Latest news with #KeithMcNally
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
New York restaurateur Keith McNally regrets attacking James Corden, says 'I don't like to be forced to enjoy myself'
Keith McNally, the renowned restaurant owner who's made a name for himself in New York City's culinary scene, is currently promoting his upcoming memoir 'I Regret Almost Everything.' As part of his promotional efforts, McNally did an interview with CBS News, where he spoke about his various life struggles, including a debilitating stroke that struck him in 2016 and left him temporarily paralyzed, as well as permanently affecting his speech. McNally also spoke of his infamous Instagram feud with James Corden, expressing some regret over it, and revealed that he resented New Year's Eve because, as he put it, "I don't like to be forced to enjoy myself." Keith McNally reflects on beef with James Corden Among the things McNally reminisced on was his publicly putting James Corden on blast on Instagram during October 2022, where he accused Corden for misbehaving with his staff after getting a wrong order. Corden was banned from McNally's restaurants for a while as a consequence, but Keith has expressed some level of regret at publicly putting him on blast, stating that he himself had become self-conscious about public humiliation as a result of his stroke, and felt that he'd unwittingly subjected James Corden to something similar. Keith McNally also opened up about an especially dark time in his life when he was struggling to recover from his stroke. Having struggled with the paralysis of his dominant right hand and a persistent speech impediment, McNally eventually attempted suicide two years after his stroke. He was saved by his younger son, George, who woke up earlier than usual and saved his father's life. Keith then revealed that his doctor told him about how children are far more likely to attempt suicide if their parents died by suicide, something that has stuck with him since. Keith McNally comes from humble beginnings Keith McNally hails from a modest, working class background. He was one among four children of Jack, a dockworker, and Joyce, a house and office cleaner. McNally reflected on the difficult upbringing he had due to his working class roots: "I got angry inside at my parents. because we had no books in the house, no pictures on the walls. But they couldn't help it. They were working class who grew up with nothing." Keith McNally's 'I Regret Almost Everything' will be published by Simon and Schuster. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Restaurateur Keith McNally on why he regrets "almost everything"
Restaurateur Keith McNally hates New Year's Eve – he doesn't like being told to have a good time. "I don't like to be forced to enjoy myself," he said. The "least hospitable man in hospitality," as he calls himself, is not a big smiler, either. "Inside," he explained. It doesn't seem to have hurt. Over 40 years, he's opened some of New York City's most popular restaurants, among them The Odeon, Balthazar, and Pastis – institutions almost as well-known as some of the bold-face names that frequent them. But McNally himself has never been much of a publicity hound, even less so after suffering a stroke in 2016. "Naturally I'm a bit embarrassed to be on TV talking like this—who wouldn't be?" he said. "But it's good for me to do it, because it gets me free of my embarrassment. Actually, I'm embarrassed talking about embarrassment!" But the British-born McNally has largely overcome his embarrassment in a new memoir, "I Regret Almost Everything." "The drawback for me with most memoirs [is], if you're not embarrassed by what you write, you've probably not spoken the truth," he said. "If you don't cringe over every word, it's not the truth." The hardest part to write, he said, was about his suicide attempt, "because my kids. I didn't want to leave them at all." That suicide attempt was two years after his stroke. He was found by his younger son, George. "He was supposed to not find me," McNally said. "Like most teenagers he would sleep until noon. But that day he woke up early, at 8:00 o'clock." "You expected him to be sleeping later, he woke up early, he saw you?" I asked. "Yeah, the bastard just woke up early and saved my life!" he laughed. McNally might joke about it now, but the father of five was suffering with an immobile right arm (he was right-handed), back pain, and aphasia (which causes his slurred speech), and his second marriage was falling apart. But as he writes, some sobering words from a doctor made him reflect: "He said that children who lose a parent to suicide were far more likely to kill themselves than the children of parents who don't. That stopped me in my tracks." Because he had such trouble communicating verbally after his stroke, McNally began using social media. "I was so embarrassed by my speech and the way I looked, I didn't go to my restaurants for one year," he said. "I was ashamed. But eventually I