Gold-wrapped steak, bottomless Dom Pérignon: Inside one restaurant’s $20K NYE dinner
This is for the belle of the New Year’s Eve ball-ers.
New York City’s Empire Steak House is “blinging” in the New Year with a lavish, $20,000 NYE feast for two featuring gold-wrapped steaks, bottomless Dom Pérignon and other ritzy dishes.
“People want something unusual,” co-owner Jack Sinanaj, 53, told The Post of the iced-out NYE spread. “Of course, they want to pay money. I said, ‘Why not? Let’s make something unforgettable.’ “
For the past decade, Empire has offered a similarly opulent spread for $10,000. However, Sinanaj decided to double the price to keep up with inflation. He also feels that New Yorkers are splashing out more amid the recent economic upswing.
“I know the economy is not coming back that fast, but it’s still coming back,” declared the Montenegro native, who opened the first restaurant in 2010 with his brothers Jack and Russ after moving to NYC in the 1980s. Sinanaj said he can see the financial comeback in the way the customers are spending.
If you can’t afford this gastronomic gold mine, well, this meal’s for high “steaks” rollers only.
To wit, the menu starts with a bang with a “toast” of Beluga caviar (not to be confused “with a bump,” which is all the rage among Zoomer TikTok gourmands).
Appetizers include a choice of shrimp cocktail, seared sesame tuna, fresh oysters, fried calamari or grilled octopus. Then, diners get to select one of three salads: a beefsteak tomato and mozzarella, mixed greens or a Caesar salad.
Sound like fairly standard upmarket fare so far? Not to worry, because next up — drumroll, please — is a cavalcade of gilded courses whose lavishness would shock even Caligula.
First up, a resplendent pasta course. Patrons can choose between the gnocchi with pesto and lobster, both of which are adorned with 34-karat gold leaves like an edible Renaissance painting.
If that weren’t lavish enough, how about Wagyu meatballs baptized in a creamy, gold sauce?
And all that gilded age splendor is before the entrees for which diners are offered a choice of branzino, Wagyu tomahawk steak and a filet — all of them cocooned in 24-karat gold.
Sinanaj said he even jetted the Wagyu in fresh from Japan.
Diners can descend from this culinary Mount Olympus with the selection of more standard steakhouse sides, including home fries, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.
For dessert, patrons can choose between either tiramisu, cheesecake or chocolate mouse cake.
Wash it all down with a 2011 Petrus from Bordeaux, France — which runs an eye-watering $12,095 per bottle — and, of course, the bottomless Dom Pérignon.
Sinanaj advises customers against overindulging on bubbly in one sitting so they can try to enjoy their pricey celebration.
Naturally, this price tag is exorbitant, especially since it doesn’t account for tax and tip; for the latter, Sinanaj recommends diners pay a standard 10% to 20% — which would clock in around $2,000 to $4,000.
The porterhouse honcho acknowledges that the meal’s “not for everybody.” However, he feels that if someone has five figures to shell out on an expensive watch, they “definitely have $20,00 for one dinner.”
Fortunately for the hoi polloi who don’t have $20K to burn, Empire also offers a “discount” $950 menu for two.
It includes largely similar food choices, although customers will receive a bottle of rare brut Champagne instead of the Petrus and unlimited Dom Pérignon.
Sinanaj ultimately hopes his NYE menu gets the gold rush-esque response it did last year when 100 customers reserved the $10,000 NYE repaste.
“We have people calling and asking,” he said. “They have questions about the menu. So let’s see. I hope we’re going to sell a lot.”
The menu will be offered at the Empire Steak House outlets in both its Midtown East and West locations. Sinanaj also has a branch in Times Square, as well as one in Singapore.
