Delmonico’s has long been a bastion of fine dining in New York’s financial district. | Photo courtesy of Delmonico’s.
The famed New York steakhouse Delmonico’s is growing again.
Parent company Delmonico’s Hospitality Group said Monday it plans to open a second location of the legendary steakhouse concept, known for its long history in New York’s financial district. The second Delmonico’s will be in midtown Manhattan, and is scheduled to open in 2027.
That’s not to say this the first time Delmonico’s, often cited as America’s first fine-dining restaurant, has expanded. But when a concept is nearly 200 years old, the history gets complicated.
Delmonico’s is one of the country’s oldest restaurants, originally founded in 1827 by Swiss-Italian brothers Giovanni and Pietro Delmonico. In the early years, the business moved around the city a bit before settling in 1837 at 56 Beaver in the financial district, where it is now.
Charles Ranhofer was named chef de cuisine in 1862 and is credited with developing some classic “Continental” dishes like Eggs Benedict, Lobster Newberg and Baked Alaska.
Of course, Delmonico’s is most known for its signature ribeye. The restaurant also had a short loin steak on the menu called a New York Strip, and the name caught on. Last year, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick proposed changing the name there to call it a “Texas Strip Steak”. (Though that move does not appear to have caught on.)
The classic Delmonico’s steak is a ribeye. | Photo courtesy of Simon Tchoukriel.
Delmonico’s went through various owners over the years, but in 1926 was acquired by Oscar Tucci, who initially called the restaurant Oscar’s Delmonico’s, though he later dropped his own name. Tucci also ran a speakeasy on the lower level, according to Wikipedia.
Over the next 50 years, the steakhouse would become the playground of the wealthy, politicians and celebrities, from Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis, to John and Jackie Kennedy and Etta James.
By some accounts, as many as 10 Delmonico’s restaurants had opened across the city, but current owner Dennis Turcinovic said the name was often used by others, and they were not directly affiliated with the Wall Street restaurant of legend. He also said the name was now in the public domain and couldn’t be trademarked.
The Beaver Street location closed several times over the years, once in the late 1970s and also during COVID.
Turcinovic acquired the location in 2023 and has added to the restaurant group with sister brand Tucci NYC, and the Boogie Lab Bakery & Bistro.
The Beaver Street location has been busy, running overcapacity, and does a lot of private dining, said Turcinovic, who is also executive culinary partner of Delmonico’s.
He saw an opportunity to bring the concept to Midtown, where more companies are based, he said.
“We’ve been so busy downtown, and a lot of our client base comes from midtown,” he said. “With all the corporate events we’ve been doing, we pretty much can’t handle the business, so we thought the smartest thing we could do was install a second location in midtown.”
Delmonico’s has also hired Adam Plitt as executive chef. Plitt is a former chef de cuisine from Le Bernardin who later served as director of operations for Ripert Consulting, working with Ritz-Carlton properties before becoming executive chef of Morris County Golf Club.
Details on the upcoming midtown version of Delmonico’s, which will be about 11,000-square feet, have yet to be decided. Turcinovic said Glen & Co. will handle the design of the new restaurant.
It’s not clear yet whether the menu will be identical to the Wall Street location, which Turcinovic called a “bucket list” restaurant, beloved by tourists and locals.
Whatever is decided, the menu will certainly be “steak driven,” Turcinovic said.
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Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.