realized, nothing to be ashamed about. So, not only did I admit it wasn't a bad thing, but I went in on Instagram." McNally went viral in 2022 with a post criticizing former late-night host James Corden for allegedly being rude to the waitstaff at Balthazar. But now, McNally confesses in his book he isn't so sure calling out Corden was fair. He wrote: "For someone who's hyperconscious of humiliation since suffering a stroke, it now seems monstrous that I didn't consider the humiliation I was subjecting Corden to. I felt like I'd hit the jackpot of a slot machine and thousands of gold coins were spilling out in front of me. That night I ended up with over 90,000 followers. I was intoxicated with self-righteousness." "Uh-huh, it's true," McNally said. "But afterwards, I felt really bad." Corden later apologized. But the 73-year-old McNally has continued creating a stir online. Take this recent post he wrote about his friend, ABC News' Diane Sawyer, describing a weeklong affair the two had in the 1970s. The story made news … except that it was completely made up. I said, "Some people say, 'Listen, Keith, you know, it's really not cool for you to be sharing this.' And so, did you enjoy that back-and-forth with them?" "Yes. Yeah, I'm afraid, I did, yeah," he laughed. "And I wonder, do you think that the stroke – I don't know, is that, does that …" "Say what you think," said McNally. "Well, is it that you feel a little trapped inside of yourself?" "No," he replied. "I've always been a little like this inside. But since my stroke, and now on the outside." McNally grew up in the East End of London, one of four children born to Jack, a dockworker, and Joyce, a house and office cleaner. The family had little money. "I got angry inside at my parents," he said, "because we had no books in the house, no pictures on the walls. But they couldn't help it. They were working class who grew up with nothing." McNally says he didn't eat in a restaurant until he was 17. "Most of the time, when we were on a holiday, we would go to the restaurant, they would look the prices outside, and then she'd go, 'Not for us.'" And yet, when McNally moved to New York City in 1975 as an aspiring filmmaker, he made ends meet by working in restaurants. "I didn't eat asparagus until I came here," he said. "And the next day, I went to the doctor because the smell of my …" "That was so pungent from eating the asparagus?" I asked. "Yeah, I thought I was sick! So, I went to the doctor. He said, 'What'd you eat last night?'" McNally laughed. "You know what? You gotta put that in the paperback," I said. In 1980, McNally opened his own restaurant, The Odeon, in the neighborhood of Tribeca, in what had been a no-man's land. An immediate sensation, it established certain McNally "musts," such as the importance of having a hamburger on the menu. "I don't like hamburgers much myself," he said. "But it's a sign of snobbery not to have a hamburgers." McNally prides himself on putting his staff above even his diners. Some of his employees have been with him for over 30 years. And ever since returning to work post-stroke, McNally has come to appreciate how they feel about him. "I had to talk to my staff and was really nervous," he said. "They were really kind. In the end, kindness is really essential." I asked, "The stroke lifted the veil on what they thought of you?" "Yeah, yeah," McNally laughed. "They made me feel good." READ AN EXCERPT: "I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir" by Keith McNally If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here. For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@ For more info: Story produced by Kay Lim. Editor: Carol Ross.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Book excerpt: "I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir" by Keith McNally
We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. British-born restaurateur Keith McNally was responsible for the opening of such popular New York City institutions as The Odeon, Balthazar and Pastis. But a 2016 stroke, which caused immobility and affected his speech, led him to attempt suicide two years later. He's recounted his story in the irreverent memoir "I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir" (Simon & Schuster). Read an excerpt below, and don't miss Mo Rocca's interview with Keith McNally on "CBS Sunday Morning" July 20! "I Regret Almost Everything" by Keith McNally Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. There was a time when everything worked. ... I'd been happily married and the owner of eight successful Manhattan restaurants, including Balthazar in SoHo. In 2004, the New York Times had called me "The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown." I had everything going for me. And then on November 26, 2016, the clock stopped. I was living in London. One Saturday morning I coaxed my youngest children, George and Alice, into seeing a Caravaggio exhibition with me at the National Gallery. George was thirteen, Alice