NEW YORK, NY.- Claude Monet's Water Lilies (Nymphéas) series of oil paintings depicting his flower garden in Giverny, created during the last 30 years of his life. have now become the inspiration for the just opened intimate Lily Pond eatery in the West Village in Manhattan.

Lily Pond owner Michael Della Femina, whose father is advertising guru and Hamptons restaurateur Jerry Della Femina, and his wife Laurie have long been enamored with the Monet masterpieces and their focus on light, color and reflection.


Michael Della Femina - owner of Lily Pond

This, along with the fond memories of the street Lily Pond in East Hampton near where the Della Femina’s used to have a family summer home, inspired Michael and Laurie to develop Lily Pond as soon as they found the right space.

That space is now at 183 West 10th street in the West Village. As Della Femina explains “Lily Pond will be the living room for the neighborhood — a place where you can have a bite, a meal, a coffee, a hot chocolate, a cocktail or mocktail,” says Della Femina.

Lily Pond features “elevated pub fare food” – bistro dishes with French and Korean influences – and signature dishes like the Kimchi Reuben Sandwich, the Lily Pond Breakfast Sandwich, the Lily Pond Burger, the Saucy Spicy Salmon Bowl, the Green Goddess Salad and the Hallah French Toast.


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What began as a private pop-up supper club called Lily Pond, started by Della Femina and his wife Laurie in Beverly Hills—and continued with intimate pop-up lunches, dinners and cocktail soirées from Los Angeles to the Hamptons—has now found a permanent home in NYC

“When I saw the West 10th Street spot, I could feel the magic and history in the walls and on the street—and couldn’t turn away.” A longtime downtown denizen, Della Femina has also reeled his family into the mix—overseeing everything from social media and the coffee program to interior design at Lily Pond. “I miss the old Augie’s, Jerry’s on Prince Street, and Florent—places you could visit any time of day. We hope to fill that space,” he adds.


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Separate from Lily Pond, Della Femina and partners Adam Rubin, Andrew Shanfeld, Madison Bright and Phuong Tran have also just opened Croft Alley Soho at the former Lola Taverna space on Prince Street & Sixth Ave, which now serves as the Manhattan outpost of his hugely popular Croft Alley Beverly Hills restaurant on the West Coast.

Della Femina’s expansion back to the East Coast now includes both recent new openings : Lily Pond in the West Village and Croft Alley in SoHo.