Lynn Wagenknecht

The Odeon is a restaurant in New York City. The restaurant opened in 1980, in space previously occupied by Towers Cafeteria. The restaurant was founded by Lynn Wagenknecht, Keith McNally, and Brian McNally. Wagenknecht continues to run the restaurant. Wagenknecht has characterized the restaurant as a brasserie.

History Before founding The Odeon, Lynn Wagenknecht and brothers Keith McNally Brian McNally all worked at One Fifth, another Manhattan restaurant. Keith McNally and Wagenknecht developed the idea for The Odeon while on a vacation in Paris in 1979. Early investors in the restaurant included Alan Bennett. Keith and Brian experienced tension while running the restaurant. located across the street from The Odeon, was replaced by another restaurant in 2002.

The restaurant experienced a renewal in its popularity and cachet in the 2010s. Jacob Bernstein, writing for the New York Times, attributed this surge in part to the relocation of the offices of media company Condé Nast, with seating on both West Broadway and Thomas Street. The structure collapsed in December 2021 due to wind, injuring one person.

Reception Critics from The New York Times have given The Odeon a full review in 1980, 1986, 1989, and 2016. In his 1989 review, Bryan Miller commented that the restaurant was already "called an institution" despite having been open for less than ten years. Stephen Heyman, writing for Surface, described The Odeon and other restaurants operated by Keith McNally as gradually transitioning from a "forward operating bases of gentrification" to "important parts of the city's heritage". The restaurant has been credited with inspiring imitators hoping to mimic its ambience and success.

Scenes in Jay McInerney's novel Bright Lights, Big City take place at The Odeon, and the exterior was depicted on the book's first edition cover. McInerney has said that attorneys at his publishing house were concerned about depictions of drug use at the restaurant in the novel, so McInerney sought Keith McNally's permission to portray the restaurant in and on the book.

The Odeon is known for its celebrity clientele. Regulars at the restaurant have at points included Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Belushi, In addition to its popularity with celebrities, the restaurant was at one point popular among Wall Street quants.

Invention of the Cosmopolitan Toby Cecchini and Melissa Huffsmith-Roth, bartenders at The Odeon in the 1980s, have been credited with inventing the Cosmopolitan cocktail, with Cecchini sometimes receiving solo credit. When asked about claims the drink was invented at The Odeon in an interview with Bon Appétit, Keith McNally said "Nothing could be closer to the truth."