I think it is perfectly normal to have very high expectations when you go to a restaurant which has 28/30 mark in Zagat (together with some finest restaurants in NY like Per Se and Le Bernardin) and one Michelin star. You do expect a “meal of your life”. But after yesterday’s lunch in Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn, I realized how bias and subjective guides are about this restaurant. It was not that I was disappointed, because it was my third time there and I knew the place, but I imagine that some restaurant connoisseurs, who travel especially for this steakhouse, do feel let down.
Yes, Peter Luger is legendary, “New York’s number 1 steak house for 23 years in a row”, but, on the other hand, it is way too overhyped and overrated for what it is. Nothing special, nothing exceptional. Nor about the place, neither about the food. The steaks were good, but I find the steaks at Sparks or Wolfgang’s in Manhattan as good if not better. (And you don’t have to drive to Brooklyn and spend extra $40 for a round trip). Also, the freshness and the quality of the rest of the products (like shrimp cocktail ) was below average.
So for me, it is out of the question to agree with Zagat and Michelin ratings for this restaurant. As, if to believe in the judgement of Zagat guide, Peter Luger is in the same league as Per Se and Le Bernardin which is complete nonsense.
The image of yesterday’s lunch…
