First Barbetta, now this?! New York City is sadly losing yet another one of its true dining legends this summer.
After nearly 75 years on the Upper East Side, Donohue’s Steak House will permanently close this June, marking the end of an era for one of New York’s true old-school legends. The news follows owner Maureen Donohue-Peters’ decision to focus on other ventures.
For generations, Donohue’s stretched far beyond just a place to eat. The compact-yet-cozy institution served as a second home to both neighborhood regulars and lesser known customers who just so happened to walk through the doors.
Its supersized martinis lining the bar, comforting bowls of french onion soup, and Irish bartenders with their endless tales all made for thousands of memories atop the checkerboard floor.
An Upper East Side institution since 1950
Donohue’s Steak House has remained in the same family since it first opened in 1950, when Martin Donohue founded the restaurant on Lexington Avenue near 64th Street.
A few years later, his son Michael took the reins and ran the beloved spot until his passing in 2000. Today, the legacy continues with Michael’s daughter, Maureen Donohue-Peters, who still owns the restaurant and can often be found there nearly every night.
Regardless of the owner, Donohue’s hasn’t changed one bit.
The pub-style steakhouse unfolds within a single, cozy room with rich wood paneling and a classic checkerboard floor. Up front, an Art Deco bar steals the spotlight, while a compact dining area of roughly eight tables sits just beyond, keeping the whole space intimate and unfussy.
Essentially, it’s a time capsule of Eisenhower-era Manhattan.
A no-nonsense menu going strong for 76 years
The menu at Donohue’s hasn’t so much evolved as it has held its ground–and that’s exactly the point.
It reads like a greatest hits of mid-century New York dining: martinis poured with a heavy hand, burgers that taste like they’ve been made the same way for decades, and comfort food classics that lean unapologetically salty, buttery, and a little bit nostalgic.
Yes, there are steaks, but this isn’t the place for precision cooking or modern flair–it’s more like a pub menu frozen in time, where the burger is the safer bet and the French onion soup somehow still hits despite its intensity.
What you’re really ordering, though, is the experience.
A pint-glass martini that keeps refilling your coupe, thick-cut fries that feel straight out of another era, and maybe even a turkey plate that borders on TV-dinner territory. At Donohue’s, the food isn’t trying to impress you–it’s trying to remind you how New York used to taste.
A go-to for New York’s most influential crowd
In its earlier years, Donohue’s Steak House drew a steady crowd of power players–politicians, financiers, and journalists whose names carried serious weight.
Regulars and drop-ins alike included David Rockefeller, Anthony Kennedy, Bill Bratton, Timothy Dolan, Bernie Madoff, Jerry Della Femina, Liz Smith, and broadcast icons like Morley Safer and Peter Jennings.
The arts had their share of devotees, too, from writer Gay Talese and historian Theodore H. White to Kitty Carlisle, Liza Minnelli, and architect Robert A. M. Stern.
More recently, the dining room has welcomed a newer generation of familiar faces, including Drew Barrymore and Robert Redford.
The final days
Though the announcement of Donohue’s Steak House is a sad one for New Yorkers, owner Maureen Donohue-Peters has been ready to bring this chapter of Donohue’s to a close for quite some time.
Earlier this March, Donohue-Peters took to Instagram to invite the restaurant’s followers to “join [them] for [their] final St. Patrick’s Day.” Naturally, New Yorkers took to the comments to share their sadness.
“It would be a huge cultural tragedy if you were to close with no plan for the future on Lexington Avenue,” wrote one Donohue’s patron.
On the bright side, this isn’t the end for Donohue’s Steak House–at least not fully. Donohue’s East has been operating in Westhampton Beach since last summer. The business’s first extension in 75 years, each day the space fills with many of the same fans who loved the original.
Donohue-Peters also plans to open another Donohue’s on Long Island. She told GrubStreet:
I want to leave while I still love the game. The city is not for me anymore. I want a better quality of life. To me, it’s bittersweet.
Despite the joint’s lease not up for renewal until the end of this year–and offers from the landlord to lower the rent–Donohue’s Steak House will close its doors for good this June.
Plan Your Visit
If you want to say goodbye to a piece of living history, you’ll need to act fast. The way this year has been flying by, June will be here before we know it.
- Where: 845 Lexington Ave
- When: Monday – Saturday, 11:30 am to 10:30 pm
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