Keith McNally

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.

Keith McNally
Born	1951 (age 73–74) Bethnal Green, London, England
Occupation	Restaurateur
Children	3

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 and unbanned James Corden from entering his restaurants after Corden had behaved rudely toward a server at one of the locations after receiving an improperly prepared order.^[6] Corden later privately apologized to McNally and McNally's staff, after which McNally removed the ban.^[7] Subsequently, Corden also publicly apologized to both McNally and the staff on his late night show.^[8]

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.^[9]

Instagram

McNally has been described as "cantankerous" on Instagram.^[10]

In May 2021, McNally faced controversy on Instagram after posting that Ghislaine Maxwell "must be given a fair trial".^[11]