New York’s Newest Celeb-Spotting Bar Is Designed to Make You Look Good

Should you find yourself lucky enough to snag a reservation at New York City’s Pebble Bar, a three-story townhouse tucked into Rockefeller Plaza, you have the team at Gachot Studios to thank for how great you look. “The blush color on the top-floor walls and the glowy candles—everyone just looks good there,” says Christine Gachot, who designed the 3,000-square-foot space with her husband, John. That dusty pink shade? Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster.

The historic spot, once home to a bar named Hurley’s that had a secret entrance for Johnny Carson, has a narrow staircase that opens up to the first floor, which is filled with high-top tables made in stone and a room-spanning wood bar. The next staircase up, Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue envelops the dining area, matching the leather banquettes, a trick that Christine says can make a small space feel cohesive and cozy, like a “tiny lacquered jewel box.”

On the top floor, dubbed Johnny’s, is where the designing pair really brought home the townhouse theme by creating a living room–like space with Eames loungers, mohair and velvet sofas, vintage mirrors, and a shiny black piano that gets late-night use from local musicians. “So much has happened [in this space], so in designing it, we decided that we couldn’t go too far,” says Christine. “You’re not reinventing the narrative, you’re just continuing the story.”

With its proximity to 30 Rock’s Saturday Night Live studio and the fact that Pete Davidson, Nicolas Braun, and Justin Theroux are all investors, the watering hole is naturally a draw for late-night revelry—as well as good design. As for Christine, this is where you’ll find her: “In an Eames chair, on John’s lap,” she says with a laugh before adding, “One chair, two tequilas. It feels like I’m at home.”