BWW Preview: BUTCHER & BANKER in Midtown

New York City's storied steakhouse legacy gets a new chapter with the opening of Butcher & Banker, a modern American "steakeasy" (a nod to its below ground level location) under the culinary leadership of Executive Chef Scott Campbell. Just opened Butcher & Banker will be one of the city's most unique new venues - a modern steakhouse in the former Manufacturers Trust Company bank vault located underneath the New Yorker Hotel and steps away from Madison Square Garden.

Chef Scott Campbell is no stranger to historic dining ventures, having worked at some of the city's iconic spots includingLe Cirque, The Oak Room at the Plaza, Windows on the World and the original Union Square Café. At Butcher & Banker, his menu will be accessible to diners who love steak, as well as those looking for the seasonal, creative New American cooking he is known for. No stranger to reviving historic spaces, Scott previously worked with Bette Midler on the restored New Leaf Restaurant in Fort Tryon Park.

Aged prime steaks will be offered both as traditional and unique cuts, while seasonal vegetables and locally sourced seafood will round out the menu. A dozen different cuts of USDA prime, dry-aged steaks are on offer, from a Tomahawk Ribsteak to a Cowboy Bone-In Rib Eye topped with oysters and brown butter béarnaise sauce to a Coulotte Sirloin (top sirloin cap). An in-house smoker will allow Campbell's team to smoke pastrami-rubbed Long-Bone Short Rib.

Beyond beef, diners will eat just as well at Butcher & Banker as Campbell applies his creative touch to kitchen specialties such as Five Spice Duck Steak; Filet Mignon of Tuna Florentine and Sea Scallops & Foie Gras with Cabernet-shallot risotto. Norwegian Salmon will be cold smoked and served with fresh horseradish crème fraiche for an appetizer or hot smoked for a main course with mushroom fondue and Hollandaise sauce.

Cocktails by consulting mixologist Allen Katz, founder of New York Distilling Company, will nod to the classics and revive recipes like the original Raffles Singapore Sling. The 100 bottle wine list features 20 bottles affordably under $50.

The décor nods to the New York Hotel's Art Deco past when it was world renowned for its rooms, technology and as a dining destination. The New Yorker opened in 1930 in the height of the Great Depression as the then largest hotel in the city. For years, it attracted a who's who of entertainers and dignitaries from around the world - everyone from Muhammad Ali to JFK to Joan Crawford to Nikola Tesla, who actually died in the hotel. The existence of the bank vault below the hotel dates back to how the building was constructed. The Manufacturers Trust Company owned a building on the corner of 34th Street and in exchange for tearing it down, the bank gained a free 50 year lease on office space and a vault in the hotel. After the bank closed in 1980, the vault was used for storage. With the opening of Butcher & Banker, the public will see the vault for the first time in 37 years, with a wall of original safe deposit boxes left intact.

Butcher & Banker will serve dinner nightly 4:30 - 10:30pm and cocktails until 2am. The restaurant is located at 481 8th Avenue (between W. 34th and 35th Streets, Vault Level). Visit: https://www.butcherandbankernyc.com/ or call 212.268.8455.

Photo Credit: Pap Studio

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