Here’s How the Astor Is Reimagining Dining at New York’s Public Theater

A new restaurant is reshaping the dining space inside New York’s Public Theater. The Astor opens Tuesday, September 15, at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in NoHo, taking over the former Library restaurant.

Its wood-paneled dining room, classic menu, and theater-inspired details draw from an earlier era of New York dining while giving the Public a new place for audiences to gather before and after performances.

A New Chapter

The Astor replaces the Library with a larger dining setup designed around the theater’s history. The space includes 70 dining-room seats, 20 bar seats, a 12-seat lounge, and a 52-seat mezzanine overlooking the theater lobby.

On busy evenings, the building can welcome more than 1,000 people when the Public’s theaters and Joe’s Pub operate at the same time. The restaurant is meant to extend the theater experience beyond the performance itself.

Instagram | theastornyc | The Astor replaces the Library with a larger dining setup rooted in theater history.

Kevin Abbott, managing partner of Joe’s Pub and the Astor, said there is “a desperate need and desire in society right now to be together in a way that the arts bring you together.”

He noted that audiences traditionally enter a theater, “it gets dark, you watch the show, then everybody leaves.” The Astor gives visitors another place to stay, eat, and talk after a performance.

The Astor is also opening alongside Bar Torino, a casual cafe serving snacks. It marks the second location for the concept after its first opened in Hudson Yards.

A Long Partnership

The Astor and Bar Torino continue a relationship between the Public Theater and several longtime restaurant and nightlife operators. That partnership began in 1998, when Serge Becker, Josh Pickard, Paul Salmon, and Kevin Abbott launched Joe’s Pub with the theater.

The collaboration later grew to include NoHo Hospitality partners Luke Ostrom and Andrew Carmellini. For the new restaurants, Jersey Katz and Michelle Cunha have joined as managing partners.

The projects are being developed with the Public Theater under artistic director Oskar Eustis and executive director Patrick Willingham.

The Astor also reflects a wider trend in New York, where restaurants are becoming part of the experience at theaters, museums, and cultural spaces. Recent examples include Zoli beside Amant in East Williamsburg and Wild Cherry at the revived Cherry Lane Theatre in the West Village.

Old-School Menu

Chef Angel Monge leads the kitchen with Andrew Carmellini, whose restaurant portfolio includes Locanda Verde, the Dutch, Lafayette, Bar Primi, and Cafe Carmellini.

The menu looks toward a period the team associates with classic New York dining. It divides the food into “parlor snacks,” priced from $14 to $23, “savories” from $18 to $25, entrees from $25 to $65, and accompaniments.

Dishes include chips and dip, “Devilish” eggs, clams casino, and steak Diane. The menu also features pigs in Wellington with bourbon mustard and a French mushroom dip served with au jus.

The drinks follow the same historical direction. Bar director Darryl Chan created a cocktail list centered on classic New York drinks. The “From the Ice Box” section includes very cold martinis, Manhattans, and Bijous.

The Charlie Chaplin cocktail takes inspiration from the pre-Prohibition drink created at the Waldorf Astoria and named after silent-film star Charlie Chaplin. Josh Nadel oversees the wine list.

Theater History in the Design

Instagram | theastornyc | Combining food, drink, and heritage, The Astor signals a new era of expanded dining at New York’s cultural institutions.

The restaurant’s design adds another connection to the Public. Artist Andre Carrilho created a mural around the island bar featuring writers whose work has shaped the theater.

Portraits in the dining room honor Public founder Joseph Papp and artistic directors JoAnne Akalaitis, George C. Wolfe, and Oskar Eustis.

Becker also wanted the room to appear as if it had belonged to the theater for decades. Red banquettes, white tablecloths, wood paneling, lamps, photographs, posters, letters, playbills, and other theater artifacts fill the space.

Becker has spent decades shaping downtown New York restaurants and nightlife, with projects such as La Esquina and Miss Lily’s.

Abbott explained that Becker wanted “to create a space that felt like it belonged,” with layers that represent “the different generations that have come through this 100-plus year-old building.”

A Place Beyond the Show

The Astor adds a dining component to the Public Theater that connects food, drinks, architecture, and the institution’s history. Its opening also reflects how New York cultural venues are rethinking the hours before and after a performance.

Rather than treating the restaurant as a separate amenity, the Public has made it part of the building’s social setting. With its historic references and theater-focused artwork, the Astor ties the dining experience closely to the identity of the institution.

The Astor brings together a long-running partnership, classic New York-inspired food and cocktails, and design elements drawn from the Public Theater’s history.

Along with Bar Torino, it adds new food spaces to a building that already serves as a gathering point for theater and live music audiences.