A Gossip Girl Reboot Guide to New York City
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In the first episode of Gossip Girl 2.0, Julian Calloway and her minion, Luna, set some very specific guidelines for Constance Billard’s new girl Zoya: “Sant Ambroeus or Yura for coffee, Starbucks for group orders. The Met Steps or the Great Lawn to hang. J.G. Melon for burgers—although they check IDs. Mezzaluna not Serafina, Sweetgreen but for pickup only. Dumbo Hall, not Dumbo House. Never Uber.”
Got it? Good. Because for this glamorous gaggle of over-privileged and under-supervised teens, it’s all about seeing, being seen, and social-media storying in the right places. And unlike their posh predecessors, they’re patrons of places far beyond the bougie bounds of Park Avenue (and not just to turn down their nose at Dan Humphrey in Williamsburg). “Prince of New York” Obie considers Dumbo his kingdom, while Constance queen bee Julian resides in a towering penthouse above Tribeca. Meanwhile, group outsider Zoya holes up in a rent-controlled Upper West Side apartment (that’s, shhh, really her grandma’s).
So, in an act of vital service journalism, this writer—who is pushing 30, mind you—fastidiously watched the first season of the HBO Max iteration to find out where, exactly, the cool kids are going these days.
Every location was picked with intention: “We all think to ourselves—is this where the characters should be?” Matthew Lania, Gossip Girl's location manager, explains. “Like if there's an opening at the Public Theater, we have to go to Indochine later because that's where everybody does their after party.” And, thanks to the cult legacy of the original, even the strictest doors across the city flung open to make shooting possible.
Below, find the haunts of New York’s new scandalous elite—you may even be inspired to visit them yourself.
Where to Eat
Julian Calloway grabs breakfast before school at the Robert De Niro-owned Locanda Verde, Obie makes morning stops for doughnuts at Brooklyn favorite Fan Fan, and lil sis Zoya loves the bagels from Sadelle’s. A swanky gala is held atop Danny Meyer’s Manhatta, and when Obie wants to go over-the-top for his girlfriend’s birthday, he gets a food truck from Frenchette. (“The only thing she should be thinking about is whether she wants a croissant or a crepe!” he professes.) Bad boy Max makes quite the scene at Indochine, while lemongrass chicken skewers are passed around him. Later, he has a heart to heart with his dad at Empire Diner.
Julian and Zoya toy with the idea of grabbing grub at Thai Diner. Meanwhile, a tense family dinner takes place at the Roman and Williams-designed Le Coucou—which they've rented out in its entirety.
What to Do
Gossip Girl’s subjects are a cultural crew—they still sit on the Met Steps, but they’ll also talk about the exhibits inside. They scheme at The Public during Jeremy O. Harris plays. Oh, and Luna never misses an opening at the Gagosian gallery. Julian, ever the downtown it-girl, eschews Upper East Side department stores for the edgy pop-ups at Dover Street Market.
Where to Go Out
Julien hits a Fashion Week after party at The Blond, while the fictional “Dumbo Hall” lines up exactly with Dumbo House—but since this crew has already made clear that it isn’t (see those aforementioned rules!), we’re making comparison to NoHo’s Zero Bond, the buzzy member’s only club with Baccarat chandeliers and artworks by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Julien and Zoya have a joint birthday party at Webster Hall. Meanwhile, Aki stages a confrontation at Julius', the legendary Greenwich Village gay bar.
Where to Live
Constance Billard may be on the Upper East Side, but it draws students across high-earning neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. “Julian's penthouse is a gorgeous penthouse all the way downtown in the Beekman,” Lania says. “Obie's is fictional, and based on living in Empire Stores in Dumbo."
Max and his theater producer father live in a West Village townhouse, Lania confirms, while “it was important that Audrey lived on Park Avenue—perhaps in a building not too far from the Armory.”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
