Smyth Tavern, the 100-seat restaurant is now open in Tribeca adjacent to Smyth Tribeca Hotel in what had been Little Park from Andrew Carmellini. It’s the third restaurant from John McDonald’s Mercer Street Hospitality to open this year, following Hancock Street, the West Village spot with supper club vibes led by chef Ryan Schmidtberger, which opened last August at what had been El Toro Blanco until McDonald closed it during the pandemic. In the spring, McDonald launched Bar Tulix, a seafood-centric Mexican spot from chef Justin Bazdarich of Greenpoint’s Oxomoco.
McDonald’s best-known restaurant is the buzzy Lure Fishbar, a Soho fixture since 2004, which has since expanded to Chicago and South Beach. Bowery Meat Company, Bistrot Leo, Butterfly Soho, and A60, among others, fall under the Mercer Street Hospitality umbrella. His first New York spot, MercBar, opened in 1993 and closed in 2016. He is also a co-founder of Midtown’s Lever House restaurant, which earned a Michelin star under Dan Silverman in 2005, and Dos Caminos, which was sold in 2008.
Read on for more about Smyth Tavern and a look inside the restaurant.
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Smyth Tavern is open weekdays from 5 to 10 p.m. and from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. In several weeks, the restaurant will open for breakfast and lunch.
Disclosure: Melissa McCart had consulted for a Mercer Street Hospitality project on Substack.