Pearl Box’s menu is required reading—even if you already know what you're ordering

There are restaurants you visit for the atmosphere, the cocktails or the food alone. And then there are eateries and bars that offer such a special combination of ambiance, flair and cuisine that you can’t get them out of your head.

SoHo’s multi-level townhouse restaurant Pearl Box is strictly the latter. Its distinct charm begins before you even order. Styled like a vintage magazine, the menu caught my attention immediately when I stopped in earlier this spring.

Managing partner Kenneth Crum opens up about the restaurant’s unique menu style, what it adds to the guest experience and more in a Q&A with Getting Dressed for Dinner below.

Editor’s note: This Q&A has been edited.

Most people think of magazines like Playboy or Playgirl as just dirty magazines, but they were so much more. Yes, they were indulgent but they were also chic, funny and smart.

Nothing felt more aligned with the Pearl Box space and brand.

It instantly puts them in the right frame of mind.

Even with one look at the cover of the menu, it’s clear we want to take you to a different time and place. The entire townhouse is deeply inspired by the 1970s and we want that to be evident even before food or drinks reach the table.

People love it! It’s really helped us clearly tell guests who we are.

Most people want to take pictures with it. Lots of people want to buy it to take home and display, which we love.

We publish monthly issues with a new Centerfold cocktail and other sections. Bigger changes, like the cover, will happen semi-annually.

We’re exploring other ways to make it feel editorial like a real magazine would.

The Centerfold itself actually inspired us to change our menu to this format.

We had a cocktail on the menu that was called a Centerfold. We were taking photos of it one day and I thought, “what if we shot it wide and made it super sexy? Like the drink is an actual Centerfold?” We were so happy with the result that we ended up applying the same frame of thinking to our entire menu.

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