HotelChatter

Designed by Jeffrey Beers with cues from European department stores such as London’s Harrods and Berlin’s KaDaWe, it comprises six food stations in black, white and tan, each with counter seating.

At a preview last week, Elad’s US president (the owner of the Plaza hotel), Miki Naftali, beamed over appetizing displays of pizza, sushi, dumplings, grilled meat and shellfish. But the real catch o’ the day was English, a national-brand TV chef who runs restaurants (with varying degrees of actual control) around the country.

Prices are expected to be quite affordable for diners, particularly nearby office workers who the Plaza wants to attract. (Sliders on brioche buns are expected to go for $10.) Hopefully, the Food Hall will help out The Plaza's dismal "retail collection" space while at the same time give guests who are spending a fortune on the rooms a less expensive option for noshing.

But if that doesn't work, we thinks the Plaza and the Food Hall are going to have to resort to Nickel Beer Nights.