eleven. While looking at a painting of Jesus being betrayed by Judas, The Taking of Christ, I sensed my body beginning to show signs of betraying me: a strange metallic tingling started to pinch my fingertips. It was an odd feeling, but as it stopped after five or six seconds, I didn't give it another thought. Soon afterward, to the relief of my children, we left the museum. Two hours later, when I was back home by myself, the metallic feeling returned. Only this time it was in earnest. Within seconds the horrific tingling shot up my left arm and, like some malignant jellyfish, clasped itself onto my face. Terrified, I phoned Alina, who rushed back with the kids and instantly called an ambulance. George, fists clenched, was panic-stricken as medics examined my convulsing body. Within minutes I was being hoisted into the waiting ambulance. Alina, George and Alice looked on. I woke up several hours later in Charing Cross Hospital. The first thing the doctor told me was that I'd had a stroke. The second thing was that my brain would never be the same again. Perhaps his bluntness was necessary for legal reasons, but from where I stood—or lay—it was a brutal awakening. After the doctor left, I tried wriggling my arms and legs to check that I wasn't paralyzed. I wasn't, thank God. To test my memory, I wrote the alphabet on the back of the nurse's chart. I then tried saying the letters aloud, but here there was a problem. The words wouldn't conform to my efforts. They exited my mouth in such a slurred and disorderly way that I sounded like a stage drunk. But this was a small price to pay for my stroke. My first stroke, that is. Because the next day the artillery arrived and gave me such a hammering that in one fell swoop I lost the use of my right hand, right arm and right leg. And my slurred speech, perhaps in fright, went AWOL. Overnight I was confined to a wheelchair and deprived of language. So much for The Restaurateur Who Invented Downtown. * * * I shared a ward with five other men whose ages ranged from forty to eighty. At night, with words inaccessible to me, I'd listen in awe to them talking. Speech suddenly seemed like a divine accomplishment. Even everyday words had an element of poetry to them. I dreaded the moment when the men would stop talking and I'd be left with my own thoughts. Sleepless, half-paralyzed and unable to speak, I felt buried alive. More than anything, I wished the stroke had killed me. Bereft of speech and right side unusable, I wondered how my relationship with Alina might change. And with George and Alice also. All children exaggerate their father's strength. Most sense it ebbing away imperceptibly over twenty or so years. Generally, a father's decline appears natural, tolerable even. It wasn't going to be like that for my children. My new life seemed ungraspable. It existed, but was outside of me. On my second day in the hospital, Alina arranged for George and Alice to visit. An hour before they were due, I became so ashamed of them seeing me disabled that I canceled the visit. The next day I could hold out no longer. Hospitals are a great leveler. Like soldiers at war, patients lose all distinctiveness. As they entered the ward, George and Alice failed to recognize me. I was lying at the end of a row of identical beds, assimilating into the world of the sick and dying. Although it had only been three days since I last saw them, they looked years younger. They stood by the door, small eyes darting from one sick man to the next, searching for some identifiable sign of their father. After a few seconds they rushed to my bed. Alice seemed happy to see me, but George looked angry and said less than usual. He'd behaved in a similar way a year earlier after watching me lose a match in a squash tournament. Back then, I found his anger confusing. Now it made sense. Alina put on a brave face but was so shell-shocked she said little. I managed to gurgle out a few words, and in between the long silences the heavy breathing of the man in the next bed entered uncomfortably into our space. Alina told the children I was going to regain my voice and would soon be walking out of the hospital. Neither responded. When the three of them left, I wept for the first time in twenty years. From "I Regret Almost Everything" by Keith McNally. Copyright © 2025 by Keith McNally. Excerpted with permission by Simon & Schuster, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Get the book here: "I Regret Almost Everything" by Keith McNally Buy locally from For more info:
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Restaurateur Keith McNally on ‘rude' Patti Smith, his two strokes, and Sally Rooney: ‘One of the best contemporary writers in the world'
'To me, Instagram is nothing but a vast repository of self-deception. A modern-day Barbie's world, where one in a thousand own up to their shortcomings. I joined Instagram to piss these people off. To yank them off their high horse,' famed British restaurateur Keith McNally tells me.
