New Yorkers love to enjoy comfort food while sitting at a counter, and now this simple pleasure has been elevated to the very pinnacle of haute cuisine at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at Four Seasons Hotel New York. The best seats in the house are the bar stools (even better – ask for conversation-friendly corner seating) arrayed around the central kitchen, where Robuchon protégé Chef Xavier Boyer reigns supreme.

French tradition and Asian aesthetic are the influences as fresh ingredients take centre stage, appearing in seasonal surprises and signature dishes such as foie gras fumé en duo d’anguille caramélisée aux saveurs orientales (smoked foie gras layered with caramelised eel) and the much-beloved pommes purée truffée (truffled mashed potatoes).

The coveted second Michelin star for L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York City makes Master Chef Joël Robuchon the only chef to hold such a worldwide record with 27 stars.

Its ingredients are simple, its origins debatable and its variations countless. In the city that first popularised cocktails more than a century ago, martini mixology is an art and an obsession.

At Four Seasons Hotel New York, guests know that cocktails are carefully made in both traditional and innovative forms, and above all, that quality counts. That’s why, during the cocktail renaissance of the early 1990s, bartenders at The Bar upped the ante with the introduction of the individual cocktail shaker, bringing the final shake and pour to the table of thirsty recipients.

Today, they’re everywhere in the city and at Four Seasons lounges around the world – just remember where you first heard the sound of the ice shaking.