Pink walls, a colorful glass chandelier and a gallery of mirrors fill one of the dining rooms. Photo:Courtesy

Lifestyle & Travel

By Fernanda Artibani

Named after a Persian tale, decorated with eccentric flair and featured in film, the restaurant, which opened in 1954, is a reminder that the best travel discoveries rarely appear on the itinerary.

NOVA YORK – More than seven decades after opening in 1954, Serendipity 3 remains one of New York’s most singular addresses. Located on East 60th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the restaurant, founded by three friends, brings together dining, art and eccentric decor, and carries a name that sums up the spirit of the city itself.

Tiffany-style lamps and pop art portraits set the tone in one of the dining rooms.Photo:Courtesy

Names such as Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis are associated with the restaurant, which gained worldwide exposure in 2001 as the setting of the film “Serendipity,” released in Brazil as “Escrito nas Estrelas.” Today it draws visitors interested in the menu and in a chance to taste a piece of New York’s cultural history.

Stained-glass lamps, framed photographs and a pink mural line one of the dining rooms.Photo:Courtesy

Although it often appears in films, photographs and travel itineraries, New York keeps surprises in store for those willing to look beyond the postcards. Serendipity 3 is one of them.

Escaping the conventional was the goal of Stephen Bruce, Calvin Holt and Patch Carradine, who mixed food, fashion, creativity and artistic objects, a far cry from the traditional establishments of the era. The result is a colorful space full of decorative details and lamps, with pieces that seem chosen without commitment to a single aesthetic trend. That mixture gave the place its personality.

A mint-green room combines a colorful chandelier, a gilded mirror and contemporary art. Photo:Courtesy

Unmistakable in a city that reinvents itself constantly, the restaurant built its brand on the experience it offers: being somewhere unlike any other, a theme I have explored in my columns. Over the years, it became a meeting spot for artists, creators and people looking for more than a simple meal.

The facade of Serendipity 3, on East 60th Street, in Manhattan.Photo:Courtesy

English writer Horace Walpole coined the term serendipity in 1754, inspired by the ancient Persian tale “The Three Princes of Serendip.” In the story, the three princes make unexpected discoveries along their journeys, relying on observation, intelligence and a good measure of chance.

Known in ancient times as Serendip, the island that is now Sri Lanka appears in the tale’s title, and the word Walpole created came to describe happy discoveries, those that arise when we are not exactly looking.

As for the number 3 in the restaurant’s name, it refers to the three founding friends and echoes the three princes of the original story. A restaurant opened in the 1950s adopted a word coined 200 years earlier, perhaps because some ideas simply do not age.

Scenes from the 2001 film “Serendipity,” set partly at the restaurant.Photo:Courtesy

Released in theaters, the film “Serendipity” made the restaurant one of the best-known settings of the cinematic romance.

Starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, the movie follows Jonathan and Sara, two strangers who meet by chance while Christmas shopping in New York. After that first encounter, they head to Serendipity 3, where they share one of the house’s best-known desserts. From there, the plot deals with choices, missed connections, time and the possibility of fate bringing two people together again.

Long before the film, the restaurant already existed: when the production premiered, Serendipity 3 had nearly five decades of history. It was cinema that found a place whose identity seemed tailor-made for that narrative, and there is a certain poetry in that.

The Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, one of the house signatures.Photo:Courtesy

Just as famous as the restaurant’s name is the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate (the spelling, with three r’s, is correct). Despite the apparent contradiction, it is a cold chocolate drink with a creamy texture and a generous topping of whipped cream. One of the house signatures, the drink achieved international fame after appearing in the film.

Far from the discreet luxury and minimalism that dominate so many contemporary projects, the space bets on excess, playfulness, color and detail, and perhaps that is its greatest quality.

Sophistication does not always mean restraint. Some places hold their true richness in originality, history and the ability to stir emotions.

Almost everything can be planned today: restaurants are chosen in advance, addresses are saved, reviews are consulted and each day of the trip is organized to get the most out of it.

I recognize the convenience. But in trying to control every detail, part of the pleasure of discovery may be lost. I believe traveling should also be an exercise in availability: changing course, walking down an unfamiliar street, talking with someone or staying a little longer in a place that sparked curiosity. For me, that is hard: I love planning E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G before a trip, but I keep evolving.

One charm of Serendipity 3 is exactly this: beyond the cuisine, the eccentric look and the film appearance, the restaurant preserves an increasingly necessary idea, that not everything worth doing needs to be planned. In the end, some of the best memories from trips are born not of places we were sure to visit, but of those that life, somehow, put in our path. Perhaps the true beauty of traveling lies in letting the unexpected be part of the destination too.

Fernanda Artibani
Lifestyle & Travel Columnist | Arch Gallery & Design Magazine