The area around Sutton Place has been a culinary dead zone ever since the beloved Irish pub Neary’s closed two years ago. Now, at last, the area has fresh life with the opening of The Derby Club in the former Neary’s space at 348 East 57th Street.
The new spot from chef/partner Ed Cotton is not Neary’s 2.0, despite having the original cherrywood bar at the front and “Neary’s mint jelly” on the menu.
It’s an altogether new venue more resplendent than its predecessor and with vastly better food. The steakhouse menu far surpasses the fare at similar speakeasies around town.
The rectangular dining room at first recalls Neary’s with the bar exactly where it stood for 57 years. But the resemblance ends there. Tables bathed in sexy, soft lighting are intimately close-spaced. A new mural of 19th Century Sutton Place and the East River presides over an elegant sea of pleated red banquettes and white tablecloths. A vintage chandelier from the Waldorf-Astoria solidifies the retro vibe.
The Derby Room’s stylish-but-conservatively dressed customers made me forget Neary’s occasional high-profile drop-ins like Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg and Kathie Lee Gifford.
The place had a soft opening in July and didn’t plan to officially open until after Labor Day, but the neighborhood took to it so swiftly that Cotton decided to open the doors to everyone immediately.
Cotton and partners Chris Coco and Craig Hutson are also behind Mediterranean-style Leonetta’s in Murray Hill, but The Derby Club’s menu is more attuned to their mostly American spot, Jack & Charlie’s, in the West Village. After a wobbly start, the increasingly poised kitchen is turning out hit after hit.
The grilled Wagyu beef hot dog ($25) is summer’s top dog — intensely savory, topped with pickles and served with satisfying crinkle-cut french fries. A trio of baby shrimp ($24) stuffed with a well-buttered blend of crab meat, paprika and herbs was a wonderfully luxurious take on a bar snack.
Given the mostly American menu, I didn’t expect much of Thai-style salmon in mild red curry broth ($45) and Japanese-esque miso-broiled black cod ($54). To my surprise, they were both excellent.
My favorite dish, though, was rack of lamb persillade ($58 for a half rack, $110 for a full one). Cooked to a perfectly pink medium-rare, the juicy, one-inch-thick ribs blew me away. A panko crumble with thyme, rosemary and Parmesan cheese added texture. No mint jelly was required to draw out the meat’s delightful, mineral flavor.
The Derby Club takes its cocktails seriously — but with a refreshing sense of humor.
When I asked the waiter for a classic daiquiri, I feared the common uneducated response, “I don’t know if our strawberry machine is working.”
Instead, the server said “I don’t know if I know that one,” so convincingly that I didn’t first realize he was joking.
The libation of rum, lime juice and simple syrup was perfectly made. More adventurous drinkers can choose from house specialties such as “knockout punch,” which combines Italian, Swedish and Jamaican rums with lime.
I don’t know if The Derby Club will last 57 years like Neary’s did — but this year, at least, it’s doing everything right.
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