What to Know About Crane Club, Opening This Week

Acclaimed chef Melissa Rodriguez and manager Jeff Katz — the New York duo that landed two Michelin stars for Al Coro just a few months after opening — are the driving force behind the new Crane Club debuting in that same storied space at 85 10th Avenue, at 15th Street, now run by Tao Group. Set to open November 20, the companion to the more casual Mel’s Pizzeria differs from its previous iteration. First, it’s no longer a tasting menu restaurant, and it’s no longer strictly French or Italian; the new menu is shaped by a Spanish Mibrasa grill Rodriguez custom-designed for the restaurant. And that vast dining room is a bit cozier, thanks to an expanded kitchen — unusual for Manhattan.

“It’s the first time in 13 years I’m not cooking in a strictly Italian kitchen,” says Rodriguez. She cites a team that includes Georgia Wodder and Katherine Rock — with whom she’s worked since the space housed Del Posto from Mario Batali and the Bastianich family — where Rodriguez also ran the kitchen. She and Katz opened Al Coro in the former Del Posto location in 2022 and shuttered last year. She cites a “huge overhaul” for the space and the menu.

Adrian Gaut/Crane Club

With its deep-pocketed investment, a Michelin-star-backed team, and a setup in a storied venue emphasizing its super luxe cooking and service, Tao is aiming for Crane Club to become an iconic restaurant. “We have taken a five-star approach to every aspect of this project from décor to table settings to the culinary experience,” says Noah Tepperberg, co-CEO of Tao Group, which is behind around 20 New York properties, as well as Tao and Hakkasan restaurants worldwide. “This is by far the most formal restaurant we’ve ever been a part of,” he says.

Tepperberg notes that in taking over the restaurant, they agreed to keep the core team of about a dozen Al Coro employees from front- and back-of-the-house, tending to details in fine-dining fashion like uniforms, plates, and sourcing ingredients.

Evan Sung/Crane Club

The partnership among Katz, Rodriguez, and Tao Group is the confluence of a couple of factors: Namely Katz coming to Tepperberg for collaboration. Katz and Rodriguez bought the restaurant in 2021, after Del Posto had temporarily closed, and owners Lidia Bastianich, Joe Bastianich, and Tanya Bastianich Manuali agreed to sell their stake in the restaurant to Katz, Rodriguez, and the late James Kent. Kent and Katz split in 2022, with Kent focused on running Crown Shy, Saga, and Overstory, while Katz would run Al Coro and Mel’s with Rodriguez.

Another factor shaping Crane Club has been Tao’s acquisition in April 2023 by Mohari Hospitality, a high-end investment firm owned by billionaire Mark Scheinberg. Mohari owns properties like Four Seasons in Madrid and the Waldorf Astoria in Miami. The new ownership’s lean toward luxury opened the door for Tao and Katz to join forces.

Overseeing such an ambitious venture is new for a group like Tao, whose bread and butter comes from its namesake restaurant-nightclub that, like Balthazar, can do 1,000 covers a night. Before Crane Club, Tao had been making moves around New York, with ventures like Sake No Hana, the group’s first Japanese restaurant, which opened in 2022 in Lightstone Group’s Moxy Hotels. Tao Group has yet to oversee a Michelin-starred restaurant in the U.S., but it has landed stars at Hakkasan locations in London and Abu Dhabi.

In the redesign of the 24,000 square-foot space — a collaboration between Tao Group Hospitality’s in-house design team and high-end Laseu Studio — the bigger kitchen tucks behind closed doors. (It’s the third giant restaurant opening this season, following Aqua from the Hutong family and Grand Brasserie in Grand Central.) The dining room is paprika red, with textured gold-leaf walls, velvet seating, and herringbone wood floors. They’ve scaled back the number of seats and created more intimate spaces for smaller parties and more options for privacy. In addition to three private dining rooms, the space will offer its members-only club, opening at a later date.

Rodriguez says she expects to have 150 to 200 employees working at the restaurant, allowing for super high-level service, despite not operating as a tasting menu restaurant. She emphasizes the degree to which the menu is shaped by the grill; she’s especially partial to the selection of 10 or so vegetable dishes. The menu is divided by appetizers like a savory sfogliatelle ($23), white-truffle arancini ($17), roasted cherrystones with garlic bread ($29), chicory salad ($19), or a $60-per-person raw bar that arrives via tableside cart. Pastas include spaghettoni with saffron-laced seafood ($36), and a gnocchietti sardi (buffalo butter and parmesan Vacche Rosse, $22). Of the meats, fish, poultry, and vegetables, many come from the grill, including a wood-fired Dover sole ($100), a Frenched, bone-in filet mignon ($115), and grilled, marinated mushrooms to accompany einkorn farro ($23). Desserts include a banana layer cake with guava sorbet and a Good Humor-inspired chocolate Vienetta.

Evan Sung/Crane Club

The restaurant will have over 1,000 bottles of wine with a bar program from Chris Lemperle, who opened Crown Shy and Overstory alongside Katz. Cocktails revisit the classics, along with drinks that riff on the restaurant’s name, like the vodka and Genmaimatcha Field Notes, the mezcal and bergamot Two Birds One Stone, and the Flight Pattern, with tequila, pear, white chocolate, and lemon.

Of his partnership with Katz, Rodriguez, and Mohari, Tepperberg says, “After opening 40 restaurants, I’m still learning: A lot is familiar, and a lot is new.”

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