Keith McNally, who was born in the east end of London and ascended to become the king of the New York City restaurant industry, is renowned for his refusal to tolerate diva-like celebrities in his series of upmarket eateries.
He is notorious for refusing to provide preferential treatment to celebrities and is fond of offering complimentary champagne to solitary diners – “but never to Al Pacino.”
The outspoken owner of the celebrity-favorite Balthazar restaurant, who recently challenged James Corden about his ‘abusive’ treatment of employees, famously turned Madonna away from a nightclub for failing to pay the $5 cover charge.
McNally, 71, established his name as the’restaurateur who invented downtown’ by founding a series of upmarket restaurants in Manhattan, including Cafe Luxembourg, Odeon, Minetta Tavern, Morandi, Lucky Strike, Pravda, and Pastis.
Keith McNally, 71, established his name as the “restaurateur who made downtown” by launching a series of upmarket restaurants in New York City.
The owner insists that servers should never hurry a guest and should not give special treatment to celebrities. He is seen at the restaurant with Anna Wintour.
James Corden and his wife Julia Carey are accused of returning an egg yolk omelette from the upscale restaurant Balthazar because it included “a little bit of egg white.” The situation worsened when the salad was replaced with fries, according to the owner.
The irate restaurateur referred to James Corden as a “little cretin of a guy” in response to reports that the star of The Late Late Show yelled ‘like crazy’ at staff over an omelette and fries, and earlier demanded complimentary drinks “right now” at Balthazar.
But McNally is no stranger to placing celebrities in their proper context. In 1986, when operating the Manhattan nightclub Nell’s, he turned Madonna away for refusing to pay the cover charge. He was renowned for his refusal to give special treatment to celebrities.
He told the Guardian: ‘Every customer was required to pay $5 in order to enter. Madonna, who was accustomed to entering clubs for free, refused to pay, so I denied her entry.
She was so angry that she referred to me as a “f**king b*****d.”
His celebrity-favorite restaurants draw the likes of Mick Jagger, Cher, and Andy Warhol, but McNally has guidelines regarding how he treats guests at his restaurants, including that he does not offer celebrities any preferential treatment.
He told the Sunday Times, “Never buy them drinks and always chat to the person they’re with more than them.”
“Overly lavish service irritates famous individuals to no end.” They simply desire to be left alone.
Mr. Mcnally at Balthazar with Dorinda Medley and Sienna Miller.
Keith McNally, the proprietor of Balthazar, often tweets updates from his staff, including Monday’s criticism of James Corden’s behavior.
In addition to not hovering over tables and always repeating orders back to clients to guarantee no mistakes are made, McNally imposes stringent restrictions on his servers to ensure that guests enjoy the best possible experience at his restaurant.
In a lengthy Instagram post titled ‘Rules for restaurant serves,’ he began: ‘Be pleasant, but never overly familiar.’
Always reiterate the customer’s request. Skate sounds like Steak after one martini.’
McNally was born in Bethnal Green in the east of London in 1951 to Joyce, a cleaner, and Jack, a dock worker and amateur boxer.
After being noticed by American film producers in 1967 while working as a bellboy at the Hilton on Park Lane at the age of 16, McNally dabbled with acting before turning to restaurants.
He starred alongside Michael Redgrave in a film about Charles Dickens before acting in Alan Bennett’s Forty Years on at the Apollo Theatre in the West End for a year.
Balthazar, photographed on Monday, is frequented by celebrities, tourists, and locals alike; everyone from Anna Wintour to Sienna Miller has dined there.
The one job he ever lost was as stage manager at the Nell Gwynne strip club in Soho.
In 1975, he traveled to New York with the idea of becoming a filmmaker, but quickly shifted his focus to restaurants after holding a variety of culinary positions, from oyster shucking to busboying.
Five years later, he built his first restaurant in Tribeca, the Odeon, with his first wife Lynn Wagenknecht and his brother Brian, with whom he had a long-standing quarrel.
It quickly became the epicenter of downtown’s art scene, with regulars including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel, Anna Wintour, Lorne Michaels, and the cast of Saturday Night Live.
In addition to Balthazar in London, he has since opened Café Luxembourg, Nell’s, Lucky Strike, Pravda, Balthazar, Pastis, Schiller’s, Morandi, Minetta Tavern, Cherche Midi, and Augustine.
In 2017, McNally suffered a devastating stroke that rendered him partially paralyzed on one side of his body. Shortly thereafter, his second wife Alina McNally filed him with divorce papers.
The pandemic was terrible for McNally, who reported losing £5,000 per day at its worst and was forced to close six restaurants. In addition to being hospitalized, he contracted coronavirus.