'Diabolical taste': Celebrity NYC restaurateur dishes dirt as he recalls serving Trump

Long before he was president, Donald Trump was a New York celebrity who frequented the Big Apple’s restaurant scene — and he left an indelible mark.

In an exclusive interview with People, celebrity restaurateur Keith McNally recalled his interactions with Trump.

For two years, the now-president was a regular at McNally’s NYC hotspot, Balthazar, after its 1997 opening.

“Even then, he seemed like a caricature of a rich, pushy New Yorker with diabolical taste. But he wasn't offensive. In fact, he was very decent to me,” McNally told People.

“All the same, he wasn't too bright and if someone had told me that one day he'd be president I'd have thought they were certifiable.”

McNally is now promoting his new book in which he recalls his most infamous run-ins with the who’s-who of New York City.

“Even though I missed meeting Henry VIII by four hundred years, I did meet his modern-day equivalent, Donald Trump,” McNally wrote in the book.

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He recalls that Trump had invited him to come look at a restaurant space to rent in a building he owned on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

"Walking through a series of overdecorated spaces, we passed one that was noticeably less gaudy than the others. I asked the Don if that restaurant space was also for rent. ‘No, that one’s taken. I guaranteed it to someone else a month ago.”

McNally added, “There was a pause before Trump added with a smile: ‘But just because it’s guaranteed doesn’t mean it’s locked in.’”

The restaurateur ultimately did not end up renting the space.