Bobby Flay's Favorite New York Steakhouse Is A Classic Spot
New York City is home to so many excellent steakhouses, so it can be a challenge to narrow the field. The oldest steakhouse in North America co-exists with relative newcomers complete with subterranean speakeasy-style bars in Manhattan alone, not to mention the abundance of options in the outer boroughs. And, if you can't quite choose based on history or location alone, recs from our friends in the food world are as good a place to start as any.
We already trust celebrity chef Bobby Flay for his salad dressing tricks, crème fraîche scrambled egg techniques, and grilling tips. So his steakhouse pick is also inherently sound. Flay's fave is Midtown's own Wolfgang's Steakhouse, which now has locations all over the world. The flagship opened on Park Avenue in 2004, a particularly impressive ongoing run for New York City's ever-changing restaurant landscape. In an even greater feat, Wolfgang's has since expanded to include not only four more locations in the city, but outposts in Japan, China, and South Korea, too.
A long NYC tradition at Wolfgang's Steakhouse
The eponymous Wolfgang is Wolfgang Zwiener. Originally from Germany, Zwiener spent 40 years working as a server at one of those top outer borough classics, Peter Luger, before striking out on his own near retirement age. Although both traded in steak, Wolfgang's had its own identity and reputation from the get-go, least of all the whole expanse of the East River between the titular spot and Luger in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Decades after its opening, Wolfgang's still signals an upscale affair, from the white tablecloths that always indicate even entry-level elegance to the cost, which is nail-bitingly absent from Wolfgang's Park Avenue online menus. A reservation platform, however, lists the price of the steakhouse's filet mignon, a fairly common cut, at $75.95, which puts it firmly in the high-three-to-low-four dollar sign zone of similarly spendy spots around town. Expect dinner for two and a couple of drinks to stretch into the triple digits. And, although those prices aren't unexpected, you might want to brush up on our pro tips for ordering at a steakhouse, just to make sure you're getting the most out of your money.