New York's 24 Best Splurge Restaurants!
Plus: Reviews of Bōm, a steakhouse omakase, Rice Thief, a soy crab hotspot, and Kono, a yakitori tasting. It's all part of our luxe guide to New York dining!
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A flame-burnished chicken tail, dripping with hot fat. A puree of frijoles refritos, as rich as chocolate pudding. A slice of koji-aged beef, anointed with caviar. These are the fancy things I’ve been indulging in — to make myself happy when I’m feeling blah, and to take my mind off all the polling numbers in Pennsylvania.
Maybe you’d like to distract yourselves too?
Good. Here’s the second annual edition of The Splurge Guide.
This is where The Lo Times lets you know which pricey restaurants are worth shelling out a few extra bucks for, and which ones you should skip. We also offer intel on how to get in and how much you’ll spend.
This list is price diverse. Some venues will hit $500 or more, but a few will only set you back $100.
This is a list you can skim. But it’s also a guide you can kick back and read. Scroll down for longer reviews of Bōm, a steak omakase that’s tons easier to get into than Cote, Kono, one of the city’s top yakitori spots, and Rice Thief, one of New York’s best places to eat shellfish.
And here’s something new: In the coming month or so we’ll debut The Luxury List, a shorter guide to truffles, jamon iberico, good caviar, foie gras, perfumed kuih, little chocolates, Cantonese king crab, ganjag-gejang, langoustines, inky moles, Persian mushrooms, wagyu that won’t break the bank, and uni. Keep an eye out for it!
The State of Fancy Dining in New York
Los Angeles Times food critic Bill Addison had this to say last month about eating out in San Francisco: “the region endures as the nation’s fine-dining capital. I know, I know, New York, New York: It has the talent but not the mind-blowing produce.”
I don’t agree completely, but I think Bill is making a smart point.
Our city’s fanciest spots don’t necessarily share a loose vernacular, like they do out West — though perhaps money is what unites our fine dining scene. But the good news is that splurge-y dining in the city keeps expanding in all sorts of cool ways.
Does New York have too many $500 omakase spots? Maybe, but great ones continue to open up. Small plate places like Sip & Guzzle and Bar Contra (which I’m saving for future lists) continue to push boundaries with nitro cocktails and truffled bikini sandwiches. And Modern Korean and Modern Mexican fare continue to occupy the creative vanguard of fine dining — pushing expensive eating in the city past Continental and Japanese traditions.
Is more change needed? Sure, these chic venues could use more of the stuff that they’ve historically been fearful of: chiles, funk, organs, slithery textures, messy things, inconvenient things, loud music, fun, and powerful oceanic flavors. But restaurants like Tatiana, Foul Witch, and Corima are pressing up against polite norms. More will follow. And dress codes, thankfully, are continuing to disappear.
Alright, let’s get to the list!
The 2024 Splurge List: Let’s Get Fancy and Fun
Bōm | Steakhouse Luxury, Tweaked
Bōm, a sleek tasting counter in Flatiron, is many things. It’s a new ode to classic luxuries like foie gras, abalone, caviar, and wagyu. It’s also one of the few steak-centric tasting menus in New York. But most practically, it’s where you go for over-the-top Korean BBQ when you can’t get into Cote.
Many white truffles will be shaved, but the predominant aroma is the pungent perfume of dry-aged beef, searing on fiery tabletop grills.
My type of place.