📉 NYC’s Restaurant Scene Shifts Away from Expensive Tasting Menus 📉
As inflation impacts spending habits, many diners in New York City are opting for flexibility and affordability over the time-consuming, high-priced tasting menus that have dominated fine dining. Industry leaders are responding by shifting toward shareable, à la carte options that give diners more choice.
For restaurateurs like Jeff Katz and Chef Melissa Rodriguez, this shift is personal. Their new concept, Crane Club, embraces a communal dining experience that pairs a la carte options with a sophisticated, yet approachable, menu featuring dishes like wood-grilled Dover sole and dry-aged bone-in filet mignon. A custom 12-foot Mibrasa grill takes center stage, along with a 1,000-bottle wine list to elevate the experience.
At $200+ per tasting menu, the former format at upscale spots like Eleven Madison Park and Le Bernardin now feels out of touch for today’s diners. The Crane Club’s design reflects this sentiment, transforming the historic Del Posto space into an intimate setting of 35 tables and a focus on shared experiences.
Is this the end of tasting menus in NYC? As dining preferences evolve, so do the creative responses of the industry. Food is following the cycles of fashion and music: consumers want choices, connection, and experience on their own terms.
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Business Development Specialist at PRIMO 1 IN PRODUCE, INC/Paxos Foods
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