PEAK
Ambiance
At the very top of the 1,296-foot tall tower is Peak. With sprawling windows, the view alone is worth paying for. Funnily enough, I don’t say that facetiously, I say it in that New Yorkers and tourists alike pay for the view—wait for it—one floor down. Peak sits on the 101st floor, that is one floor above the Edge which is the highest observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. If you sit by a window, you can quite literally watch Edge viewers take in the view.
As it should, the restaurant celebrates the view. There are little obstructions to the windowed areas—even the ultra modern bar-shaped chandeliers hang high and in the center of the space so as to not get in the way. As with all of the Rockwell Group designed restaurants I’ve encountered, the small details are well thought out. Here, I particularly love that the water glasses on the tables hit the most by natural sunlight are a golden yellow color so that they light up as the sun cascades through the windows and directly into them, while the more internal tables have the same glassware in blue to blend in with the cool-toned less direct light—awesome.
I am certain that tons of people take the 52-second elevator ride to the 101st floor to Peak predominantly for the view which makes this restaurant ripe for becoming a very gimmicky New York City tourist attraction. The reason it’s not is because the cuisine is extraordinary. The modern New York City inspired cuisine balances out the attraction side of the restaurant—it leaves guests floored.
Cuisine
The only thing more elevated than the restaurant itself is Executive Chef Rose Noel’s (check out my interview with Chef Rose here) novel seasonally-inspired menu. As with all of my favorite menus, the focus here is celebrating the simplicities while simultaneously the intricacies of each ingredient. Every dish has its own moment. The Strip Steak is a stunning dish but not solely because of the steak. This New York Strip lay sliced next to an artistic celebration of vegetables—a swirl of parsnip purée (of which I could eat a whole bowl full) with perfectly halved King Trumpet Mushrooms and a few bites of sunchoke laying atop of it while individual outer leaves from a Brussel Sprout danced through it all connecting the ingredients and transforming this side into a gorgeous beautifully balanced work of art.
With a menu that is focused on three areas Land, Sea, and Garden, there are creatively crafted dishes for every kind of diner. From what I could see, there wasn’t a single weak point. In fact, dare I say it, my favorite dish of the day was the Chicory Salad. As a girl who loves salad, I have eaten a ton of them which makes it insanely high praise to say that, to-date, this is my favorite salad. The chicory paired with D’Anjou pear, walnut, and Gorgonzola Dolce isn’t just a bunch of well-crafted ingredients tossed together, it’s an extremely thoughtfully crafted masterpiece both architecturally and flavorfully. Every piece of gorgonzola is strategically tucked into place, each tiny nut cluster placed close the cheese to balance the sweet and funky flavors masterfully. The bitterness of the cooked chicory was balanced by the sweetness of the strokes of salad dressing. I equate it to a Jackson Pollock painting, where one expects the chaos but when you look closer you find the unmissable harmony. Not everyone can throw paint and have their artwork hanged in the MoMA, and not every chef can curate the gestalt found in Chef Rose’s salad.
My Favorite Dishes
CHICORY SALAD with D'Anjou Pear, Walnut, and Gorgonzola Dolce (gf)
HIRAMASA with Coconut and Coriander (gf)
NEW YORK STRIP STEAK Sunchoke, Brussel Sprouts, King Trumpet Mushroom (gf)
CRUNCHY TOAST Chocolate Cremeux, Butterscotch Ice Cream
PUMPKIN SPICED GATEAUX Gingerbread, Candied Pecans, Condensed Milk Ice Cream
What To Wear
When you peer around the Peak restaurant, it is abundantly clear which guests are tourists and which are New Yorkers. Situated above the very expensive Hudson Yards Mall filled with high-end brands, you will absolutely see some guests wearing branded Louis Vuitton sweatshirts. Others, doll up with a leather pant, sweater, fur vest, and heels. I recommend dressing in a clean look that leans more towards contemporary stylish than buttoned up. I wore a silk top that tied at the bottom with a lace black lace bralette peeking out, lightly distressed black jeans, and a flat black bootie.
Kid Friendly
I loved bringing my toddler to Peak. Seeing how this elevated restaurant cared about its youngest clientele was charming. We were offered a highchair, there is a kids menu that comes with crayons, there’s a changing table in one of their bathrooms and our servers playfully talked to my two-and-a-half year old Auden like he was an adult. Bringing a toddler to a high-end restaurant can be very nerve wrecking. Rest at ease, above all else, everyone is comfortable and happy at Peak.
