Iconic NYC Steakhouse Peter Luger Gets Zero Stars in Scathing New York Times Review

Peter Luger got two stars from the New York Times in its last review in 2007

What to Know

  • NYC steak icon Peter Luger got zero stars in a new New York Times review Tuesday
  • Critic Pete Wells said the restaurant, which got two stars in 2007, was "far from the best" in the city
  • The steakhouse still holds a Michelin star and remains on Zagat's list of New York City's best

Peter Luger Steak House, the iconic Brooklyn beef palace whose name is a byword for luxury New York eating, got a shock downgrade to zero stars in a blistering New York Times review Tuesday.

Peter Luger, long famous for its cash-only policy and receipts counted in the multiple hundreds of dollars, has started serving potatoes that are "mealy and bland," fish that's "dry and almost powdery" and signature steaks that are "far from the best New York has to offer," the paper's reviewer Pete Wells wrote.

Wells also condemned service he characterized as "weary, detached, impersonal" and a wine list he said "gets less appealing every year."

It was the 132-year-old restaurant's first review in the paper in 12 years; in 2007, it got two stars. 

The review was so biting that the restaurant's name quickly began to trend on Twitter, where people described it as "brutal," "savage" and even "scorched earth."

Luger still holds one star in the Michelin guide, and remains on Zagat's list of the city's top 10 steakhouses. 

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