Minetta Tavern

What do we think about this place? They are opening a joint in DC and I’ve see the name.

It’s been 5 years since I had their (famous and well known) burger. Go.

I went a couple months ago. Got a steak and a burger amongst other apps and dishes. Burger was definitely the showstopper.

my gut is it will be fine, but not special. the vibe of the original location and just the physical space is a huge part of it and the original chefs left long ago. the food is good, or can be. the burger can be amazing as well. separately, i think you also need to ask whether you’re comfortable supporting the owner, but that’s a whole other thread.

what’s the deal with the owner?

went for lunch a month or two back, food was solid+. Agree that the atmosphere may be hard to re create without feeling inauthentic. The feeling of history, all the old boxer and gangster photos…

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The owner is Keith McNally who has been known to make some unsavoury comments that many view as crude or churlish.

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The DC location is going into the Union Market area, which has plenty of deeply atmospheric buildings but also a bunch of new construction. No idea where it will actually go

15-20 years ago it was the spot to be in NYC. Anna Wintour/Devils Wears Prada generation of entertainment lol.
Funny this thread popped up and decided to chime in as I told the story this weekend how I ordered the pork trotter not realizing that trotter was…the foot. I must have thought: I don’t know, Charlie Trotter?
Anyways I lucked out after I got my plate and decided how I could pick it apart and not vomit the waiter came back and spilled drinks on our table one of which went right into my plate. Oh! No need to make another one - just bring me a salad!

while the restaurant has been around forever, the current iteration is from 2009…

this review is excellent and accurate from my early experiences there. the prices seem quaint now, however.

Some wonderful memories of great company, great wines, and terrible food at the old Minetta Tavern (Donkeys).

I went to the current incarnation once and the steak was so egregiously oversalted I never returned.

I ate there about 10 or 11 years ago, back when it was brutal to get into. The best we could do was a 10:30pm dinner. I remember the food being excellent and service being efficient. The main attraction, though, is the “scene” which I’m not sure DC can ever replicate. We felt cool just being there back then.

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Wow. I remember it from the 70s and 80s. Great atmosphere – have no memory of the food…

My kind of guy!!

From the New York times – “Keith McNally Stirs the Pot” – https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/style/keith-mcnally-instagram-restaurants.html

Always skeptical when the one off restaurants do a 2nd location in a far off city. As an example Au Cheval (chicago burger) in NYC is nothing special

Does the current Minetta’s reflect the original in any way?

From 1937? not sure many can say.

Had Thanksgiving here with a fellow wine geek, years ago… Had the steak tartae for an app and the burger, stood at the end of the bar and sipped a Manhattan, it was a great meal.

It’s the same space and name as the prior establishment but the menu and atmosphere are completely different and in a much higher price category.

At the old place you could get decent pasta and BYO. The current place focuses on high end steak but as I mentioned my one visit was not encouraging so I never went back.

In the interests of full disclosure we went for brunch which often doesn’t have the best back of house staff on hand but that’s still no excuse for stale pastries and oversalted steak.