The notion of a pre- or post-theatre supper takes on new allure when the restaurant and the entertainment share the same owner. Last month (September 2025), independent film studio and distributor A24 revived a piece of Village history with the reopening of the century-old Cherry Lane Theatre, the oldest Off-Broadway venue in New York, following a multi-year restoration. Alongside a fresh roster of theatre, comedy, music and film, the venue now also offers Wild Cherry, an arthouse-style restaurant that has swiftly become one of the city’s hot tickets.
Wild Cherry opens inside Cherry Lane Theatre
True to A24’s understated aesthetic, Wild Cherry favours intimacy over spectacle. The 45-seat room, led by chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr (of Le Veau d’Or, Le Rock and Frenchette), feels equal parts neighbourhood haunt and cinematic vignette. Designed by Zeb Stewart, known for Brooklyn’s Hotel Delmano, Café Colette and Frenchette, the space layers nostalgia with subtle glamour: deep green banquettes and limewash wall paint cast a moody glow beneath a slatted ceiling, while funfair bulbs and chequerboard floors nod to retro diners. A striking 12-seat horseshoe bar anchors the room.
The menu plays its part with considered flair. Raw seafood leads the opening act (oysters, tuna crudo, Bang’s Island mussels, whole dressed crab) before giving way to heartier crowd-pleasers: a lobster club, roasted monkfish kebab and a cheeseburger with just the right swagger. A steak for two arrives with baked potato, green salad and a swirl of soft-serve, while coconut cake offers a gentle curtain call. To drink, classic cocktails and natural wines set the tone, but the true showstopper is the Scorpion Bowl, a shared concoction served in vintage Murano glass – the wild cherry on top of an already cinematic night out.
Scorpion Bowl
Wild Cherry is located at 38 Commerce St, New York, NY 10014, United States.
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