New York: Thomas Straker’s reputation precedes him. The bad-boy celebrity chef is known as much for his partying, feuds and impulsive behaviour as for his London restaurant, Straker’s, his cooking videos with more than 5 million social media followers and his branded butter.
The 36-year-old Brit’s latest venture is, naturally, a New York City restaurant. Celebrities have flocked to Straker’s NYC since it opened last month, just as they became a fixture at the Notting Hill original. For now, it’s the hardest table to book in the city.
But there’s at least one big difference from London. The New York outpost is run by a slew of Australians: general manager Brock Heath, head chef Luka Coyne, at least one other senior staff member and several servers.
On a recent Wednesday morning, this masthead visited the SoHo dining room to meet the team.
Heath, who grew up in Brisbane and was expelled from school at 15, combines Queensland casualness with Manhattan mania. He whips around the 68-seat dining room, pointing out the six Damien Hirst drawings (donated to Straker for the restaurant) and a large black skull by Brian Clarke on the rear wall.
So far, Straker’s has hosted tennis legend Serena Williams (who attended the opening party), actress Blake Lively (who praised it as one of her best meals in NYC in 20 years), publishing icon Anna Wintour, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Katie Holmes, Meg Ryan, Michelle Monaghan and Benicio del Toro. “We have 40,000 people on the wait list and climbing,” Heath says.
Notable guests can sit with Straker himself at table nine in the rear left corner. The list has included singer Rita Ora, Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi, renowned chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and legendary restaurateur Keith McNally, with whom Straker seems to have a mercurial, love-hate relationship.
McNally – whose restaurants Balthazar, Pastis, Minetta Tavern and others are synonymous with New York – ate at Straker’s five times in its first fortnight. He even donated a piece of art, Heath says. Straker’s is on the site of one of McNally’s former restaurants, Lucky Strike, which closed at the start of COVID-19.
McNally recently told Vanity Fair magazine that he loathed Straker but loved his food. He then raged at the magazine in an Instagram post, claiming the quotes were off the record and that he was going to sue “Vanity F---ing Unfair”. Straker commented on the post: “Love you.”
Heath says the pair have an odd relationship. “He [McNally] says he might not like Tom, but he’ll eat here five times a week – which seems to be pretty true. And he still loves Tom.”
So, how did Australians end up at the helm of the hottest thing in New York? Heath was working at Old Mates, the Australian pub in New York opened by expat Eddy Buckingham and backed by a crew of Aussie celebs, when he saw Straker was planning to launch in the city.
They met in January, and Heath got the job. Coyne, who was working elsewhere in Buckingham’s hospitality empire, expressed interest and eventually secured the gig as head chef. As for what makes Australians a valuable resource for a restaurant, they agree: grit and “hard yakka”.
“But there’s also that good energy, that good camaraderie,” Coyne says. “Holding people to higher standards. Pushing each other, but you’re having fun at the same time. So you get the most out of people.”
Straker’s publicist won’t make him available for an interview, but during his call to Heath during this masthead’s visit, he affirmed that Australians work hard. “They’re fantastic, they’re great energy, always looking at the positive and up for a chat,” he said down a crackly phone line.
Opening a New York restaurant was a logical step for Straker. He is quintessentially British, yet he is also an American citizen, having been born in Washington, DC.
His fame and lifestyle make him regular tabloid fodder back home: the Daily Mail had a field day in 2023 when it photographed him with Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece – goddaughter of King Charles III – outside her home.
The same year, he was criticised after posting a photo with his London team, who were all white men. Magazine stories about Straker tend to feature anecdotes about wild partying or rueful hangovers, and pictures of him smoking. The contentious Vanity Fair profile labelled him “a hot mess with the hottest restaurant in New York”.
But the Australian staff at Straker’s have only praise for their bad-boy boss. “He’s the most pure person I’ve met so far in my life,” Coyne says. Heath chimes in: “He’s crazy, but aren’t we all?”
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