SoHo

The columned facade of Watches of Switzerland’s NYC boutique is unmistakable in its SoHo-ness. Inside, the original ironworks building is split into two levels of everything serious collectors, devoted horologists, and casual appreciators of good design could ever dream of.

The rooms at this recently-renovated Soho hotel are decorated smartly and elegantly with plenty of comfort and flair. People flock here for the scene-y rooftop pool, and incredible views of Manhattan from the gym, the sky bar, and many of the rooms. Images courtesy of Nikolas Koenig.

COVID-19 update: Open for pickup and delivery. Founder Rachel Krupa had an ambitious goal when she opened The Goods Mart in Silver Lake: to create a convenience store unlike any other in the country. Now, with the Silver Lake location sadly shuttered, The Goods Mart has made a move east, occupying a much-needed space on Lafayette in SoHo. Think of it as the corner store for a new era, where prices are low (a cup of amazing coffee is a steal at $1.25), the quality is high, and the mission is rooted in community. Shelves are devoid of artificial colors, flavors, and other nasties and even the slushies are made with organic ingredients and served in paper—not plastic—cups. But back to the mission: Customers have the option of donating to different monthly charities at checkout, while good food approaching its sell-by date is delivered to the homeless in partnership with the nonprofit Lunch on Me. In the spirit of adapting to the times we live in, The Goods Mart has curated healthy snack boxes for national delivery. Donate one to frontline workers while you’re at it right from the site.…

Carbone’s takeout menu is firmly in the ridiculous but awesome category, and thank god for that. In this time of quarantine, a blowout supper of whole grilled branzino dripping in butter or bone-in, meltingly tender rib eye with spicy rigatoni vodka is a brilliant way to lift the spirits and keep very talented restaurant workers in business.

This airy oasis for gua sha facials, holistic skin consultations, and acupuncture sits at the top of a glamorously ancient walk-up on Spring Street that’s more Venice Beach bungalow than SoHo loft. Hanging plants, beautiful raffia chairs, and so much sun pouring through the enormous windows it’s hard not to squint are lovely flourishes that make it hard to leave, but the true draw is how beautifully nurturing their treatments are. Founder Britta Plugg is a master of gua sha, the ancient Chinese therapy of smoothing a sculpted stone tool across skin to support lymphatic drainage, ease tension and puffiness, and boost glow. She and two cofounders—an acupuncturist/herbalist and a product developer/herbalist—have a gorgeous gua sha skin-care line, Wilding, which turns the therapy into a beautifully soothing at-home ritual.

In SoHo, the recently opened King, the work of two alumni of London’s River Café, is the toast of the town. On the menu: ropes of cheesy tagliarini with nutmeg, hearty bowls of ribollita, and elegant dishes of salt-baked trout.

The Smile to Go is a SoHo grab-it-quick joint with a huge selection of food that is filling and tasty and healthy.

Face-framing, feathery brows are Robin Evans’ specialty. Over her almost 30 years of experience, she’s figured out the perfect technique: you sit upright while she uses a combination of waxing, tweezing, trimming,and tinting to perfect your brows. Evans’ likes to keep the area beneath the brow clean and polished, while leaving the top’s natural, for perfect-amount-of-groomed brows. (Bonus: She also does facials using Tata Harper products.)

This spa inside the swank 11 Howard hotel has somehow managed to make sweating in an infrared sauna sexy. You get an entire hotel room to yourself, with a spacious personal sauna kitted out with music and even chromatherapy (everybody looks better in a red-tinted light) that combines near-, mid-, and far-infrared waves to heat the body from the inside out, resulting in a major detoxification sweat. The rooms have private bathrooms, so you can rinse off in the shower and start (or end) the day feeling utterly renewed.

Danish-born designer Anine Bing knows a thing or two about nailing that whole classic-meets-modern mix. Since 2005, the LA-based designer and mother of two has been designing edgy-feminine pieces with a timeless bent (motorcycle jackets, Chelsea boots, high-waist denim, and silk camisoles). The entire line is meant to be mixed and matched in a way that’s totally relatable, no matter your style. So it was only a matter of time before the former model set up her second shop in New York, smack in the middle of the action in the Soho. The space is well-aligned with Bing’s aesthetic: a little raw (concrete floors, metal fixtures) and eclectic (potted plants and antique furnishings). And because she doesn’t churn out seasonal collections, every week there are at least five to ten new pieces, which means you have good reason to come back.