Keith McNally

Last updated
Keith McNally
Born1951 (age 72–73)
Bethnal Green, London, England
OccupationRestaurateur

Keith McNally (born 1951) is a British-born New York City restaurateur, the owner of several establishments including Parisian brasserie Balthazar, and formerly Nell's nightclub.

Contents

Early life

McNally was born into a working-class family in Bethnal Green, London. He is the son of Joyce and Jack McNally. His father Jack was an amateur boxer and docker. [1] His brother, Brian McNally, is also a restaurateur in New York. [2]

Career

Restaurants

McNally has been active in the New York City restaurant scene since the 1980s. In that time, he has opened several restaurants. These include Augustine, Balthazar, Cafe Luxembourg, Cherche Midi, Lucky Strike, Minetta Tavern, Morandi, Nell's, The Odeon, Pastis, Pravda, Pulino's, [3] and Schiller's. [4] Frank Bruni awarded three stars to Minetta Tavern in 2009. [5] The New York Times has referred to him as "The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown." [2]

In October 2022, McNally banned, unbanned, and rebanned James Corden from entering his restaurants after Corden had behaved rudely towards a server at one of the locations after receiving an improperly prepared order. Corden later apologized to McNally and on his late night show (but not to the server), after which McNally removed the ban. McNally then reinstated the ban after Corden did a pre-planned Vanity Fair interview in which he expressed his belief that he'd done nothing wrong. [6] [7]

Acting

McNally was a member of the original London cast of Alan Bennett's play Forty Years On in 1968 playing the part of Macilwaine.

Personal life

McNally's first wife, Lynn Wagenknecht, is also a restaurateur. [2] One of his children (with Wagenknecht) is actress Isabelle McNally. [8]

Controversy

McNally faced controversy on Instagram after posting in May 2021 that Ghislaine Maxwell "must be given a fair trial". [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nell Campbell</span> Australian actor and singer

Laura Elizabeth Campbell, better known as Nell Campbell or by her stage name Little Nell, is an Australian actress, singer, and former club owner. She is best known for her role as Columbia in the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the original stage play from which it was adapted. Campbell released her EP, The Musical World of Little Nell , through A&M Records in 1978. She appeared as Nurse Ansalong in the 1981 film Shock Treatment. In 1984, she appeared as Beth in the BAFTA and Oscar-award winning drama film The Killing Fields.

Nell's was a nightclub located on 244 West 14th Street in downtown Manhattan. It opened in the fall of 1986 in the space of a former electronics store and closed May 30, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Boulud</span> French chef and restaurateur

Daniel Boulud is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, and Dubai. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant Daniel, opened in New York City in 1993, which currently holds two Michelin stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Corden</span> English comedian, actor, singer and television host (born 1978)

James Kimberley Corden is an English actor, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey. In the United States, he is best known as the host of The Late Late Show with James Corden, a late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Nieporent</span> American restaurateur

Drew Nieporent is an American restaurateur based in New York City. His company Myriad Restaurant Group owns and operates numerous restaurants. Nieporent's Nobu and Nobu London both earned two Michelin stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Bernardin</span> Restaurant in New York City

Le Bernardin is a three-Michelin star French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The chef and owner is Eric Ripert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Hill (restaurant)</span> Restaurant

Blue Hill is a restaurant in New York City's Greenwich Village. It has been reviewed by The New York Times and New York.

Scott Conant is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. Since 2009, Conant has been a judge on the reality cooking television series Chopped. He has published four cookbooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Bowien</span> American chef

James Daniel Bowien is a chef and restaurateur. He is the founder and owner of Mission Chinese Food in New York City and Brooklyn and co-founder of Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco, California. Bowien is a James Beard Award winner, and the main subject of season six of the food and travel show The Mind of a Chef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balthazar (restaurant)</span> Restaurant in New York, United States

Balthazar is a French brasserie restaurant located at 80 Spring Street in SoHo in Manhattan, in New York City. It opened on April 21, 1997, and is owned by British-born restaurateur Keith McNally.

