Photo by George Mahe
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Matt McGuire
After a few starts and stops, it’s pedal to the metal in a Ferrari at the former I Fratellini in Clayton, the last of Zoe Robinson’s triumvirate of restaurants to change hands. Behind the wheel at Wright’s Tavern (7624 Wydown) is Matt McGuire, owner of Louie, another high-revving Clayton eatery.
"I am so pleased and excited for both Matt and the community," Robinson previously told SLM. "He does such a stellar job. I could not be leaving that location in better hands."
McGuire was equally complimentary. "Zoe’s places are all so beautifully designed," he said. "The next guy’s job should be to not screw them up.”
Rest assured, he didn’t.
Wright’s Tavern opens December 5 and will serve dinner Monday through Saturday. Weekday lunch service is slated to begin at a later date “but soon,” McGuire promises.
The Team
“We’re not the first to do a small steakhouse,” McGuire says. “To me, it’s all about who’s doing it, not what it is. Every place I like to go, it’s about who’s in the building making it happen, a core of people who fundamentally give a damn. If you don’t have that kind of team, you shouldn’t even try.”
Photo by George Mahe
Cary McDowell in the doorway of Wright's Tavern
McGuire and his chef, Cary McDowell, are close friends and kindred spirits, tracing their roots to McGuire’s former restaurant, the beloved King Louie, which coincidentally is where McDowell met his wife, Holly, who now works at Louie. “I’ve wanted to work with Matt again since King Louie,” McDowell says. “This is a dream come true for me.”
Other familiar faces include two Louie alums: Sean Thomas, and Trevor Johnson behind the bar. “And then there’s Alison [Alton], who worked for Zoe for 20 years and knows everyone and everything about the neighborhood,” McGuire says. Knowing that his staff has the proper balance of familiarity and professionalism, he says, “I like our chances.”
McGuire plans to initially split time between the two restaurants, likely “drifting back the two-minute-and-thirty-second drive to Louie” after Wright’s Tavern is up and running.
The Concept and Menu
An homage to Henry Wright, the architect responsible for designing many of Clayton’s neighborhoods, the “small neighborhood steakhouse leans heavily into seafood,” as McGuire describes it. The space is half the size of Louie (36 seats vs. 72), which helps explain the slightly higher price point.
Instead of creating variations on dishes, McDowell is adopting a “best renditions of the original” approach: filet au poivre, steak frites, shrimp scampi, a no-filler crab cake... And though the word “classic” was used only once on the menu (to describe an 18-ounce Iowa premium ribeye), it could have led every entry. Instead, Wright’s menu verbiage is purposefully concise and not heavily descriptive (roasted ORA king salmon, premium wagyu sirloin, melted spinach with lemon...), although the service staff is well-versed on every detail.
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Courtesy of Wright's Tavern
A robust scampi presentation
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Courtesy of Wright's Tavern
Baked crab cake - blue crab on bed of remoulade sauce
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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Wedge salad - petite iceburg, Maytag blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, sourdough bread crumbs, buttermilk herb dressing
McDowell says the secrets to the “best that it can be” approach is “sourcing, proper cooking techniques and preparation, extreme attention to detail, and final execution.” The chef admits to “obsessing for a good long time” about the croutons on the Caesar salad, for instance.
In addition to the standard entrée offerings—four beef, two seafood, and one chicken dish—expect to see multiple off-menu seafood offerings as well, McDowell says. "Lobster, scallops, Dover sole… Really well-executed examples of those are hard to find here. We hope to fill that void.”
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Tavern Ice Cream Sundae - the ultimate sharable with chocolate, strawberry, vanilla ice cream, poured hot fudge, assorted candies
Courtesy of Wright's Tavern
In true tavern-style, Wright’s serves a burger (pictured at right)—specifically an Iowa premium wagyu beef patty with Prairie Breeze cheddar, white onion, and pommes frites—as well as a French Dip sandwich with Havarti.
Then there are the drinks. Bar manager Trevor Johnson’s eight-item cocktail list explores the classics and adds new signatures: a negroni made with a blend of vermouths, lemon bitters, and quinquina (a flavored, fortified wine); a julep containing amaro, Cocchi Americano, green Chartreuse, lemon, and mint; and Martini & The Car (Fords Gin, Dolin dry vermouth, Lustau Vermut Blanco, orange bitters, and jumbo Gordal olives) served with a bonus “sidecar,” an 8-ounce cocktail that justifies the $16 price tag. Wright's initial wine list is brief and understandably still in development.
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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Negroni and Martini and the Car
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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
The Tavern Julep
Photo by George Mahe
The Atmosphere
Behind the operable French door windows, the former I Fratellini’s mottled white brick wall has been painted an intensely dark green. Family and career photos (from McGuire’s parents’ wedding to McDowell during his apprenticeship stint in New York City) replace the erstwhile wall mirrors. On the opposite wall is a lone painting, from Mark Connor, a renowned Chicago-based artist and classmate of McGuire’s from art school. Simple six-light candelabra-style chandeliers supplant I Fratellini’s large copper domes. Marble-topped bistro tables now wear crisp white napery. And keen observers will note that the ceiling in the restrooms was left “Louis Vuitton red,” McDowell says, an homage to the stylish former tenant.
Photo by George Mahe
Swaths of cherry paneling and some judicious metalwork w added, such as a W-and-T-embossed heavy brass drink rail and a marble and raised brass letter transom, like you’d see in the entryway of an old drugstore, touches that contribute
to the vibe of a decades-old tavern.
Photo by George Mahe and courtesy of Wright's Tavern
Photo by George Mahe
The kitchen’s been expanded and reconfigured, save the copper-clad hood above top-of-the-line kitchen equipment, including a Jade range and a Montague over-fired 1,800-degree radiant broiler with a plancha on top for additional searing. In the past iteration, attention was directed to the dining area; at Wright’s, the dining room and kitchen have been given equal credence.
In addition to amber-colored, real candle votives, one tabletop adornment stands out: a glassful of lead pencils for guests to use and/or take home. “Spontaneous art, business propositions, love letters... I bet we see it all,” McDowell says.
McGuire (who’s occasionally seen with a pencil on his ear), shrugs and says, “I just like pencils.”
The Service
In addition to dinner service, both McDowell and McGuire want to serve lunch. “I love a nice lunch, so maybe it’s a little selfish,” McDowell admits, “and they’re hard to find. Plus, it gives us the opportunity to make items like vichyssoise and real tomato bisque, things you used to be able to get for lunch that you don't see much anymore.” McGuire adds, “If there’s a place lunch can survive and thrive, it should be here, in Clayton, where a lot of people both live and work.”
That said, lunch hours will be limited. “As much as I feel a neighborhood place should stay open throughout the day," McGuire says, "it’s not practical with such a small space, so we’ll close at two and reopen at five.” In the same vein, having only 36 seats prevents Wright’s from accommodating parties larger than four. “It’s the greater good theory. It’s the way it has to be.”
McGuire, who's long been known as one of the savviest operators in town, is fully tuned in to current dining habits, which means no annoying add-ons, such as a split-plate charge. “We want people to feel comfortable and not have to change their style of eating, just for us,” he says.
Beginning Monday (which also happens to be Louie's fifth anniversary), Wright’s hours will be 5 to 10 p.m. (last seating) Mon-Thu and 5 to 11 p.m. (last seating) Fri-Sat. Reservations can be booked (currently through January) on Resy.
