked how many slices we wanted but said they usually recommend for two cutting it in half, boxing half to take home and making two slices out of the other half. We did that and in fact the slices were too large for us to finish, but the cake was wonderful.
The box for the leftover cake continued the theme, as did the postcard attached to the bill. The bar, by the way, is created from gorgeous marble with blue veining. I noticed that there is the opportunity to walk in and sit at the bar if there is availability, so if you don’t have a reservation but really want to come in and experience the food, drink, and decor, that is an option.
I am fortunate enough to live in New York City, close enough that I walked there and back from home. There are so many things to do and places to go that I only go back to those that stand out and surpass expectations. Blue Box Cafe fit this description – I will be back!
Julie Brannan, NYC residential real estate 