New York Post
07-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Balthazar owner Keith McNally among NYC millionaires backing socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor
Balthazar owner Keith McNally — whose SoHo hotspot has been a magnet for A-listers and one-percenters for years — is throwing his support behind marxist New York City mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani. McNally — who owns more than a dozen eateries in Manhattan including Minetta Tavern, Pastis and Morandi — called the democratic socialist 'fantastic' on Instagram, adding: 'More so, when my affluent, paranoid friends tell me Mamdani's dangerous.' 6 Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor. Paul Martinka for NY Post Advertisement The restaurateur joins left-leaning financiers, corporate lawyers and other business leaders who are aligning behind Mamdani — despite his platform to tax wealthy to pay for his expansive social programs, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mamdani became the front-runner to lead the nation's center of capitalism by shocking former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic primary for mayor last month. His policy proposals include free public buses, a freeze on regulated rents, universal childcare starting at six weeks old and a pilot program for city-run grocery stores. Advertisement 6 Restaurateur Keith McNally, best known for owning and operating several iconic eateries including Balthazar, has praised Mamdani. Instagram/@keithmcnallynyc Yet a growing faction of millionaires sees Mamdani as a necessary force to address the city's deepening income inequality — and are willing to pay their 'fair share' to elect him over current Mayor Eric Adams, who will run as an independent. James Hueston, a 27-year-old venture capitalist, is part of a group of younger, upwardly mobile professionals, many in finance, who are backing Mamdani's campaign. 'In my eyes, I should absolutely be paying my fair share for the people that need it,' Hueston told the Journal, adding that his views don't represent those of his employer. Advertisement 6 Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive officer of Partnership for New York, said she recently met with Mamdani. Bloomberg via Getty Images 'I don't think that he's increasing taxation for the sake of it. I think that he's doing it to fund very explicitly good policies.' Voting data show that about a third of the city's wealthiest residents supported Mamdani in the primary. Many donors — particularly from Wall Street and large law firms — have remained anonymous, citing concerns about being ostracized by colleagues or clients. One executive at a major bank told the Journal she feared for her safety and that of her family if her support became public. Advertisement Campaign finance records confirm that Mamdani received contributions from a trader at Jane Street Capital, a managing director at Deutsche Bank and several employees at Goldman Sachs. 6 Ahmed Haque, CEO of Didactic Labs, said that he is supporting Mamdani. Linkedin/Ahmed F. Haque While critics like billionaires Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb have denounced Mamdani's agenda and thrown their financial might behind Adams, others have offered words of encouragement. Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist who ran Michael Bloomberg's third campaign for mayor, wrote on LinkedIn that New Yorkers should 'do what we can to help him succeed.' These unusual alliances may stem from a belief that Mamdani's proposals are either politically constrained or morally necessary. Some backers assume that Albany's control over taxation will prevent the most aggressive parts of his agenda from being enacted. Others argue that his focus on small businesses, transit equity and public health infrastructure could improve quality of life across the city. 'His qualifying comments have identified the capitalist system as promoting income inequality. A lot of people in business agree with him on that,' said Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a major business group. Advertisement Wylde met with Mamdani in September and recalled him saying, 'I'm not in favor of government taking over your business.' 6 Mark Gorton, CEO of Tower Research, told the Journal he supports Mamdani's plan for free buses. Sportsfile via Getty Images Wylde, who did not offer an endorsement, added that Mamdani 'has already acknowledged that the housing crisis is only going to be addressed if there's an increase in private supply. So he's not just talking about social or socialized housing solutions.' Mamdani has also faced intense criticism from Jewish leaders and pro-Israel groups for defending the slogan 'globalize the intifada,' supporting BDS and sponsoring the 'Not on Our Dime!' Act, which aimed to block New York charities from aiding the Israeli military or settlements. Advertisement After the October 2023 Hamas attack, Mamdani condemned Israeli actions but did not explicitly criticize Hamas, further fueling accusations of bias. Some supporters said Mamdani's immigrant background and Muslim identity also influenced their decision to back him, particularly in contrast to Cuomo, who left office in disgrace over allegations of sexual harassment. Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! President Trump's threat to deport Mamdani, a naturalized citizen born in Uganda, has further energized parts of the city's diverse business class. Advertisement Even Mamdani's ads have struck a chord with entrepreneurial voters. In one campaign spot, he promises to cut red tape for street vendors. In another, filmed in a neighborhood bodega, he pledges to simplify permitting processes for small businesses. 'For immigrants coming to this country, these small businesses represent the single path for upward mobility that they have,' Ahmed Haque, CEO of Didactic Labs, told the Journal. 'Overall, they are far more open to Mamdani's message because the high costs of New York City are forcing them out of the city.' 6 James Hueston, a 27-year-old venture capitalist, said he would gladly pay more in taxes. Linkedin/James Hueston Advertisement Mamdani's coalition includes both immigrant entrepreneurs and prominent investors. Mark Gorton, CEO of Tower Research, told the Journal he supports Mamdani's plan for free buses and brushed off warnings that wealthy residents would leave the city if taxes rise. 'New York is a pretty special place,' he said. 'It's very hard to go somewhere else. And are you going to do it for an extra 2%?'
