A Restaurant Influenced by Mexico City Will Take Over the Gem Wine Space
When Flynn McGarry decided not to renew his lease for Gem Wine, the question swirled of who might take over the prime Lower East Side address.
“It’s a city that I know very well and it’s very close to my heart,”
Herbert is making a culinary departure from his last splashy Manhattan posting. Instead, his forthcoming Comal is a restaurant with a fine dining menu influenced by Mexico City and the global flavors of the city’s current restaurant scene. It’s slated for a June opening.
Herbert grew up between Cuernavaca, Mexico, and CDMX and holds both U.K. and Mexican citizenship. “It’s a city that I know very well and it’s very close to my heart,” says Herbert. He added that in his adult life, even as he’s moved around for work, he returns for about a month every year, dating back a decade — including a recent restaurant hotel consulting job in Mexico. There, he lured McGarry to come down to Mexico to do a series of dinners at the property.
Comal won’t stick strictly to traditional Mexican flavors: It will also pull in Herbert’s culinary background, which includes cooking at several restaurants in London, such as the River Cafe and Ikoyi.
Comal is the first restaurant that Herbert will open independently. Part of the draw to opening on Forsyth Street was the turnkey nature of the former Gem Wine space, which had not too long ago undergone its own renovation as it pivoted away from its initial tasting-menu roots.
(McGarry, for his part, is focusing his efforts on moving elements of Gem Wine over to his home goods store and cafe Gem Home in Nolita and making progress on Cove, his restaurant in Hudson Square, across town. The original location of Gem Wine bar is a storefront in the hands of Ha’s Snack Bar.)
The Comal team is working with La Metropolitana, a design studio known for top Mexico City restaurant clients like seafood favorite Contramar, to create custom furniture for the LES space, which will seat about 44. Herbert is working on adding outdoor seating as well.
As for drinks, they will pursue a full liquor license; cocktails, he says, will stray away from “cheesy” and blend elements of Mexican ingredients and spirits with classic New York cocktails.
