Acclaimed Fine Dining Chef Shaun Hergatt Returns to NYC With Upscale Soho Spot Vestry

Shaun Hergatt — the fine dining chef whose previous NYC restaurants SHO and Juni both earned Michelin stars — is returning to NYC tonight with Vestry, a new vegetable and seafood focused restaurant located within the Dominick Hotel, in Soho.

Located at 246 Spring Street, near Varick Street, Vestry will initially debut with 30 seats indoors due to the city’s 25 percent capacity limit on indoor dining, and an additional 40 seats outside.

The menu has Japanese influences and includes a mix of small plates and main course items with dishes like sushi rice served with fish and a cured egg yolk ($22), tuna served over a fish-shaped potato crisp with tarragon ($12), and a chocolate passionfruit dessert ($15), among various other entries.

Japanese influences also dominate the drinks menu with cocktails like DBA, which has Japanese whiskey, ginger, and soy sauce; and the Roosevelt, which has shochu, dark rum, and fresh oranges. There’s also an extensive wine list spanning 600 labels.

The restaurant was set to open last fall, but initially got pushed back due to construction delays, and then further postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In recent months, more restaurateurs have gone ahead with previous plans amid a steady stream of new restaurant openings in the city.

Signe Birck [Official]

Signe Birck/Vestry

Hergatt, who grew up in Australia, made his NYC debut as the chef de cuisine at the Ritz- Carlton, before going on to open fine dining establishment SHO in the Financial District, which earned two Michelin stars and a two-star review in the New York Times. Hergatt’s most recent venture, Juni, also earned a Michelin star for its polished tasting menu. Juni closed in 2016, and before debuting Vestry, Hergatt was focused on the residents-only restaurant at luxury Midtown skyscraper 432 Park Avenue, and spent last summer overseeing the menu at Montauk’s Surf Lodge.

Vestry opens for dinner tonight at 5:30 p.m., and will be open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.