Brian Nagele
With our guide to the most lavish and opulent dining experiences, take a gastronomic trip through the busy streets of New York City. We’ll reveal the best restaurants in the city that never sleeps in this post, where mouthwatering cuisine and flawless service collide. There are many fancy restaurants in New York City, and they’re all well-known for their own ambience, skillful cooking, and extravagance. These places redefine fine dining in the Big Apple, from upscale eateries showcasing globally inspired haute cuisine to exclusive Michelin-starred restaurants providing painstakingly crafted tasting menus. Our investigation honors the priciest eateries in New York City, where decadence has no limits and each dish is a work of art. Come along with us as we explore these culinary paradises, where mouthwatering cuisine, elegant settings, and unmatched service come together to provide an amazing dining experience at the height of luxury.
The Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
431 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018
Phone: 718-243-0050
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Only in New York can you find a restaurant with three Michelin Stars at the back of a grocery foods market. Located at the Brooklyn Fare food market in Hudson Yard, The Chef’s Table is a Japanese restaurant by Executive Chef Cesar Ramirez. Chef Ramirez fuses French cooking methods with traditional Japanese dishes in an ever-changing seasonal multicourse meal. The menu is a 12-course tasting menu featuring multiple plates of seafood, two red meat dishes, and two desserts. Each dish is a work of culinary art, gone in just a few bites. I was worried I’d still be hungry, but the richness of each dish and the perfection of their execution left me more than satisfied.
Jean-Georges
1 Central Park West, New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-299-3900
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Located in a bright and airy space with floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor of the Trump Tower, Jean-Georges is the namesake bistro by founder and world-renowned French chef Jean George Vongerichten. Jean-George is Haute French cuisine at its finest in a stunning setting surrounded by the greenery of Central Park. It has received three Michelin stars and has been the centerpiece feature in every notable culinary review, from the New York Times to Vogue. A meal at Jean-Georges is one of the most sought-after experiences in America. The menu is a multi-course tasting menu with a wine pairing. My favorite dish was the crispy beef short rib with red wine smoked chili glaze and polenta fries.
Le Bernardin
155 W 51st St, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-554-1515
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Receiving more James Beard Awards than any other New York City restaurant, Le Bernardin is a French fine dining restaurant that specializes in seafood. It originated in Paris in 1972, garnering a Michelin star before opening a sister restaurant in New York in 1986. It has since become a Midtown treasure, and the only restaurant to win New York Times four-star rating three decades running. Owner Maguy Le Coze and head Chef Eric Ripert continue to wow guests with exquisite multi-course seafood meals. They have a Chefs tasting menu for carnivores and vegetarians along with an a la carte menu. The plating of each dish was so spectacular that I had to snap a picture of each one before digging in. I loved the steamed Halibut with confit baby potatoes over a truffled-fine herbs sauce Vierge.
Masa
The Shops at 10 Columbus Cir Floor 4, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-823-9800
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Owned and run by Chef Masa Takayama, Masa is a sushi bar and Japanese restaurant in a beautiful and serene space on the fourth floor of Columbus Circle’s Time Warner Building. Masa isn’t just the most expensive restaurant in New York, it’s also the most expensive restaurant in the world. It is an Omakase experience that engages all the senses and is worth the nearly thousand-dollar per head cost. Chef Masa is a legendary chef both in Japan and New York, and Masa is his pride-and-joy restaurant. The menu changes seasonally and showcases his very best dishes. I couldn’t even begin to describe the meal with words, and since the menu changes so often, you’ll just have to see and taste it for yourself.
Momofuku Ko
8 Extra Pl, New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-203-8095
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Momofuku Ko is a Japanese Kaiseki restaurant in a hip and alternatively fashionable dining space in the East Village. It opened in 2008 and has received two Michelin stars every year since. It was also ranked as one of the World’s Best Restaurants and received the New York Times’s coveted 3-star rating. Kaiseki cuisine is the Japanese equivalent of fine-dining, multicourse traditions that showcase a multitude of traditional and modern cooking methods at the height of their execution. The menu is prix fixe, featuring 10 courses over three hours. Each dish is paired with a glass of fine wine. My favorite dish was the foie gras with pine nut, lychee, and Riesling sauce.
Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-823-9335
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Another Columbus Circle gem, Per Se is a traditional French restaurant from world-famous Chef Thomas Keller whose Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry is considered one of the best in the world Per Se is an iteration of The French Laundry, offering the same nine-course daily tasting menu and massive 2000-bottle wine list. Per Se has three Michelin Stars and the French seal of approval from their most venerated culinary associations, including Relais & Chateaux, Relais Gourmands, and Traditions & Qualité organization. Catering to meat eaters and vegetarians alike, Per Se has a daily nine-course vegetable menu and nine-course tasting menu wherein you never see the same ingredient twice.
Daniel
60 E 65th St, New York, NY 10065
Phone: 212-288-0033
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Daniel is a glamorous fine dining restaurant and a quintessential Park Avenue institution that’s been around for nearly 30 years. Its elegant carved stone façade opens into a glorious Old World dining space with carved ceilings, grand arches, and columns. Named for its head Chef and French native Daniel Boulud, Daniel specializes in classic European cuisine. Daniel is one of a handful of restaurants to receive The New York Times’ full four-star rating. Their French wine list has the finest bottles from every famed region, while the menu features seasonal ingredients from New York’s local bounty. The multi-course menu was sophisticated, refined, and playful. I loved the Manchester Farms Quail stuffed with foie gras and served with Castroville artichoke, Spatze, mulberry, and Monk Pepper Jus.
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-889-0905
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Overlooking Madison Square Park in an iconic Art Deco building, Eleven Madison Park is a contemporary American fine dining restaurant that has been a Flatiron fixture for 25 years. Executive chef and owner Daniel Humm serves an entirely plant-based multicourse tasting menu, donating a portion of each meal’s earnings to a New York-based non-profit that works towards preventing food insecurity. Eleven Madison Park has won 8 James Beard Awards, three Michelin Stars, and the New York Times’ four-star rating, proving that plant-based food is every bit as creative and delicious as meat. If I could describe spring in a dish, it would be Eleven Madison Park’s toasted rice with sugar snaps and English peas over coconut yogurt with dill, jalapeno, onion, and garlic sofrito.
L’Appart
225 Liberty St, New York, NY 10281
Phone: 212-981-8577
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L’Appart is an intimate and cozy dining experience that evokes the atmosphere of a dinner party. Located in downtown Manhattan inside Le District, L’Appart is a Michelin-starred restaurant inside Executive Chef Nico Abello’s apartment. It is quite literally a meal crafted in his own kitchen right in front of you. Chef Abello creates a market-driven multi-course meal that changes with each visit. It’s almost a collaborative experience between the Chef and his guests as you advise him of your dietary preferences before you go.My meal started with caviar, followed by a phyllo dough tartelette stuffed with house-made ricotta, zucchini, and eggplant. Those were just the “snacks”! This is a dinner party to top all dinner parties.
The Musket Room
265 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-219-0764
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The Musket Room is a charming Nolita neighborhood bistro with a Michelin star and the Infatuation’s vote for the Best Restaurant Patio in NYC. The rustic-chic interior dining space and backyard offer a cozy and romantic atmosphere in which to enjoy a world-class, globally inspired meal. Executive Chef Mary Attea recently took over, updating its New Zealand-inspired menu with a more global approach that reflects her Middle Eastern heritage and world travels. She offers a multi-course tasting menu for both meat eaters and vegans. I chose the omnivore menu and was blown away by the veal sweetbreads with cauliflower, muscat, and hazelnut.
The Modern
9 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-333-1220
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As the name suggests, The Modern is the Museum of Modern Art’s premier fine dining restaurant in an exquisite dining space overlooking the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden. In addition to an impeccable design worthy of its own exhibition, The Modern has received two Michelin stars, three stars from the New York Times, and four James Beard Awards. Executive Chef Thomas Allan has created a contemporary American menu as artistic as the MOMA’s famed exhibits. I spent the morning wandering through the museum before savoring a spectacular lunch at The Modern. My favorite dish was the dry-aged duck with bok choy and poached peaches.
