After years of hauling her culinary world across the city, Top Chef alum Lana Lagomarsini is finally putting down roots for her signature take on Pan-African cuisine. Creola, a tasting menu restaurant, is slated to open later this summer at 1261 Park Ave. in the Upper East Side.
For Lagomarsini, the move to a brick-and-mortar location is a welcome relief from the supportive, yet grueling pop-up scene. She recently told What Now New York that she decided to open her own spot at the end of 2025, after the smoke started to clear from her appearances on Top Chef.
“I was doing pop-ups for about six years at that point and was definitely tired of what we lovingly call here in New York ‘the schlep’ — of just bringing all your stuff around with you,” she said. ”It’s just a lot going from new location to new location every time…”
The intimate 12-seat dining room is located just steps from where Lagomarsini walked to school as a child, adding a layer of nostalgia to a project that is already highly personal. Describing the venture as a “grassroots” effort, the chef is eschewing large hospitality groups and corporate backing in favor of an independent launch.
The menu will also present as highly personal. Creola will feature a five-course tasting menu rooted in the flavors of the Pan-African diaspora. Instagram teasers reveal an appetite for collision and bite: gamey elk cut with dark blackberry jerk sauce, rich lamb served with mouth-puckering tamarind barbecue sauce, and a ramp-infused ranch sauce with crudité.
Lagomarsini said she expects the menu to evolve at a monthly pace, compelled by the availability of local produce and desire to tell stories through food. She emphasized that locality and seasonality will remain the North Star in the kitchen, noting that diners should not expect to find out-of-season produce like tomatoes in January.
The curated approach extends to the liquid offerings as well, which will echo the culinary philosophy of the kitchen.
“Our beverage program is going to be like me: slender but powerful,” she mused. “It’s going to be a lot of biodynamic and organic producers and small, family producers as well. The same kind of ethos as the food menu.”
While technical execution reflects a fine-dining background, the decor and atmosphere at Creola will be anything but: Lagomarsini wants her guests to feel relaxed.
“I hope they feel like they’re at their aunt’s house or their grandma’s house,” she said. “Creola is my grandmother’s name. So, that is what’s inspiring the whole experience… It’s supposed to feel like a warm hug.”
