With Premier Views and Exceptional Catering, Manhattan Penthouse Plays Host to Many of New York City’s Memories
There is something about a legacy event space, especially in New York City. We wish to look out over a shared glorious vista with a story to tell, dine well among friends and perhaps take a twirl among the twinkling lights of the city’s most iconic buildings. As New Yorkers we want to be part of a great event and share the feeling of making personal history.
The Manhattan Penthouse is that kind of unique venue, a secret space that unveils lower Manhattan, the site of parties and events that people continue to whisper about. Founder and president Sam Milliken knows something about creating a stir. Before opening his flagship space he catered for the likes of Gloria Vanderbilt, Helen Gurley Brown, Woody Allen, Jane Fonda, the Chairman of Citibank, and the first KISS party with the rock group appearing without makeup.
Mr. Milliken and his team converted this 8,000 square foot penthouse at the top of the tallest building in Greenwich Village, formerly a Readers Digest division, into a one-of-a-kind event space. As a former educator and exclusive caterer at the rarefied Explorers Club, Sam has always possessed that special gift of reading New York’s pulse, a soothsayer who hired classically-trained French chef Noga Andriani thirty years ago. He also started the corporate trend to rent our private homes and spaces for events instead of bringing catering into offices.
Chef Andriani and Mr. Milliken continues to update their menus with the best ideas from the sweep of culinary evolution stretching from the seventies to the present day and retaining on their menu favorite dishes from classical French, nouvelle, southwestern, Cajun, Asian fusion, and American regional.
“Your suggested menu was delicious, the service was without fault,” attests the exacting Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper. “I know the attention to detail to make a party run so smoothly.”
Everything was just beautiful, elegant, special.
Manhattan Penthouse thrives as a sought after event space, easily accessible off Union Square and available seven days and nights a week. Its glamorous evenings are surrounded by a necklace of city light, and its daytime events on weekdays and Sundays have a very special airy ambience.
Manhattan Penthouse has hosted myriad weddings as well as numerous parties for major New York players including the top financial, fashion, educational, medical, and advertising worlds. The New York Times reported, “Your staff did a superb job- everything ran smooth as silk. Compliments from the guests were profuse.”
Manhattan is full of gems, but holding one’s event or wedding where “everything was just beautiful, elegant, special,” as one bride wrote, removes the anxiety from an otherwise hectic day. A tasteful blend of modern and traditional décor, classic moldings are offset by contemporary stained glass surrounded by silver and grey tones overall. The ambience is so lovely most clients choose not to decorate.
Catering Directors Monika Nemeth and Jeno Steiner work personally with every party to assure each element of the event is “totally smooth and ours to remember for years to come.”
The Manhattan Penthouse staff is often cited for, not only their professionalism, but their kindliness and friendly spirit. Known for her lovely personality, Ms. Nemeth typically receives comments such as this, “Your graciousness, flexibility and warmth meant a great deal to me. Throughout the process you were helpful, cooperative, efficient and gracious. But the night of my wedding you exceeded even your own high standards.”
Mr. Milliken has always intended Manhattan Penthouse to be an integral part of the city’s social fabric, a handsome and comfortable space where families can celebrate bar and bas mitzvah, weddings and graduations, alumni can gather for college reunions, and companies can hold private lunches or dinners to highlight shared success or individual retirees while looking out from a 360 degree vista upon the greatest city in the world.
“We have catered for generations,” explains Mr. Milliken. “We’ll throw a birthday party for a mother followed by her daughter’s wedding, and then a mitzvah for the granddaughter fifteen years later, or a wedding for a couple followed by the groom’s parents fortieth anniversary celebration. And it’s been the same with our loyal staff, as we have hired two and even three generations from the same family.
Hailing from Nice, France, Chef Noga Adriani has developed a uniquely eclectic menu that spans the globe and includes favorite dishes from every culinary wave that has swept the country. Examples are Coulibiac of Salmon with Mushrooms & Ricotta, Pistachio Crusted Snapper with Bell Pepper Coulis, Chilean Sea Bass with Orange Beurre Blanc and Balsamic Reduction, and Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Ginger, Tumeric & Apricots. The chef’s bountiful plates are beautifully presented for up to 200 guests with dancing.
The appetizers are equally varied, including Shrimp Ceviche, Seared Tuna with Wasabi & Soy, Serrano Ham Wrapped Manchego & Quince, and North Carolina Barbeque. The chef’s desserts include an Icelandic Skyr Parfait with Macerated Berries & Black Cherry & Balsamic Sauce. The cuisine is reminiscent of Manhattan’s finest restaurants.
Chef Andriani and his staff are equally comfortable preparing a wedding banquet for 200 guests or a luncheon for one dozen board members of Citibank, for example.
Regardless of group size the twelve-foot polished steel Palladian windows that frame the lower midtown skyline in every direction, the huge custom designed bar, and the stunning stained glass installments will take each guest’s breath away.
Accessible from several subway stops and the Union Square station, business guests also gather for every genre of event from breakfasts to light lunches and full dinners. Morning, noon and night, the changing light and views from this loft-like space remain breathtaking.
In 1973 Sam Milliken began catering for some of Manhattan’s most rarefied homes and businesses. From this beginning he was keen to locate a space in which to manifest his vision of exceptional service within sublime elegance. Finally he discovered his perfect location in lower midtown Manhattan, an 8,000 square foot space where views of the Empire State Building spanned north and the World Trade Center appeared to the south. He then created an exceptional team of experts, from Executive Chef Andriani to Director of Catering Monika Nemeth, each dedicated to providing every guest with an indelible memory.
Manhattan Penthouse ascends above the skyline among the Greater New York City’s premier event spaces, “a little closer to heaven,” Mr. Milliken proudly concludes.
To inquire about hosting your event at Manhattan Penthouse, call 212.627.8838 or email info@manhattanpenthouse.com. Learn more at ManhattanPenthouse.com.
Manhattan Penthouse is located at 80 Fifth Avenue at 14th Street, 17th Floor PH, New York, NY 10011 (one block west of Union Square).