Peter Luger Steak House

I took my Dad last Sunday, Feb 4th for lunch. He had the Lamb and I had the sirloin for one. The sides were: German potatoes (just fired potatoes) & creamed spinach. Very dense with spinach best I 've ever had. My steak was glorious. Perfectly cooked with some charcoal bits on the fatty edges. So good. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Service was over the top wonderful. But, I must say I did see others getting not such great service. For dessert we had the Apple Strudel with schlag. How come no one mentioned the schlag!?! The Strudel was warm and delicious, not too sweet with firm apples swirling with raisins and spices. Served with a bowl of schlag (Homemade whipped cream). At first I thought a whole bowl was too much schlag and then ,... I added it to my coffee, and put it on every strudel forkful. YUMMY! Great meal and wonderful company.!

I've been going to Peter Luger ever since 1974 when I read Raymond Sokolov's memorable review in the New York Times of the best steak houses in New York. I tried all of his recommendations then, and I've dined at virtually all of the new steak houses that have opened in the city since then. None can be compared with Luger. In fact, the steaks are now definitely better than ever, and even the potatoes are still superior to all others. (Try both the exceptional french fries and the hash browns .) Service has always been woefully underrated at this restaurant, by the way, so it's difficult to comprehend the critical comments about this aspect at Luger, even in the Zagat guide. The only defect in their food is the rolls, which are too ordinary compared to the superb ones that they used to get from a local bakery. I much prefer the original restaurant in Brooklyn to the Great Neck location, and I keep hoping that they'll consider opening a third Luger in Bergen County, NJ, where I live. But - and I can't emphasize this enough - having a steak at Luger is a unique experience unmatched by any other restaurant in the New York City area, and when I go there nowadays and taste my first slice of their steak, it's just like it was in '74: unreal and unlike any other meat I've ever had anywhere. In a word: sublime.

Stop the Baloney! Peter Luger always was and still is the best steak in town. I've gone to them all because I live in NYC, and no one else has perfected that "NY steak house taste". It's that elusive charcoal tainted, slightly-burnt but delicious taste we are all unconsciously looking for in our steaks that defines Peter Luger. As Johnny Carson said:'The single best meal I have ever had in my life."

The Lugars in BK is the best steak period. Yes the servers are very rude and pushy but thats part of the experience there.

They have been around and thriving for as long as they have because they're the best.

I wouldn't normally go out of my way to post a review for a place I didn't even eat at, but this establishment really called for the effort. My husband and I were going out to celebrate the news that I am pregnant. Whenever we celebrate out, we go to a steakhouse and we've dropped a lot of money at many of the steakhouses in the city so we decided to finally get over to Peter Luger's and give them a try for this occasion. When we entered, we had to kind of figure out that the bulletproof-glass cubicle in the foyer was actually the payment area and the Maitre'D stand because the gentlemen leaning up against it there just stared blankly at us, as if it is a test to determine your worthiness of eating in their establishment, depending upon whether or not you realize you have to make your way to them in order to receive a greeting. Well, we made our way over, were gracious and polite, "Hello! How are you?" etc...Not so much as a response, the grey-haired man (the one that looks like Denis Farina- you know who you are) widened his eyes, jerked forward his head and threw open his arms shrugging-ly in an "And, what?" kind of expression to us. So we asked for a table for two for dinner which elicited a verbal response this time, "Well, do you have a reservation?!" he aggressively snapped back. We didn't because the majority of the steakhouses we've gone to, we never needed one and they're just as busy. So we said, "No" and he replied, "Well, I don't know what you expect, there won't be anything for 2 hours" which we would have waited no problem if we weren't so rudely received, but we decided to go with old faithful (and apparently their rival) Benjamin's Steakhouse instead, making sure to let this nice man know that's where we'd be going, to which he actually huffed at us, made his little "I'm so Brooklyn" arm gesture and facial expression (man, I'm a native New Yorker too, I take just as little crap from people, but courtesy doesn't prompt rudeness except in jerks) and said "Well, have a good night" in a sarcastic tone of voice. I didn't understand what was so off-putting to him about our entrance in the place, I guess we didn't have the appearance of money written in our young faces or casual attire, but we definitely spent our dollars where they were appreciated at Benjamin's, where we had a fantastic celebratory meal. Just throwing this out there.

I've been to most great steak houses in NYC and Long Island and I can honestly say this is the worst steak I've had at a place with a good reputation. It just seems like it wasn't aged at all, was quite tasteless. Also be aware (and that part I am fine with) is that there is essentially nothing else on the menu other than the one kind of steak that they serve, and some side-dishes. The atmosphere is quite original, but certainly not cozy or upscale. Service is VERY rushed; the waiter came up to us several times to ask if we were done. Wine list is very limited, drinks are bad. The verdict: maybe go once to say that you've been to Peter Luger and perhaps you will like it better than I did! My recommendation for the best steak: Rothman's on Long Island.