After the opening of the bakery part of the business, Stefan Chomka of M&C Report’s sister title Restaurant asks, has there ever been a new restaurant opening with so much pressure to succeed as Balthazar?
Revered restaurateur Keith McNally’s ‘flagship’ New York restaurant - modelled on a grand French brasserie - lands in Covent Garden next week with the London public awaiting eagerly to see whether it can live up to the original while the critics will no doubt be sharpening their wit to bury it.
McNally, who has lived in New York for the past 30 years or so, may well be British by birth and by accent but that isn’t going to count for much with the UK public and press - Balthazar faces the kind of scrutiny none of McNally’s Stateside restaurants have hitherto experienced.
The interest in the mark two version of the famed brasserie is obvious. With celebrated New York restaurants such as Minetta Tavern, Pastis and Lucky Strike - favourites of the everyman and the celebrity alike - under his belt, McNally is one of the darlings of the US restaurant scene.
His transfer across the pond marks the return of the prodigal son who left London’s East End to follow his dream of becoming a film director, and all eyes will be on whether his seemingly magic touch is reserved solely for American soil or can be felt over here as well.
The expected cynicism surrounding the move is also fairly obvious. Balthazar London breaks the McNally mould in the sense that it is from a mould - it is the first restaurant he has reproduced - and feelings that this might dilute its impact are ones that he himself shares.
His partnership with Richard Caring might also raise a sneer. It’s not the first time that Caring has been involved with McNally, he is a partner in his New York restaurant Pulino’s, but some might regard the money man’s involvement in the London project as a negative force that might stifle its expected buzz. And then there’s the timing.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King have stolen a march on the grand brasserie and French cafe in London in recent months: is Balthazar too unfashionably late to the party?
The answers will come shortly. What’s certain is that McNally is well aware of all the issues surrounding his new baby and has done his damndest to meet them head on. The space is impressive, the menu is strong and the man himself is as driven as ever to succeed. Make no mistake, this one really matters.
A full interview with Keith McNally and look at the launch of Balthazar in the UK will appear in the March issue of Restaurant magazine
