Smith & Wollensky — Restaurant in New York

Ever since I watched Andy Sachs pick up a juicy hunk of steak from Smith & Wollensky in The Devil Wears Prada, this restaurant had remained a formative part of my NYC dream for over a decade. I never thought I would get the chance to eat here, but my partner made this dream come true by booking us a reservation for the 8pm wine dinner for my birthday. Unbelievably, the TLDR is Smith & Wollensky exceeded expectations on all counts, and quickly rewrote the singular and underwhelming steakhouse experience I had at Morton's in 2016.

On the wine dinner experience ($95pp, Th-Sat after 8pm): If you arrive a bit ahead of your reservation, then you can wait at the bar for a complimentary pour of prosecco or dry martini. IDK how the tip division works out with the fixed price wine dinners, but I always think it's courteous to tip your bartender at the bar. I recommend bringing some cash for tip if you get the complimentary drink.

The pre-fixe menu for the wine dinner is very generous for all courses, and the additional charges for extra sides are reasonable for the price range. We each got our choice of appetizer, steak/entree, dessert. At no point did it feel like the menu was limited or only consisted of non-premium selections. Together, we got the little-neck clams, oysters, truffle filet mignon, hanger steak, chocolate cake, and coconut creme cake with mango sorbet. We also ordered an additional side of loaded baked potato gratin, because we foolishly thought the steak portions would be smaller than we'd hoped. In fact, the steaks were were huge, and we ended up so full of food and wine that we packed up basically the entirety of the desserts and most of the potatoes to-go. Everything was delicious, and the wine kept on coming.

Edwin was our main server and we were also waited on by Brice, who were both amazing. Their service was professional and personable; we enjoyed the banter exchanged over the course of our meal! I am apparently the second person that has told Edwin about my Smith & Wollensky dream being a product of The Devil Wears Prada. Edwin was also the one who did the flambé of the truffle au poivre sauce for the filet mignon, which was so cool that I had to film it. Then, after Edwin took our dessert orders, he along with Brice et. al. came out and sang a big happy birthday to me, presenting me with an extra dessert topped with a candle! I was very excited for this but maybe it looked like I was crying because Edwin patted me on the back afterwards and said "I thought this would make you happy???" and I quickly reassured him that this was actually the best birthday ever. My partner told me that he was intercepted by the waiters when he was coming out of the bathroom, so that they could ask him for my preferred dessert option besides the two that we already picked. This is such a nice touch honestly, the atmosphere around our table was just so fun and I was happy to end it there after dessert...

But it wasn't the end yet! After we paid, we wanted to say thank you and goodbye to Edwin but we couldn't find him, so we asked a managerial looking fellow in a sharp suit if he knew where he was. The manager, Alex, brought Edwin out, and then asked if it was our first time at Smith & Wollensky ('yes, but it has been my dream for over a decade!'). He beckoned us downstairs and told us to leave our bags with the host stand. This man brought us to the wine cellar and put a crazy expensive bottle of wine in my hands (I think it was $13,000??? Or maybe it could have been $1300 honestly IDK I blacked out with shock either way I think). He told us some fun tidbits, and showed us one of his favorite wines from Napa Valley. THEN he took us to the dry age walk-in cooler, where I was surrounded by rows and rows of beef at various stages of aging. Never in my life did I think I would ever experience the beautiful smell of a dry-age cooler outside of a Youtube video or Netflix documentary. Alex if you are reading this thank you so much for going above and beyond to round out this perfect experience. I hope to...

Sunday mass comes once a week, but the religious experience of dining at Smith and Wollensky’s can be achieved any day of the week. This place is where trash meets class: The Applebees of the Big Apple. I find myself craving to come back before I walk out. Plotting when is an acceptable period before I can enter the gates of food heaven again. I keep making up excuses to come back almost weekly. This week I held my cat's funeral reception dinner at S&W and the week before I celebrated my coworker's nefews having his bar mitzva after overhearing her talk about it by the water cooler.

You either have class or you don't. S&W is the epitome of class. This is obvious when they shuttle you to their high-class bar for a complimentary drink if your table isn’t ready at the time of your reservation. This fine establishment is Technically a chain restaurant with ten locations worldwide but you would be making an ass of yourself if you qualified it one.

