When Chef Lana Lagomarsini, a Top Chef Season 22 semifinalist, extended a simple invitation to our Les Dames d’Escoffier WhatsApp group—“Would love to see some Dames at my friends and family soft opening”—we were thrilled to accept. Lana even gave our organization a lovely shout-out, crediting Les Dames with helping bring her new restaurant space into her life.

We headed to Carnegie Hill to raise a glass and get an early taste of Creola, Lana’s new intimate dining concept. Named after her grandmother—whose kitchen first shaped the way Lana cooks and feeds people.  Creola features a seasonally shifting prepaid five-course menu ($125; $65 wine pairing) rooted in the American South and the broader African diaspora. Her dishes, like a potlikker consommé and an Afro-Caribbean-inspired pâté en croûte, beautifully marry her heritage with the precise techniques she honed at Gramercy Tavern, Daniel, and Momofuku Ko.

There was just one small complication: Lana had broken her wrist roller-skating right before the big opening! Ever the professional, she greeted us sporting a cast and a warm smile, leaving the kitchen in the capable hands of her sous chef while she held court with guests.

Our 5-course, pre-paid menu was a lovely way to get an early taste of what Lana is creating at Creola: deeply personal food, informed by her grandmother’s kitchen, her restaurant-world experience, and the broader culinary traditions she is making her own.

She served:

Snacks

A gougère filled with pâté, a crab tart and a pimento cheese-filled deviled egg
Bohigas Gran Reserva Extra Brut, Catalonia 2021

Low Tide in Lagos
Summer scallop ceviche, suya salsa matcha

Domaine de l’Ecu ‘Granite, Loire 2024

Patty en Crute
Oxtail pâte en croûte with an Afro-Caribbean turn.

Bernabeleva ‘Camino de Navaherreros’, Gredos 2025

Ancestral
Collard green potlikker consomme, trout, trout fat roasted cornbread

Sulauze ‘Charbonnières, Provence 2023

Blue Smoke Mountains
Elk, blackberry jerk, plantain

Rostaing ‘Le Vassal, Languedoc 2022

Yellow Velvet Cake
Passion fruit tiramisu

I highly recommend a visit to Creaola

Creola
1261 Park Ave
New York, NY
(845) 549-2892
creolanyc.com/