Wolfgang's Steakhouse Review

BLOT: I'd rather go to Peter Luger.

I'd give the porterhouse 4 stars because it is a decent steak but the rest had a lot to be desired.

Medium-rare porterhouse for two

If you didn't already know, Wolfgang's Steakhouse was started by a former Peter Luger waiter, not Chef Wolfgang Puck. (The fact that Wolfgang Puck recently opened his own steakhouse in NYC, called Cut, doesn't make it any less confusing.) So, Wolfgang's Steakhouse is a copycat of Peter Luger in menu and how they serve the porterhouse. Yelp reviews of other Wolfgang's locations weren't good, so I decided to try their flagship location on Park Avenue.

When I arrived for my reservation, I was checked in by two young women at the host stand right away, but told to wait for someone to seat my party. Another party came in after me, and an old guy in a suit (maître d'?) walks up to the stand and motions for my party to step aside even more than we already were. He stands there smiling at the other party waiting for them to remove their coats and chit chat. Then, he seats them first at a table that already has guests sitting. Clearly, he favors this other party, but it's rude to disregard other paying customers.

I've worked at a restaurant, so I know friends, VIPs and regulars get preferential treatment. But he could have seated us in the time he stood there waiting for the other party, or he could have asked one of the young women to seat us instead of making us wait and watch him kiss up to the other party. Not a good way to guarantee repeat business.

When he seats us, he stops at a table in the main dining room but then decides to take us to the back room and tries to sell it as "quieter". The back room is darker, looks run down, and only had a couple of other seated tables which notably were all minorities. The decor looks like they originally tried to be an upscale steakhouse but they skimp on up keep. I sat facing a terrible paint job of different colors because an expensive steakhouse couldn't spend the money/time to repaint the whole room. Maybe that's why the back room was darkly lit. And this is their flagship location?

Our waiters weren't very friendly and just went through the motions without explaining anything. For the tips they get at an expensive steakhouse, they could make just a little effort in trying to earn it. Our main waiter didn't even have the courtesy to say bye when he walked by us on the way out.

As for the food, the crab cake did not have too much binder/filler and tasted fine. The bread basket was meh. The medium rare porterhouse (currently $49.95 per person) was good, but we thought the one at Peter Luger's tasted better and was more tender. The side of sautéed mushrooms was extremely salty almost making it inedible. But I hate wasting food and money so I forced myself to eat it.

When we left, a huge (literally & figuratively) middle-aged douchebag was blocking the door. He's the epitome of the arrogant male steakhouse patron out with his boys club. He barely moved and we still couldn't get around, and he made dumbass comments to harass me. Got no help from the hostesses who just stood there watching.

Extremely disappointed given that a lot of people rave about Wolfgang's (along with Luger's). I wouldn't go back even if someone wanted to try it or offered to pay. I'd rather go to Peter Luger for better service and food.

My Rating (out of 5): 1.5

Wolfgang's Steakhouse
4 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
wolfgangssteakhouse.net/parkave/