Inside Minetta Tavern, NYC's vintage hotspot opening near Union Market
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Minetta Tavern's dining room in D.C. (pictured) is a near replica to the original. Photo: courtesy Corry Arnold
One of the year's most anticipated restaurant openings buzzes in at the finish line: Minetta Tavern and its secretive Lucy Mercer Bar debuts near Union Market on Dec. 10.
Why it matters: Minetta is a Greenwich Village icon, and this is the first (and last) time restaurateur Keith McNally will painstakingly replicate it — three years in the making.
Catch up quick: Literary greats put Minetta on the map in its 1930s heyday, frequented by the likes of Hemingway and Pound. By the early aughts, the glimmer faded.
- McNally, behind buzzy NYC spots Balthazar and Morandi, revived Minetta in 2009. The New York Times crowned it the city's best steakhouse, and you'll find the same rave-inducing côte de boeuf and "Black Label" burgers in D.C.
Between the lines: McNally opened a Balthazar London and consulted on Pastis' Union Market expansion, run by Starr Restaurant Group. But the "Golden Touch" British entrepreneur rarely replicates restaurants.
- McNally's team was drawn to the emerging neighborhood and alleyway space where they could create a nearly identical, vintage-chic Minetta, from the tin ceilings down to the checkered floors — with some upgrades.
- "It's like a haircut," director of operations Roberta Delice, who has worked with McNally for 27 years, tells Axios. "You have to adapt it to the face for the best look without compromising integrity."
Dig in: Chef/partner Laurent Kalkotour, an Alain Ducasse alum who's been with McNally for six years, created a classic Minetta menu — with some Old World indulgences (e.g. vol-au-vent, pied de cochon) and lighter, shareable items mixed in.
- Taylor Swift may have set Minetta abuzz. But the real house celebrity is butcher Pat LaFrieda, whose cuts headline here and in NYC. La Frieda created a special dry-aging room for Minetta's strips and chops years ago and still custom-creates the lauded "Black Label" burger – a blend of prime, aged meats capped with caramelized onions.
The intrigue: The sultry, red velvet-draped Lucy Mercer Bar is named for Franklin D. Roosevelt's longtime mistress. "I think long-term mistresses — like the super-intelligent Lucy Mercer — get a raw deal in life," McNally tells Axios via email.
- The room, set with velvet couches, a wood-burning fireplace and an intimate zinc bar, may invite a tryst. But McNally says the mistress theme was only a "springboard to launch into the kind of semi-debauched dinners" in Stanley Kubrick's film, "Barry Lyndon," about an 18th-century rogue cheating into high society.
The fare — luxe little bites of caviar, wagyu carpaccio, and chocolate mousse — fit the bill, as do Champagnes and luxurious wines.
- Patrons are asked to put away phones for privacy (or "death by firing squad," jokes McNally). If you can even get in. The team tells Axios that Lucy Mercer will only host private events for now, while potential reservations are "still in the works."
So no Instagramming from McNally? The restaurateur is known for being outspoken on social media, and he's famously banned Hollywood elite from his restaurants.
- "The only person at Minetta D.C. I might call out — or even ban — is myself," he says.
If you go: 12874 Neal Pl NE. Open for dinner, brunch coming soon. Reservations open 30 days in advance.