Haymarket opened June 27 in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. It’s a modern European restaurant that draws inspiration from chef India Doris’s upbringing in London, where British staples were reimagined in a Caribbean household.
Before opening Haymarket, Doris was the executive sous chef at two Michelin-starred Saga in New York, and prior experience includes time in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. She’s joined by managing partner Alex Pfaffenbach, an Eleven Madison Park alum and the former director of development for Quality Branded. The duo met 10 years ago, when they both worked at The Nomad in New York. This is their first independent project.
“After working for other chefs and restaurants that are on such a high level for almost two decades, and traveling all over, I felt like I could use all the skills and tools I learned along the way to really understand what my style is, and how to tighten it up with attention to detail,” Doris said.
Chef India Doris draws on her heritage, as well as her experience living and working in Europe.
Haymarket has a 60-seat dining room and 15-seat bar, and design features include burnt orange banquettes, Parisian-inspired bistro chairs, and chandeliers made from Murano glass. Walls host an original mural by Nashville artist Charlotte Terrell, which portrays landscapes of the English countryside.
The menu — broken into sections for snacks, appetizers, pastas, and mains — features seasonal dishes that are heavily inspired by Doris’s time spent living and working throughout Europe, so guests can expect French and Spanish influences alongside the chef’s own Caribbean heritage.
Snacks include duck fat frites topped with royal sturgeon caviar and served with sour cream and chives. Salt cod fritters are lightly fried, then dusted with lime zest and scallions, and served with habanero aïoli.
The dining room seats 60, and there’s a 15-seat bar.
Appetizers include tuna crudo with aji amarillo, avocado, and radish, and grilled, head-on prawns served with chili crisp and a bouillabaisse sauce.
The team makes pastas in-house, like sardine linguine served with preserved lemon and Calabrian chile. Braised oxtail is brined and braised for twenty-four hours and served with a crispy cheddar polenta. And peri-peri chicken is roasted and served with a snow pea salad.
Doris said that the salt cod fritters, braised oxtail, and peri-peri chicken are good examples of her upbringing and point of view, noting that they “really take me back to my experience and my family background.”
Salt cod fritters are lightly fried and served with habanero aïoli.
The drinks menu comes from beverage director Chris Figueroa, who previously worked at top venues like Saga, Crown Shy, and Overstory. Cocktails have a strong focus on seasonal ingredients, and they lean into unexpected flavor pairings.
The drinks are divided into sections like Tall and Crisp, Shaken and Fresh, and Spirited and Bold. Standouts include the Blue Jean Baby, a bright and aromatic mix of Irish whiskey, peach, eucalyptus, white cardamom, and soda, and Hay Barbie, an egg-white sour featuring mezcal, aquavit, cachaça, pickled beets, ginger, and saffron.
Haymarket opens daily for dinner beginning at 5 p.m.
