John McDonald Opens New Restaurant Seahorse Inside the W New York

The recipe for a New York restaurant that diners will return to? “Super simple, high impact flavors, food that people want to come back for, a few moves that are unique,” says restaurateur John McDonald a few days before opening Seahorse inside the recently renovated W Hotel in Union Square.  And beyond the food, a little bit of je ne sais quoi. “It’s very challenging to get people to come back to a restaurant that they even like. And a lot of that has to do with how they feel,” he adds. “How do you feel in the room? How do you feel after you leave the restaurant? It’s not just delicious food. It’s this amalgamation of the atmospheric influences, the energy and the environment.”  McDonald’s Mercer Street Hospitality, which includes Lure Fishbar, already has a reputation for opening the sort of restaurants that become beloved repeat stops on the New York dining scene. After much anticipation and several delays, McDonald finally opened the doors to Seahorse this month. “It definitely took longer than expected, but it’s nice to get it right,” says McDonald, describing the delays as a “luxury” that enabled the team to fine-tune the concept and open during the prime fall

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from WWDRecent Stories https://ift.tt/UIpg8Rr