Peter Luger Steak House

chrisp

Great steaks, appalling service 14th August 2008

2 found this helpful

Peter Luger's steakhouse in Brooklyn is considered one of the "must-visit" restaurants in the world, and has been a New York institution for the best part of 100 years. It is very popular, and getting a table can be a bit hit and miss, but we were lucky enough to have friends in lower Manhattan who did the hard work for us before we arrived in town. So it is here we found ourselves heading to in a taxi on the Sunday night, bombing across Brooklyn Bridge with huge wads of dollars in our pockets (Luger's is cash only).

Now lots of restaurants are very very popular and usually very difficult to get into, for various different reasons. Sometimes it is the reputation of the chef (Gordon Ramsay's comes to mind), sometimes relative value and location (Busaba Eatthai on Wardour Street) and sometimes just for serving great food. But you would hope, no matter how difficult a place has been to secure a booking at, once inside and at your table, service will not take advantage of their reputation and will try very hard to make your stay pleasant.

Not so Peter Luger's.

After being kept waiting half an hour, pushed around and shouted at by waiters in a frantically busy stretch of corridor despite being on time for our allotted booking, we were unceremoniously ushered to our table. Here is where, in any normal restaurant, you would be handed the menus but no - we had been informed that this is not considered the done thing; you had to just ask for "steak" and hope for the best. A thought did cross my mind that perhaps we'd better check the price, but that would have also been against protocol.

Luckily for all involved, when the food did arrive, it was quite amazingly good. Strips of bacon were deliciously flavoured and had just the right balance of juicy fat and smokey flesh. The spinach side was buttery and seasoned well, and the fat meaty prawns (or rather shrimp) tasted lovely and fresh. Best of all though - steak of course. Blackened and crispy on the outside, pink and juicy inside, dripping gorgeous fatty juices and tasting like beefy heaven, this really was the perfect example of its kind. Almost worth putting up with the rest of it for.

So really there wasn't any problem with the food, and I don't mind having to empty my bank account of cash before I visit, if that helps them. What I object to is being taken for granted as a customer and for Peter Luger's to just assume that being treated like crap and looked at as a worthless tourist for asking for a menu is an acceptable part of a traditional New York experience. It's all very well saying "it's all about the food", but I draw the line at being abused and insulted for wanting to eat good steak. I get enough of that at work. Apparently Luger's sell the same gorgeously aged USDA steaks from their butchers shop - you can order online. I bet if I bought up the premises next door and sold the same food with a smile on my face I'd make a killing. Worth thinking about.

bellaphon at 18/08/08

OMG, I've always wanted to come to this place but simply couldn't be bothered with having to go through the Spanish Inquisition on getting a US visa.

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gastro1

Best in the world ? 4th March 2008

1 found this helpful

Simply the best steakhouse in the world.

The benchmark for others to follow.

Go for the porterhouse with German Potatoes and the legendary creamed spinach.

The only place I have enjoyed grilled steak ( a cote de boeuf in this case as much ) is the legendary La Tupina in Bordeaux grilled on an open fire and served with french fries fried in goose fat !

If you cannot get a table or do not want to leave Manhatten try Wolfgangs in Park Avenue which was started by an ex employee !