NYCReview
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Is complaining about Fashion Week your favorite activity during Fashion Week? Are you a young, vaguely employed man with long hair? Could you identify Marc Jacobs by his tattoos, should the opportunity present itself? If so, then you’ve probably been to Indochine. And you’ve probably been here with a group of other people just like you.
You have also probably been to Indochine if you’re over the age of 40, considering that this place has in business for nearly three decades. And somehow despite its age, this restaurant has managed to stay relevant, at least amongst a certain crowd - the fashion crowd. A visit to Indochine on any given night is pretty much like walking into a cartoon rendering of a New York fashion blogger’s wet dream. It’s a funky, dated room full of very stylish people doing lots of things other than eating, many of whom are famous in their industry. Almost all are completely unrecognizable to someone like me. I’m pretty sure I did see one of the Blue Man Group here one time though. We all have our idols.
For what it is, we happen to like Indochine a lot. This is one of those places where you simply know what you’re going to get, every single time. The scene is more interesting than the somewhat average Pan-Asian food, but eating the city’s best spicy shrimp probably isn’t why you came here in the first place. If it is, you’re doing it wrong. Indochine is the place you come for a big group outing, especially of the birthday dinner variety. If you’re looking for a restaurant that can serve a table of ten equal parts food and vodka soda in high volume, this is your spot. The service is speedy, the room is loud and fun, and the menu is full of things that are perfectly good enough. If that doesn’t sound like a place to honor your best friend, I don’t know what does. Especially if he or she knows what Carine Roitfeld looks like.