Michael's is an American restaurant located in Santa Monica, California that was opened in 1979 by restaurateur Michael McCarty.

Da Silvano was an Italian restaurant in the New York City borough of Manhattan's West Village neighborhood known for its celebrity clientele and gregarious owner Silvano Marchetto. The eatery opened in 1975 and shut its doors in December 2016 some 41 odd years later. Jack Nicholson and Leo Castelli ate there once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Tap</span> American burger restaurant chain

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer is an international gourmet burger restaurant chain run by restaurateur Chris Barish. The name Black Tap is a reference to Craft Beers where Black Tap handles are a mainstay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Baxtrom</span> American chef

Greg Baxtrom is the chef-owner of restaurants Olmsted, Five Acres, Patti Ann’s and Petite Patate. Prior to opening Olmsted in 2016, Baxtrom worked at restaurants including Alinea, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Per Se and Lysverket in Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frenchette</span> French restaurant in New York City

Frenchette is a restaurant in TriBeCa, New York City which opened in April 2018. It won the James Beard Foundation Award as Best New Restaurant in 2019. It is owned by chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson and is named for David Johansen's 1978 song "Frenchette". The menu includes a mix of modern and traditional French with dishes like escargots, tortilla espanola and spaghetti with shaved bottarga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Platt</span> American writer and restaurant critic (born 1958)

Adam Platt is an American writer and restaurant critic. He is currently the senior restaurant critic for New York magazine, a position he has held since July 2000, when he succeeded Gael Greene. He won the James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Restaurant Reviews in 2009, and has been nominated for the same award multiple times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bâtard (restaurant)</span> French restaurant in New York City

Bâtard was a French restaurant in New York City. The restaurant opened in 2014, replacing French restaurant Corton. In May 2023, it was announced Bâtard would close on May 20, 2023.

Brian McNally is a British-born restaurateur. He opened various Manhattan restaurants, including The Odeon, Indochine, Canal Bar, and 150 Wooster in the 1980s. In 1989, Vanity Fair referred to McNally as the "undisputed King Midas of downtown eateries for nearly a decade."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minetta Tavern</span> Restaurant in Manhattan, New York

Minetta Tavern is a restaurant owned by Keith McNally in Greenwich Village. In 2009, Frank Bruni of The New York Times gave the Tavern three stars. It served as a popular spot for writers like e.e. cummings, Ernest Hemingway, Eugene O'Neill, and Dylan Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Odeon</span> Restaurant in New York, United States

The Odeon is a restaurant in New York City. The restaurant opened in 1980, in space previously occupied by Towers Cafeteria. The restaurant was founded by Lynn Wagenknecht, Keith McNally, and Brian McNally. Wagenknecht continues to run the restaurant. Wagenknecht has characterized the restaurant as a brasserie.

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Allan (16 February 2013). "Just another quiet night out for Keith McNally". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown - New York Times". The New York Times. 2004-01-18. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  3. ↑ Platt, Adam; critic, a features writer at New York who served for many years as the magazine’s. "Adam Platt on Pulino's Bar and Pizzeria -- New York Magazine Restaurant Review - Nymag". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  4. ↑ Sifton, Sam (2010-05-04). "The Bowery Through Keith McNally's Lens - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  5. ↑ Bruni, Frank (2009-05-19). "The Minetta Tavern Is Back - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Greenwich Village (NYC);New York City. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  6. ↑ "James Corden Banned from NYC Restaurant, Owner Says". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  7. ↑ Sharf, Zack (2022-10-18). "James Corden Unbanned from NYC's Balthazar After He 'Apologized Profusely,' Owner Says After Calling Him the 'Most Abusive Customer'". Variety. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  8. ↑ Barbuti, Angela (10 January 2014). "Isabelle McNally, Jonah Hill's Girlfriend: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  9. ↑ Askinasi, Rachel (May 7, 2021). "Patrons are turning against a famous restaurateur over his controversial Instagram posts about Ghislaine Maxwell". insider.com. Retrieved May 7, 2021.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.