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Peak, the 101st-floor restaurant atop 30 Hudson Yards, has reached new heights.
Opened by London-based Rhubarb Hospitality just before the pandemic, the eatery never quite hit its stride. Last fall, Tao Group took over as management. After a thoughtful redesign, it reopened as Peak With Priceless at the end of May. It’s now the city’s top place to dine with a view — conjuring the spirit of Windows on the World.
Nighttime reservations for window tables are already hard to come by and the festive vibe from Peak’s same-floor neighbor, Avenue Sky Lounge — a second coming of the fabled West Chelsea nightlife spot and home to a Knicks victory celebration — spills over onto the dining floor.
There will never be another Windows on the World, the sprawling venue at the top of the World Trade Center north tower that was the city’s No. 1 celebration venue until its destruction on 9/11.
Like millions of others, I cherish memories of festive nights there. But its vertical windows were too narrow for full appreciation of the skyline. Peak has bigger windows, a bettter uptown location and consistently better food — not to mention free access to the 100th-floor outdoor observation deck Edge, which starts at $42 per person for non-diners.
Although Tao Group operates scenester favorites such as Tao uptown and downtown, Crane Club, Cathedrale and Beauty & Essex, Peak has none of their party-time excesses. It’s a traditional restaurant with a lively, well-chosen rock-and-disco soundtrack. As if to emphasize Peak’s continuity with the original Peak, general manager Francesco Fazzari and many other staff are back under the Tao flag.
The original David Rockwell-designed dining room was tweaked by Tao Group’s Susan Nugraha and iCrave, part of architectural firm Journey. Velvet draperies and booths and banquettes in blue and grey have a softer look than their predecessors. Tables were repositioned to better frame the skyline from every seat. The bar that previously hogged windows was relocated to the room’s centers.
The best news is that Peak is once again a fine place to eat. The old Peak declined after a strong start in 2021. Now, Tao Group’s chief culinary officer Ralph Scamardella presides over splendid prix-fixe and a la carte modern-American menus. (A la carte appetizers $24 to $37, most entrees $38 to $95, desserts $18 to $27. Window tables are three-course prix-fixe only, $95 at lunch, $145 dinner).
They’re food and service is as good as at Danny Meyer’s The View atop Times Square’s Marriott Marquis, a rotating affair with no outdoor space and views constricted by concrete barriers.
Steamed black sea bass revealed a disciplined kitchen, turning out a specimen sweet and delicate on the tongue in a warm broth of fresh tomato water and olives, finished with oregano and fermented chili. A Maine lobster arrived tender in tail and claw, mildly spiced and served over sauteed spinach.
Seared, center-cut filet au poivre was coated in cracked peppercorns, basted with herb butter, and topped with julienned mushroom duxelles — perfectly medium-rare-plus and oozing juice at every pore.
The dessert not to skip, “Skyline,” resembled a monumental pyramid. Hazelnut mousse is blended with salted caramel and finished with a dark chocolate spray.
But Peak is more than a dining experience. The free admission to Edge is a huge bargain, and what’s more, Edge just introduced seven so-called “immersive experiences” — pulsating and flickering light shows themed to the city beyond. They’re also free to diners.
One, “Reflections,” has 200 mirrored surfaces that seem to turn to follow you around the floor. Our favorite, “Kaleidoscope,” effects scatters the person you’re looking at through a lens into what appear to be dozens of that same person.
Peak gives everyone reason to eat, drink and be happy — and to celebrate New York City.
