Expense Account Keith McNally
Jan 28, 2026
Keith McNally, legendary restaurateur behind Balthazar and Minetta Tavern, and author of I Regret Almost Everything. He talks about what makes a restaurant have soul, balancing high and low energy in a room, music curation and the perfect two-person meal at Balthazar. He also discusses social media, handling failures, and why some places are better left as memories.
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Balance Reservations With Walk-Ins
- Accept reservations but always leave room for walk-ins to keep energy and diversity in the dining room.
- Prioritize letting in interesting or insecure guests who won't push themselves onto the maitre d'.
Diverse Rooms Make Restaurants Thrive
- Keith links a restaurant's success to mixing different types of people in the room to create a special atmosphere.
- He credits the Odeon for normalizing high-low dining combinations like lobsters and burgers together.
The Burger Once Felt Taboo
- Keith describes early resistance to putting a burger on the menu and how tastes shifted to embrace burgers widely.
- He credits the Minetta and black-label burgers as iconic contributions to NYC's burger culture.
