Earlier this month, I attended the Global Woman New York Summit which was held at The Producer’s Club on West 44th Street. I’ve been a member of The Global Woman Club since 2018 and it’s been great. But one of the greatest parts of the Club is the women that I have met from all over the world who are also part of the Club and so now we get to Sardi’s.

Elisabeth Villiger Toufexis who is the Global Director of Global Woman Cyprus and Susanne Fagerstrom who is the Global Director of Global Woman Stockholm flew to New York City to attend the conference and how could I resist not taking them to one of my favorite restaurants, Sardis to share part of the Broadway theatre culture with them.

So a bit about the iconic, over 100 year old restaurant before I post any photos…

In 1921, Vincent Sardi, Sr. and his wife Eugenia opened the restaurant we now know as Sardi’s. Inspired by Joe Zelli’s Restaurant in Paris, Sardi Sr. hired Alex Gard to draw caricatures of the famous theatre folk who patronized his establishment in exchange for one free meal a day and so a deal was struck. Today there are more than 1200 portraits on the wall of the theatre’s and New York City’s cultural elite.

Today, Sardi’s still maintains the caricature tradition. Each year Richard Baratz draws approximately 20 new portraits that are unveiled at a champagne reception attended by friends of the honoree as well as the media. Among the hundreds of recent caricature wall additions are Christian Slater, Michael Douglas, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlton Heston, Brooke Shields, Nathan Lane and Dame Edna.

Of Sardi’s, Dennis King once remarked, “It is much like the Mermaid Tavern of Shakespeare’s day. It is the greatest theatrical restaurant in the world. But it is more than a restaurant. It is a message center, a lover’s rendezvous, a casting center, and even a psychiatrist’s couch.” It also gave birth to a popular radio show in 1946, “Luncheon at Sardi’s!”

So if you’re in the Theatre District don’t hesitate to visit Sardi’s but I do recommend that you make a reservation first! Sardi’s is Sardi’s!