Basque-Inspired Dinner, Catbird NYC Collaborates with Metropolitan Museum and Other NYC Events

Every week, Alexa rounds up the latest fashion news, hotel openings, restaurant launches, and most anticipated cultural events in New York City. It’s our guide to the best things to see, buy, taste, and experience in the city.

What’s on our luxury list this week? A new venue from Team Cervos, a sparkling jewelry collaboration with Met, and comfy shoes that aren’t sneakers are dropping in Flatiron.

Can’t get into Cervos? Try their new bar, Eel Bar, around the corner on Broome Street. While Cervos is “an ode to the seafood of the Iberian Peninsula,” Eel Bar is inspired by “the region where northern Spain and France meet.” That translates into dishes like shrimp and eggs Gildas (delicious skewers), ham and cheese croquettes, moules frites en demi-shell and black rice a la plancha. And that’s just the snacks. Pair them with a dozen wines by the glass, a wide selection of vermouths or a can’t-miss martini. EelBarNYC.com

When it’s hot, surround yourself with cool things. This exhibition, at Demisch Danant in the Village, is built around bronze. It’s one of the oldest materials known to man, cold to the touch, and designers have used it to create some very beautiful things. Come discover pieces by big names such as Jacques Dumond, Maria Pergay and César, with contemporary artists Sheila Hicks and Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. Until August 17 on DemischDanant.com

The brand known for its ultra-comfortable shoes made from sustainable materials (like yarns made from recycled plastic bottles, hemp, and RWS-certified merino wool) has opened its third and largest store in the city, on Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District. Its 2,000 square feet feature work by Mexican artist collective Caralarga as well as an installation of fabrics knitted directly from Rothy’s own factory. The space is an understated testament to eco-conscious interiors, with energy-efficient LED lighting, recycled paint from EarthPaint, 100% FSC-certified wood, and Marmoleum flooring. Rothys.com

Catbird just launched its second collection with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For two decades, the Brooklyn-based, sustainable jewelry brand has been making highly wearable, locally-made jewelry using over 95% recycled 14-karat gold and 95% recycled diamonds. The five designs for the Met were inspired by the themes of the Costume Institute’s spring 2024 exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and range from $98 for a Pearl Plum charm (a nod to a 17th-century still life by Italian painter Orsola Maddalena Caccia) to $990 for a Moonstone Bubble necklace (evoking a moment in an 1859 painting by French artist Thomas Couture). CatBird.com

“Opacity, Transparency, and Everything in Between” is Najla El Zein’s second exhibition at Friedman Benda. While the French-Lebanese artist and designer has become known for her large sculptural works, mostly in stone, this show marks her first foray into glass. She presents more than a dozen large-scale pieces that she has called “Ensemble(s),” all made in Amsterdam, where she now lives. After working for so long with a more controllable material, she admits that “working in a hot studio is an emotional and unpredictable experience: high temperatures, smoke, flames, constant movement, and an unsettling sense of the unknown.” Yet she persevered, and the results are a beautiful addition to her oeuvre. Through August 9 at FriedmanBenda.com