Donatella Arpaia

Donatella Arpaia entered the New York restaurant scene by way of her family’s restaurant, Bellini, back in 1998, and in the last several years has become a culinary juggernaut, partnering first with David Burke (at the erstwhile davidburke & donatella), and currently with Michael Psilakis, with whom she runs the high-end Greek Anthos, midlevel Italian Mia Dona and bargain Greek taverna Kefi. While the duo is hardly through with Manhattan – she and Psilakis are planning to open a family-friendly gastropub called Gus & Gabriel’s in July – they recently launched their first restaurant outside NYC, Eos, in Miami’s Viceroy Hotel. Zagat Buzz caught up with Donatella in New York to talk about the new venture and more.

Zagat Buzz: What’s different about your Miami opening?

Donatella Arpaia: This is the first time Michael is venturing into Latin cuisine, because Miami has such a huge Latin community. He loves exploring new cuisines; Greek and Latin are both Mediterranean, so they are close cousins.

ZB: Why Miami?

DA: We wanted to expand and if we were going to travel, I wanted someplace warm; New York weather is killing me. Dubai was too far, so Miami was the natural choice. We were excited about the Viceroy – they are a high-end luxury brand and can withstand the economy. It’s like W meets the Four Seasons – great service, but hip, young and edgy with high design. It really reflects my generation.

ZB: Working with a hotel requires a lot of extras, like room service. Has this been particularly demanding?

DA: Yes. We are doing the hotel’s whole food and beverage program – room service, lunch, the cafe… It’s also the first time we are dealing with anyone else’s opinions. It’s a good learning experience. The hope is, if this goes well, we will expand with them.

ZB: How has the economy affected you?

DA: People aren’t spending money the way they used to, but Kefi is a major, major success. We recently moved and we were really concerned about going into such a big space, but we expanded our menu, and our services. We now serve lunch and brunch, and we take reservations and allow credit cards, neither of which we did at the old location. Anthos is our flagship, the only Michelin-starred Greek restaurant in the country. It’s in Midtown and has suffered the most. We have a certain brand and we can’t cheapen that, but corporate dining is dead, so we transformed the private room upstairs into a more casual format where small plates start at $15. It was a good compromise and we are trying hard to stay on top.

ZB: Have you had to make compromises with Eos?

DA: It was originally going to be a high-end fish concept. We researched all the restaurants in Florida and decided to adjust that idea a bit, but it’s been a bit of a struggle because it is a high-end design. I removed the tablecloths, changed the plating and tried to bring it down a little, so now it is a melding of high and low. The uniforms, for example, are white blazers with jeans and Converse sneakers. We are bringing something special to the area. I don’t mean to sound snobbish, but New York is so far ahead in terms of food, and we find service out of New York to be a departure. I feel like they are five or 10 years behind us in most places.

ZB: How do you and Michael divide your time?

DA: We try not to overlap, so we are in different places most of the time. Our restaurants are like children. We give our attention to those that need the most care.

– Beth Landman