"Next month, his hip Italian restaurant in the Sixty Soho hotel — located at 60 Thompson St., between Spring and Broome streets — will be transformed into Bistrot Leo, a French-style bistro. McDonald has a prolific presence downtown with restaurants like Lure, El Toro Blanco, and Bowery Meat Company. With Bistrot Leo, he says it’s like adding a French little brother to the family. “With all of our venues, there’s a common DNA with the style of dining,” he tells Eater. As such, Bistrot Leo will not be overly fancy in its approach to French dining. He’s tapped Brian Loiacono as chef for the venture. Loiacono’s background is in French food, having worked at Bar Boulud and as executive chef at DB Bistro Moderne. The chef is still working on the menu, but he tells Eater he’s focusing on creating balance between lighter bistro fare and some of the heartier classics. As Loiacono puts it, he wants it to be easy for one person at a table to have a veggie-focused meal and another person to have a big, juicy burger. The menu will riff on French bistro classics, he says." - Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
