On any given night, in an impossibly trendy atmosphere designed for the rich and beautiful, diners at the recently opened Lobster Club in New York City are equally apt to taste an inspired sushi roll as they are to have a celebrity sighting. After all, the space occupies the former 24-hour Brasserie in the Seagram building where Studio 54 attendees would regularly stagger in after a night of feasting and gyrations. Today the notoriety continues with the global elite congregating partly for the exquisite cuisine and mostly to see and be seen, especially if you can snag a table in the main dining room. The Lobster Club, with The Grill and The Pool, is the final installment of Major Food Group’s triumvirate of notable restaurants, and has been designed by starchitect Peter Marino. Flamingo pink lip-like chairs caress roundtables above a Jackson Pollock-esque speckled floor while silver foxes mingle with young, lithe creatures and fur coats mix with the leather uniforms of the servers. Camouflage green booths serve as anchor to the Picasso-inspired artworks floating in the atmosphere while original Picasso plates are spotted amongst the top shelf libations of the expansive bar.
Unlike other chef-driven restaurants where the decor is purposefully stark to channel all focus to the seriousness of the cuisine, The Lobster Club turns on a completely different spindle with a swanky atmosphere enhanced with a sexy of-the-moment soundtrack because the chef at its helm is fastidiously confident that food leads the equation of the diner’s experience. Michelin-starred Chef Tasuku Murakami is highly regarded as the former chef behind the Tribeca gem Sushi Azabu. Now at The Lobster Club, he continues to create surprising sushi that is complex in flavor, texture and presentation. Hailing from Kyoto, Chef Tasuku honed his skills in the Ginza area of Tokyo before migrating to the United States. He still, however, relies on his local connections in Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market, the largest in the world, as all of the fish at The Lobster Club, except for salmon, is flown in daily from his choice fishmongers there. Next in line is the Chef de Cuisine, Justin Romine, who heads over all of the non-sushi offerings.
The Lobster Club calls itself a Japanese brasserie and its menu is heavy with familiar favorites, all amped in the sexy fashion synonymous with Major Food Group. Chef Justin describes the menu as well thought out. “No matter where the idea for a dish starts, we always try and find a connection–a dish or style–to base it on. Without that base dish, you’re just making nonsense. So maybe the idea is an ingredient like oyster sauce or mushrooms or maybe it’s a style of cooking like the Japanese grills or teppanyaki. No matter where it starts, it has to have a story.” The list of sake are second to none, and the sommelier will gladly pair the right sake with your food predilection.
Perhaps the most popular dish on the menu and ordered at almost every table are the Lobster Dumplings, plump pillows stuffed with sweet lobster in a delicate broth and topped with green onions and sesame seeds. Chef Justin adds, “They are a great example of what The Lobster Club is about, taking a dish that people love and are familiar with and giving it that Major Food Group swagger and style.”
A must-try dish, according to Chef Tasuku, is the Wasabi Lobster. “The meat is refreshing and light with wasabi and pickled green tomatoes. The balance with the sweet lobster and lime is great.” However, if you really want to understand Chef Tasuku’s talent, order the Chef’s Selection Sushi, a dish he personally considers a joy to prepare. Since The Lobster Club does not have a live Sushi bar where Chef Tasuku can instantly read his audience, this savant relies on his 20-years experience and ingenuity to serve exciting creations by incorporating surprising textures and new flavor profiles for the fish. Chef Tasuku adds, “There is a saying in Japan, ‘Ichigo-Ichie,’ meaning ‘once-in-a-lifetime meeting.’ I always think of that whenever I prepare and serve my dishes. I only get one shot to make people happy.”
The teppanyaki offerings meander through choice cuts of Wagyu beef, Madagascar shrimp, diver scallops, lobster, chicken and lamb chops, with an option to order Japanese beef, but the star in this series is the Tomahawk ribeye, charred on the outside, juicy and pink on the inside and seasoned with a spicy Szechuan rub enhanced with cumin.
The best way to enjoy the menu is to order a variety of items and let them come out as they are prepared while you sip on Lychee Martinis enhanced with elderflower or the Umeshu Highball made with Japanese whiskey and aged sweet and sour umeshu sparkling spring water. The Coconut Rock Shrimp are delicious and the Chicken Tsukune is an elevated approach to yakitori where foie gras adds depth and complexity to the pedestrian bird.
End your meal with the very instagrammable PB&J Kakigori or the bright green matcha cream puffs that melt exquisitely in your mouth.
The Lobster Club serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails and is located in the Seagram Building at 98 West 53rd Street in New York City. Reservations are encouraged.