Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York.

The Michelin Guide Removed Luger’s Star in 2019 and Nobody Stopped Going

Peter Luger has operated at 178 Broadway in Williamsburg, Brooklyn since 1887. The dining room has dark wood, plain walls, white tablecloths, and waiters who have worked there for years and are famously brusque. The Michelin Guide removed the star in 2019, citing inconsistency and sides that didn’t meet the level implied by the rating. Regulars treated this as essentially irrelevant. The reservation list remained months out. Both perspectives have merit.

The porterhouse is the reason to go. USDA prime grade beef, dry-aged on site for 28 days – a process that concentrates flavour and tenderises the muscle through enzymatic activity. The cut is a thick T-bone from the short loin with a tenderloin section on one side and a New York strip on the other. It arrives pre-sliced off the bone from the kitchen, pre-buttered, sitting in its own rendered fat in a copper serving dish. The presentation is not decorative; it is functional and it works. The crust has significant char. The interior should be pink. Order it medium-rare. If you order well-done, the waiter will suggest you reconsider.

The Rest of the Menu

The thick-cut bacon appetiser is a serious slab of pork – essentially a thick slice of pancetta grilled until the fat is rendered and the exterior is crisp. It is a course, not a garnish, and should be ordered.

The hash brown potatoes are crispy and rich. The creamed spinach is standard steakhouse creamed spinach done well. The tomato and onion salad with Luger sauce (Worcestershire-based, thick, sharp) sounds wrong but cuts the richness of the steak correctly. The Luger Burger, made from trimmings of the dry-aged porterhouse beef, is available at lunch only and is not to be missed if you are visiting for lunch rather than dinner.

The Logistics

Address: 178 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211. The L train stops at Marcy Avenue, 5 minutes’ walk.

Reservations: book by phone (718-387-7400) or through the website. Friday and Saturday dinner slots book weeks to months ahead. Lunch is more accessible.

Payment: cash only, or the Peter Luger credit card issued directly by the restaurant. Visa, Mastercard, and Amex are not accepted. This is not an oversight; it is policy and it has been policy since before credit cards were common. Bring cash. There is an ATM inside if you arrive unprepared.

Tipping: 20% is the floor in New York restaurants.

The Neighbourhood

Williamsburg has changed dramatically from the industrial-and-bohemian neighbourhood it was in the 1990s and 2000s. It is now broadly gentrified, with high-end residential buildings alongside the older Polish delis and Puerto Rican restaurants that were there before the migration.

Brooklyn Brewery on North 11th Street is a 5-minute walk. The taproom is open most days.

Smorgasburg – the outdoor food market – operates Saturdays in Williamsburg and Sundays in Prospect Park from April through November and pairs logically with a Luger visit.

Honest Assessment

On a good night, the porterhouse is as good as dry-aged beef gets anywhere in New York City. The service, if you arrive knowing what to expect, has an efficient honesty that many fussy fine-dining restaurants would benefit from. The sides are reliable rather than exceptional. The wine list is short and overpriced. Come for the steak, order the bacon, and understand going in that the waiter’s manner is house style rather than personal hostility.