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Marlow East Elevates Southern Dining Uptown
June 3, 2025, 2:24.37 pm ET

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Photos: Marlowe East

The Upper East Side is getting a bold new addition with the arrival of Marlow East, a Southern-inspired New American restaurant now open at 1022 Lexington Avenue. Led by Executive Chef Braxton Decker and restaurateurs Elena and Dragan Ristovski (of Marlow Bistro and Fandi Mata), this bi-level spot blends elevated comfort food with a soulful cocktail program and refined interiors that nod to nearby Central Park.

Chef Decker’s blending of Appalachian and Southern flavors come through in standout dishes like buttermilk fried chicken served with Parker House rolls, country ham and pimento cheese croquettes, and a blue crab agnolotti rich with roasted crab fat. Housemade pastas, raw bar selections like scallop aguachile and tuna crudo, and hearty mains like a pork chop with morels and sweetbreads and Filet Mignon Oscar style round out a deeply seasonal menu focused on local, organic and GMO-free ingredients.

The beverage program, curated by Kat Foster (formerly Eleven Madison Park), is equally ambitious, spotlighting Appalachian takes on classic cocktails. Think: a vodka and salted cucumber spritz, a beet-bitters Manhattan made with honey butter-washed whiskey, and a Dirty Pimento martini garnished with pickled pimiento and pimento cheese. House infusions and reimagined bar staples make Marlow East as much a cocktail destination as it is a dining one.

Inside, designer Larisa Mihajlova’s layered interiors bring warmth and serenity with sculptural lighting, wood accents, lush greenery and custom wallpaper. A marble 8-seat bar designed to resemble the bow of a rowboat anchors the downstairs cocktail lounge, while upstairs, the 55-seat dining room and outdoor patio offer a stylish setting for dinner, brunch, or drinks.

With its mix of Southern charm and uptown polish, Marlow East brings something fresh and soulful to the UES—comfort food with a cosmopolitan twist, served just steps from Central Park.

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