White Horse Tavern Menu Now Includes $32 Lobster: Report

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Following weeks of renovations, the White Horse Tavern is getting a revamped summer menu starting Tuesday — which will reportedly include $32 lobster, $29 Arctic char and a $16 burger, per the New York Post.

The famed literary watering hole in the West Village that underwent an ownership change earlier this year will launch a new select summer menu on Tuesday, a spokesman confirmed.

The dishes will be "elevated," but prices remain "accessible," the tavern's new owner, Eytan Sugarman, told the New York Post.

"The tavern wasn't known as a food-driven place before. We are going to turn it into a first-class gastro pub. We say that with no disrespect," Sugarman told the Post.

The Post reported the new menu will include $32 grilled lobster and fries "with ramp butter and aioli" and $29 Arctic char "with whipped potatoes & bone marrow." A burger will cost $16, which is $2 more than a previous price, Sugarman told the Post. Another menu on the White Horse Tavern's website shows burgers started at $11.95 in the past.

Per the Post, the head chef behind White Horse's new dishes is Ed Szymanski, also the chef behind Greenpoint's Cherry Point and previously of West Village's Beatrice Inn.

The new dishes come just a few months after Sugarman told Community Board 2 the "spirit" of the bar will remain — though price hikes, new menu items and cocktails were in store, he said in March.

In early March, former owners of the bar and the building Eddie Brennan and James Munson sold the property, located at 567 Hudson St., to notorious landlord Steve Croman, who did a stint on Rikers Island for tax fraud. The bar was then leased out to Sugarman — who's other ventures include Midtown steakhouse Hunt & Fish Club and a barbecue eatery Southern Hospitality.

The ownership change sparked fears among West Villagers that the historic watering hole once frequented by Dylan Thomas and Jack Kerouac would change drastically, some said at a community board meeting. Politicians and preservationists called for the inside of the bar to be landmarked, since the building itself is protected under the Greenwich Village Historic District. The bar closed for about a month of renovations but re-opened in late May, per Gothamist.

This fall, a new full menu will be presented, per a spokesman for Sugarman.

For the full Post report, click here.