diff --git a/src/components/ChatViewer.tsx b/src/components/ChatViewer.tsx
index da41a97..85fcd87 100644
--- a/src/components/ChatViewer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ChatViewer.tsx
@@ -123,16 +123,9 @@ export function ChatViewer({
   return (
     <div className="flex h-full flex-col">
       {/* Header with conversation info and controls */}
-      <div className="px-1 border-b w-full">
+      <div className="px-4 border-b w-full py-0.5">
         <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-3">
           <div className="flex flex-1 min-w-0 items-center gap-2">
-            {conversation.metadata?.icon && (
-              <img
-                src={conversation.metadata.icon}
-                alt={conversation.title}
-                className="h-4 w-4 object-cover flex-shrink-0"
-              />
-            )}
             <div className="flex-1 flex flex-row gap-2 items-baseline min-w-0">
               <h2 className="truncate text-base font-semibold">
                 {customTitle || conversation.title}
diff --git a/src/components/nostr/GroupLink.tsx b/src/components/nostr/GroupLink.tsx
index 810b962..35036af 100644
--- a/src/components/nostr/GroupLink.tsx
+++ b/src/components/nostr/GroupLink.tsx
@@ -1,22 +1,21 @@
 import { MessageSquare } from "lucide-react";
 import { useGrimoire } from "@/core/state";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
-import { use$ } from "applesauce-react/hooks";
-import { map } from "rxjs/operators";
-import eventStore from "@/services/event-store";
 import { getTagValue } from "applesauce-core/helpers";
+import type { NostrEvent } from "@/types/nostr";
 
 /**
- * Format group identifier for display
- * Shows just the group-id part without the relay URL
+ * Format relay URL for display
+ * Removes protocol and trailing slash
  */
-function formatGroupIdForDisplay(groupId: string): string {
-  return groupId;
+function formatRelayForDisplay(url: string): string {
+  return url.replace(/^wss?:\/\//, "").replace(/\/$/, "");
 }
 
 export interface GroupLinkProps {
   groupId: string;
   relayUrl: string;
+  metadata?: NostrEvent; // Optional pre-loaded metadata
   className?: string;
   iconClassname?: string;
 }
@@ -25,35 +24,36 @@ export interface GroupLinkProps {
  * GroupLink - Clickable NIP-29 group component
  * Displays group name (from kind 39000 metadata) or group ID
  * Opens chat window on click
+ *
+ * Special case: "_" group ID represents the unmanaged relay top-level group
  */
 export function GroupLink({
   groupId,
   relayUrl,
+  metadata,
   className,
   iconClassname,
 }: GroupLinkProps) {
   const { addWindow } = useGrimoire();
 
-  // Try to fetch group metadata (kind 39000) from EventStore
-  // NIP-29 metadata events use #d tag with group ID
-  const groupMetadata = use$(
-    () =>
-      eventStore
-        .timeline([{ kinds: [39000], "#d": [groupId], limit: 1 }])
-        .pipe(map((events) => events[0])),
-    [groupId],
-  );
+  // Handle special case: "_" is the unmanaged relay top-level group
+  const isUnmanagedGroup = groupId === "_";
 
   // Extract group name from metadata if available
-  const groupName =
-    groupMetadata && groupMetadata.kind === 39000
-      ? getTagValue(groupMetadata, "name") || groupId
-      : groupId;
+  let groupName: string;
+  if (isUnmanagedGroup) {
+    // For "_" groups, show the relay name
+    groupName = formatRelayForDisplay(relayUrl);
+  } else if (metadata && metadata.kind === 39000) {
+    groupName = getTagValue(metadata, "name") || groupId;
+  } else {
+    groupName = groupId;
+  }
 
-  // Extract group icon if available
+  // Extract group icon if available (not applicable for "_" groups)
   const groupIcon =
-    groupMetadata && groupMetadata.kind === 39000
-      ? getTagValue(groupMetadata, "picture")
+    !isUnmanagedGroup && metadata && metadata.kind === 39000
+      ? getTagValue(metadata, "picture")
       : undefined;
 
   const handleClick = () => {
@@ -68,8 +68,6 @@ export function GroupLink({
     });
   };
 
-  const displayName = formatGroupIdForDisplay(groupName);
-
   return (
     <div
       className={cn(
@@ -93,7 +91,7 @@ export function GroupLink({
             )}
           />
         )}
-        <span className="text-xs truncate">{displayName}</span>
+        <span className="text-xs truncate">{groupName}</span>
       </div>
     </div>
   );
diff --git a/src/components/nostr/kinds/PublicChatsRenderer.tsx b/src/components/nostr/kinds/PublicChatsRenderer.tsx
index 03d5f20..f2bf46d 100644
--- a/src/components/nostr/kinds/PublicChatsRenderer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/nostr/kinds/PublicChatsRenderer.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
+import { use$ } from "applesauce-react/hooks";
+import { map } from "rxjs/operators";
 import { BaseEventProps, BaseEventContainer } from "./BaseEventRenderer";
 import { GroupLink } from "../GroupLink";
+import eventStore from "@/services/event-store";
+import type { NostrEvent } from "@/types/nostr";
 
 /**
  * Extract group references from a kind 10009 event
@@ -27,10 +31,35 @@ function extractGroups(event: { tags: string[][] }): Array<{
  * Public Chats Renderer (Kind 10009)
  * NIP-51 list of NIP-29 groups
  * Displays each group as a clickable link with icon and name
+ * Batch-loads metadata for all groups to show their names
  */
 export function PublicChatsRenderer({ event }: BaseEventProps) {
   const groups = extractGroups(event);
 
+  // Batch-load metadata for all groups at once
+  // Filter out "_" which is the unmanaged relay group (doesn't have metadata)
+  const groupIds = groups.map((g) => g.groupId).filter((id) => id !== "_");
+
+  const groupMetadataMap = use$(
+    () =>
+      groupIds.length > 0
+        ? eventStore.timeline([{ kinds: [39000], "#d": groupIds }]).pipe(
+            map((events) => {
+              const metadataMap = new Map<string, NostrEvent>();
+              for (const evt of events) {
+                // Extract group ID from #d tag
+                const dTag = evt.tags.find((t) => t[0] === "d");
+                if (dTag && dTag[1]) {
+                  metadataMap.set(dTag[1], evt);
+                }
+              }
+              return metadataMap;
+            }),
+          )
+        : undefined,
+    [groupIds.join(",")],
+  );
+
   if (groups.length === 0) {
     return (
       <BaseEventContainer event={event}>
@@ -49,6 +78,7 @@ export function PublicChatsRenderer({ event }: BaseEventProps) {
             key={`${group.relayUrl}'${group.groupId}`}
             groupId={group.groupId}
             relayUrl={group.relayUrl}
+            metadata={groupMetadataMap?.get(group.groupId)}
           />
         ))}
       </div>