I’m in Manhattan till end of the week, and I’m thinking of going to Peter Luger in Brooklyn at lunch or diner one of these days.
Some questions:
Is it already too late to book a table?
Is the meat really worth the tag price?
My wife is not a big fan of red meat (I know, shame!), is “steak for one” providing a good idea of what all the fuss is about, or is “steak for two” the only way to go?
Is service really that horrible/unfriendly?
Do they serve wine by the glass? Do I get something acceptable for $10-15?
The problem is that in my experience Peter Luger is variable. When it’s on it’s perhaps the best piece of steak in the city. When it’s off it’s quite good but overpriced and not worth the trip.
I usually order a cocktail in preference to their really boring wine list.
Service is fine. The reputation for bad service is their shtick but I’ve never really encountered it.
Yes, yes, yes!! Peter Lugers is to steak why Joe’s Stone Crabs is to stone crabs. You can find equivalent or better steak/crabs but you cannot duplicate the environment or experience from either place. I go every chance I get when I’m in the city. Make sure you get the strudel mit schlag (again the parallel to Joe’s key lime pie)!
Go and really worth it.
Steak for one is great.
If your wife likes fish, the filet of sole is really good but order it undercooked as the plates and ovensare super hot and it’ll be perfect after it continues to cook.
Whether you go for dinner or lunch, it is a different experience but your server is the key. Both lunch and dinner I enjoy and at lunch you can get a burger but no “German” potatoes which only are available at dinner. No burger for dinner.
Take care of the guy on the way in and ask for an old time server - it’ll make your experience that much better.
If you like beer, half light-half dark Heineken on tap is the ticket otherwise by the glass is tolerable for some red wine.
i don’t think it’s worth it at all. especially in your situation. if you were a bunch of guys, then it could be a fun experience. but even with 2 people that like steak, i’d sooner go to so many other places with better steak and an actual restaurant experience - with delicious other-than-steak food, service, wine, etc.
Went with friends last year. Went to see what it is all about. The steak, the actual meat, was great. Our service that night was professional and polite. It appears to me, granted from my one visit, that Lugars does what they do because they can get away with it. The wine list sucks, they are filling every table every minute so it is very crowded, and they don’t take credit cards (a particular pet peeve of mine-its 2015!). Reservations should be made well in advaice. Don’t like it then f-off because their business isn’t going away. They were busy last year, they are busy this year and they will be busy next year. Its business-get paid when you can!
Again, the food quality is great. My friend (who lives in NYC) went with us an had been before. He went with us because we wanted to go and had not been. He said he wouldn’t go except to take someone in our situation. I feel the same way, I would go back but only with a friend/relative that had not been. Otherwise, I just think there are too many other options in NYC. And, personally, I find steak houses predictable, over-rated and mostly, once you reach a certain level, all the same. I can cook a pretty mean steak at home. But don’t get me wrong, I love steak and Lugar’s is one of the Holy Sites for Beef.
I rarely if ever go to steakhouses. The menus are rarely interesting, and if there is one thing I can do at home (esp. in summer!) it is make a really awesome steak. I am less likely to make a complicated Indian or French dish – for those, the restaurant and the chef add real value. But I have been to Lugers and it is a fun time if you haven’t been
It’s definitely worth going to Peter Luger, especially if you are a steak lover.
I don’t go to steak houses purely based on my own preference, but have gone to most here in the city when my wine-offline group or other groups decides on going to one. But, I will definitely go to Luger without needing any persuasion, as their porterhouse is simply a cut above the rest (pun not intended) in the way they are deliciously aged and prepared. Perfection, imho, over the several years I go to either of Luger restaurants in Brooklyn or Long Island. It’s the only steak place that I go to at least 2X a year because I want to.
I also don’t buy the “unfriendly” service tag, anymore. I suspect that they like to keep that tag to maintain their “tradition”.