The multimillion-dollar Conde Nast cafeteria designed by noted architect Frank Gehry finally opened its doors yesterday — nearly a year after the first employees moved into the Times Square headquarters.
On food and decor, most insiders who spoke to The Post — even those at hard-to-please Gourmet magazine — gave it rave reviews on Day One.
Maurie Perl, a spokesman for Si Newhouse’s Conde Nast, insisted it was not really a year behind schedule: “We always said we expected it to open early in 2000.”
She declined to comment on the price tag or the design.
Among the striking features of the 10,000-square-foot rectangular space are curved, sky-blue titanium walls along the perimeter, say insiders who dined there yesterday. Leather banquette seating was described by one insider as “very Royalton-like” — a reference to the East Side restaurant that was at one time the unofficial corporate cafeteria. George Lang of Cafe des Artistes was a consultant in the design.
The food was supplied by Restaurant Associates, which is also running the Sea Grill in Rockefeller Center and the newly reopened Brasserie.
Conde Nast Editorial Director James Truman invited Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Norman Pearlstine to dine with him on opening day.
Pearlstine, who dined on a steak (medium), asparagus and Diet Snapple, pronounced the food “very good.”
Commenting on the trendy decor, he said rather cryptically, “I think it belonged in the Conde Nast building.”
Conde Nast CEO Steve Florio dined on pasta — but could not be reached for comment at presstime.
Sources said the cafeteria has seating for slightly more than 200. An estimated 1,800 Conde Nast employees work in the building.
To celebrate the opening, Conde Nast employees were given a big cookie and a debit card worth $20 for use in the cashless cafeteria.