If you want to do it right make sure you go to the weekend wine dinner that is offered after 8 pm Thursday- Saturday. The dinner comes with endless wine that the waiters push on you like they have a stake in the sales of the particular wine. Every rehab facility within the Tristate area should write a handwritten thank you note to S&W thanking them for keeping them in business. The endless wine has a flow rate higher than the Mississippi and the food leaves you stuffed like the Thanksgiving turkey. I recommend not planning a night on the town after this reservation because you will be so full of great food and wine that you will want to retreat to your sleeping corners as fast as possible. While it's technically not all you can eat I would love to see how man vs food would hold up to the wine dinner. The portion size makes other steakhouses look stingy. if you have European friends coming to town to visit, Please take them here first and act like it's a typical American restaurant After I feast on a huge plate of thick-cut bacon I can barely look at my steak. It’s only when I take a bite of the perfectly aged, seasoned, and masterfully cooked meat that I can muster up eating more. The meat gods would most certainly turn you vegan if you let a filet go to waste within the confines of the S&W walls. By the time the desert hits and the meat sweats are in full swing I usually just admire its appearance rather than try and eat the whole cake that they claim is just a slice.

All the food is great but you would be missing out if you left with trying the signature think cut bacon. If my mention above wasn’t enough to convince you to get it I hope this second shoutout does. I have stopped eating other bacon because of the letdown and the depression that follows. It’s hard to drive a Prius after taking a Ferrari for a spin.

The drinks are nothing to joke about. The martini is always the obvious choice in NYC, especially at S&W. You will not find a bigger martini anywhere in the world unless you are at one of the other 9 locations. The size of the glass is big enough to keep Shamu the orca happy,

If you take away everything else the people make S&W worth it. The staff is so warm they make feel like you have been invited over to their house for a meal; no shocker they all have tenures old enough to vote.

Smith and Wollensky’s is more than just a restaurant to me. My origin starts at the S&W in Miami twenty-two years and nine months ago at my parent's anniversary dinner (true story). Eating the same food and drinking the same wine that fueled my conception is an honor, especially at the original S&W In NYC.

Smith and Wollenskies I will devote my life to promoting you if you start comping my meals. I rate Smith and Wollensky’s a perfect 9.9 and would give it three Michelin...

(Last visited 12/30/2022.) Hanging out in New York City to celebrate bringing in the new year and it's dinner time on the night before New Year's Eve! While searching through the bookmarks on my Yelp app I came across Smith & Wollensky. I had it bookmarked for a reason, right? So I checked out the menu and came across this thing called "Weekend Wine Dinner". I like wine. My wife likes wine, so I checked it out. I'll discuss it more below...

Atmosphere/Appearance: Located in Midtown 3rd Avenue and 49th Street is this gem. It's been here since 1977 and is a staple in the city. The inside is pretty straightforward. It's a steakhouse with dim, intimate lighting, staff wearing cream blazers and ties with lots of bright woods decorating the interior. It was a bit loud in here, but it's New York City on a weekend, get over it. Lol. I loved the atmosphere in here and it just felt so lively, full of energy.

Service: Things moved a bit slow, but we were told someone was out sick so we just chilled out. Besides that, everything went smoothly.

Food: Alright, the "Weekend Wine Dinner" is some S & W offers Thursday through Saturday after 8:00pm. For $95.00 per person, you are able to get an appetizer, entree, dessert and "copious" amounts of wine. (Practically unlimited.) We didn't get cut off, but boy we had SO MANY GLASSES. You can rotate between 4 choices which were "Pasqua Prosecco" from Veneto, Italy. Smith & Wollensky's own Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma, CA. Moulin de Gassaacv 'Guihelm' Rosé from Languedoc, France and The Seeker Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza, Argentina. For our appetizers we checked out the shrimp cocktail and the Maryland style crab cake, but there were 10 to choose from if those aren't your fancy. The shrimp were huge and cooked excellently. I wish the cocktail sauce had more horseradish in it, but eh. The crab cake was HUGE, fluffy, fresh, flavorful and delicious. I was very impressed. For our entrees we of course chose the classic filet mignon, but you can get it topped in various ways for no extra charge! It was cooked PERFECTLY, was tender, juicy, thick and just really blew me away for the value. We chose broccoli and asparagus as our sides to try being healthier. Nothing to report there. For dessert we had sorbet or something, again, to try being healthy. Lol. I loved this whole idea.

Value: I mean, C'MON! $95.00 per person for the app, that huge filet with sides, the dessert and the copious amounts of wine is just INCREDIBLE! I want to get back here soon to freaking do this again!

In conclusion, I loved this place and I feel like a Weekend Wine Dinner is the only way I'll be able to eat here. Lol. I've been spoiled by it and hope to get...