407 W 42ND ST 212-695-6909
West Bank Cafe opened in 1978 in the newly opened Manhattan Plaza - home to actors and professionals in the creative industries. At the time, the location was as "far-west" as one would want to venture as Hell’s Kitchen lived up to its name. Ironically, the 24-year-old owner named it West Bank Cafe. Known as a Broadway hangout today, the restaurant’s early clients were a little rougher, including the notorious Irish gang, the Westies.
In the early 80s, West Bank Cafe opened "The Downstairs Theatre”, which staged plays and hosted events nightly. A young Lewis Black was named playwright-in-residence and on any given night you could take in a new work by Aaron Sorkin or catch emerging actors like Tony Shalhoub or Nathan Lane. Playwright Warren Leight even developed his Tony-winning play Side Man on our stage.
Soon the redevelopment of 42nd Street spread further west, bringing new businesses and residents to the area. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the restaurant was a leader in the growing Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen dining scenes. As new theaters opened in the area, the restaurant’s connection to stage and screen remained strong as well. Everyone from Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller to Bruce Willis, Sean Penn and Madonna could be seen hanging out at The West Bank Cafe.
In the late 90s, The Downstairs Theatre was renamed The Laurie Beechman Theatre, after our dear friend and beloved Broadway star. The theatre became a premier cabaret venue where you could catch everyone from Broadway legends like Donna McKechnie and Andre De Shields to music legends like The Who, Cyndi Lauper, and a young Ariana Grande. Famously, Joan Rivers played over 200 sets, including her final performance, on our stage.
After 45 years, the restaurant’s surrounding neighborhood and America’s culinary tastes have changed dramatically. West Bank Cafe has evolved along with the neighborhood and maintained a commitment to serving high-quality food in an unpretentious setting where both theater-goers and theatre stars feel at home.