Peter Luger Steak House Stripped of Michelin Star

Approximately three years after receiving a scathing zero-star review from The New York Times, Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn has been stripped of its Michelin star while 19 other restaurants gained recognition from the fine-dining eating guide for the first time. “This year in New York, there’s a feeling of evolution,” Michelin’s North America chief inspector anonymously told Bloomberg.

While the news about Peter Luger, which was one of three NYC institutions to lose a Micheline star as Carbone and Marea also lost theirs, was somewhat surprising, it really shouldn’t be a massive shock as the writing has kind of been on the wall about the stodgy steakhouse for awhile now. There is still clearly a time and place for a cash-only joint with overpriced plates and rude waiters, but there’s also no need to pretend those are requirements of a fine-dining establishment in 2022.

Brooklyn steakhouse institution Peter Luger is working with @Caviar to allow people to get their food delivered for the first time in the restaurant’s 133-year history.

The steak for one is $57. pic.twitter.com/1qaJ0KucxU
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 19, 2020

There’s also no need for Peter Luger, which offered delivery for the first time in more than 130 years of being open for business during the height of the pandemic, to change because business in Brooklyn is going to be just fine. In fact, we’d wager that the steakhouse’s stakeholders care as much about losing their star from Michelin as they did in 2019 after getting shutout in the star department by The Times.

“We know who we are and have always been. The best steak you can eat. Not the latest kale salad,” general manager David Berson told Eater at the time. “We’re grateful to our customers who continue to pack our house every single day, and especially to our regulars whose emails of encouragement continue to flood our inbox.”