Pastis, one of the city’s most iconic restaurants, will serve its last order of steak frites this Friday.
When restaurateur Keith McNally opened the French bistro in 1999, the Meatpacking District was known for seedy sex clubs and meat sludge, but McNally saw potential on the corner of Little West 12th and Ninth Avenue.
The neighborhood quickly morphed into a land of designer stores and sceney nightclubs, and the rich, famous and fabulous flocked to Pastis. Anna Wintour and Martha Stewart, who regularly celebrated milestones with friends at the bistro, became regulars. Sarah Jessica Parker had a baby shower there. Liv Tyler wed Royston Langdon at the restaurant, while guests Kate Hudson, Stella McCartney and David Bowie looked on. Fashionista Lucy Sykes even went into labor while pregnant with son Felix while dining there.
Now, McNally’s clubhouse is closing its doors.
The building it occupies has been purchased for retail use and will be demolished. The restaurateur has vowed to re-create the bistro in the same spot “as soon as construction is finished,” which his camp is now projecting will be 18 months, but time will tell . . . Until then, New York notables share their favorite memories of Pastis:
“When Pastis opened, it was like Paris had finally come to New York,’’ recalls Martha Stewart. “I and my colleagues so enjoyed the food and the ambience and the friendliness of the place. We have celebrated some great things there — birthdays, Sundays, Emmys and book publications.’’
“I had a very long lunch with Linda Evangelista in 2002,” recalls Estée Lauder president John Demsey. “At that time she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000, but she would for a plate of Pastis french fries.’’
“We had a big table at Pastis and everyone was letting loose,” designer Nicole Miller remembers of a post-fashion-show dinner party she held at the restaurant in 2003. “Cyndi Lauper started to dance in the middle of the restaurant and the rest of us joined in.’’
“I remember going in there and the transsexual Amanda Lepore was there with her top off because she was protesting Azzedine Alaïa not giving her a dress to wear to his show,” says restaurateur Richie Notar. “I used to go after Nobu closed because it was open late, and there would always be restaurant industry people there. We would order wine and shellfish plateaus.’’
“James Gandolfini would come in with an entourage and order margaritas. The staff knew to always make it a double,” recalls a Pastis staffer.
“I remember that people were ready to stab me when I got seated ahead of all those people waiting for tables, and that [Keith McNally] had a little joke on the menu,” reminisces food writer Gael Greene. “The hamburger was $9 and the cheeseburger was $8.’’
“I went there with my sister for Sunday brunch and Monica Lewinsky was at the bar by herself wearing a long black coat,” says David Lasky, a Hollywood producer. “It was right after the scandal and nobody was talking to her but she seemed to really be enjoying her afternoon out.”
“I think of Pastis for breakfast,” says designer Isaac Mizrahi. “They make the best sticky buns on earth. Also the most delicious oatmeal and the most delicious croque madame, which I eat when I’m alone. It’s a little too embarrassing to pig out that way in front of others.”
“DKNY has always been about capturing the heart and soul of NYC, so for one of my favorite DKNY collections [spring 2005], we staged a brunch with mannequins right there in Pastis,” remembers designer Donna Karan. “What says New York more than Sunday brunch at Pastis?”
“In the early days I went with [actor] Gérard Depardieu,” says chef Daniel Boulud. He lived downtown and we loved the roast chicken. I also used to go with [real-estate broker] Michael Shvo. McNally was so successful. It would take other people 10 restaurants to gross what he does with two.’’
“I went to Pastis with Madonna for dinner after a Knicks game,” says Miami nightclub promoter Ingrid Casares. “They had won and we were in a good mood. I remember Guy Oseary and Jessica Seinfeld were with us, and Demi Moore was at another table with Bruce Willis and his new wife, Emma. It was like one big happy family.’’
“Diane von Furstenberg, who I have known forever, was the first person to tell me about Pastis,” recalls Scene magazine Editor-in-Chief Peter Davis. “She lived in the area pre-Jeffrey [which opened in 1999], when cross-dressing prostitutes prowled the streets and the S&M club the Vault was the local hot spot. Diane loved Pastis’ couscous. She had it delivered — a perk that only DVF, the still-reigning queen of the neighborhood, could make happen.’’
“When I courted my wife we always went to Pastis for early breakfasts before she went to work at the old nightclub Lotus,” says chef and restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian. “It was so lovely early on in the day because there were no tall buildings and the sun was dazzling. As was my wife.”
“I was trying to buy a property for a hotel in the area when McNally was building Pastis and I was with a banker. We ate at the Old Homestead and then starting walking around the area. There was the Hellfire club and a lot of trannies. One of them took a fascination to the banker and started following him around,” recalls hotelier André Balazs. “He decided against the deal.”
“I actually sold Morgans Hotel Group over a lunch there,” says hotelier Ian Schrager. “My office is a few blocks away and I always get the same table . . . I love the onion soup and the chicken paillard.”