Sirrah opened July 15 in New York City’s Meatpacking District, serving a tight four-course menu for $75. The restaurant wants to reimagine the classic French steak -frites experience through a New York lens.
It’s the debut concept of September Hospitality, a newly formed group led by Ryan Harris, a restaurant and nightlife veteran who’s previously worked for Union Fare, Quality Meats, Quality Italian, Rose Room, Riff Raff’s, and more. He’s joined by partner and director of operations Phil Zelonky, previously of Rose Room and Noir NY.
The 120-seat restaurant features a maximalist design aesthetic, with lots of layered textures, custom fabrics and upholstery, and eclectic details. There’s a 10-seat bar near the entrance and another 24-seat bar further into the space. There’s also a 16-seat private dining room.
. The menu is centered around steak and branzino, plus fries served tableside from a custom cart. | Moriah Sawtelle
Small set menus focused on steak-frites or other entrées have been popping up a lot lately. 84 Magic Hospitality in South Florida just opened 3190, a new “lasagna speakeasy” serving just one entrée — yes, lasagna. They also run, Cotoletta, an Italian restaurant centered around Veal Milanese, and San Lorenzo, a no-menu restaurant offering a choice of meat or fish with sides.
Funny Bar on New York’s Lower East Side offers just two steaks, salad, a vegetable, and fries on its menu. And D.C.-based Medium Rare, now with several locations on the East Coast and two in Texas, serves a set menu of steak-frites, salad, and bread. Some of the appeal for guests is that such restaurants remove the need to pore over menus and make decisions.
And operators benefit from streamlined operations and more manageable costs.
“I kept going to group dinners where no one wanted to be in charge of ordering. We just wanted to sit down, eat amazing food, and have great conversation without overthinking it,” Harris said when asked about his inspiration for opening Sirrah. “At the same time, I was running a restaurant group and noticed our prix-fixe menu was outselling everything else by a lot. That got me thinking: What if there were a place where you could just trust the menu, get a bunch of fun, delicious things with a few surprises along the way, and not have to make a single decision?”
To make it happen, Harris and his team enlisted consulting chef Cody Pruitt, known for his popular West Village French bistro, Libertine.
Sirrah seats 120 people across its dining room and two bars. | Charles Roussell
Dinner at Sirrah begins with an amuse-bouche of French onion soup served in a shot glass. Starters include bread served with butter and olive oil, house-made ratatouille with summer squash and seasonal vegetables, and green salad dressed with Champagne vinaigrette.
Guests then choose one of three entrées: hangar steak, branzino, or a lion’s mane mushroom dish. There’s also a supplemental 28-ounce dry-aged steak for two that’s an extra $25 per person. Mains are accompanied by pommes frites served tableside from a custom-made cart, plus five house-made sauces, from a classic poivrade to the “Sirrah sauce” inspired by a traditional French steak sauce.
A choice of two seasonal sides includes options like black garlic Brussels sprouts, Espelette-pepper-glazed carrots, vadouvan broccolini, and brown butter-roasted mushrooms. Lastly, the dessert course is fresh berries and cream.
Harris said the core menu will stay largely the same, but they’ll add seasonal twists to their sauces, and to keep things interesting, they might offer a new course on occasion.
“Consistency is the name of the game. It’s why you go back to your favorite spots over and over. A tight, flavorful menu leaves almost no room for error with your operations,” Harris said. “And since the kitchen is focused on fewer dishes, they can get everything just right. It’s a win across the board.”
