I walk the dog through the Design District most days, and there’s a type of person I see, usually strolling dramatically to somewhere important. This person is dressed in flowy clothes that blow out behind them like linen drapes caught in the wind. They’re more often than not wearing sneakers that look like spaceships, and their hair is arranged into origami.
I’ve always wondered where they dine after dropping a mortgage on a new watch or bed (seriously, there’s a Design District store that sells a $400,000 mattress). And now I think I know: a place called Elastika, where the ambiance and the dishes are both as glamorous as the people of the Design District it calls home.
The restaurant occupies the four-story atrium of The Moore building, where the namesake “Elastika” sculpture by Zaha Hadid hangs dramatically over a stunning dining room with booths and tables arranged in geometric patterns. You can’t see the sculpture as you first walk in. Rather, it emerges as you’re led to your table, suspended like spiderwebs between the open floors, lit up by skylights and spotlights, a captivating sight that’ll pull your attention throughout a meal.
The drinks and dishes, by chef Joe Anthony, are largely familiar things executed well. I started with an airmail cocktail with a spiced rum that’s extra smooth from brown butter, which paired well with a creamy gazpacho poured tableside into a bowl of artfully cut veggies towering from an orange sea.
There’s a daily pizza, and we got one with garlicky greens, crispy pancetta and chunks of burrata, lightened up by a squeeze of lemon. The salmon comes medium rare and seared well, atop marinated Carolina rice and marmalade with saffron. This is a dish done everywhere, and this one was a memorable version.
The only dish that arrived not looking like a piece of art itself was the half chicken, served under a baby gem salad, but its messy appearance was forgiven by a well-roasted bird with a goat cheese ranch.
To finish, we had the chocolate and buckwheat, its meringue torched at the table, an oozy brownie-ish dish below, a nice crunch coming from the buckwheat and a sweetness from the ice cream hiding within.
It feels special, indulging in a meal this good, in a space this pretty. While few of us are as fashionable as the people strolling the Design District, we can at least eat like them at Elastika.