Lincoln Square Steakhouse at 208 West 70th Street held its last dinner on Sunday night after four and a half years.
“They had a pretty good four year run,” wrote our tipster Michael. “That location has been a revolving door. Previously Loi, Compass, Mendy’s while its next door neighbor Cafe Lux keeps chugging along.”
A spokesman for the restaurant said the owners are already planning a new restaurant and will announce something in the coming weeks.
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Crazy. This spot is jinxed.
Loi was a solid Greek place that was always crowded and even they couldn’t survive in this spot. Compass was also a decent place and it didn’t last.
I always thought this was a strange place for an upscale steakhouse.
I think this was the spot where Lee Mazzilli had an eponymous place many years back.
I bet this spot will stay empty for a long time.
Around the time it was opening a denizen who I might guess was unemployed, just sitting on a bench enjoying life, told me that nothing succeeds at that location. Normally I am not impressed by village philosophers, but he was precise and confident, and anyway was relaying undeniable history. And he drew a conclusion from it, and was right. The first year of operation I had a conversation with the owner who told me that he went ahead even though everyone told him this was no spot for a steakhouse. At this time the place was apparently doing well, and I suggested he open for lunch. Without hesitation he told me there would be no lunch trade. I said “you just told me you were told a steakhouse couldn’t succeed here, so why not serve lunch despite what the market seems.” He did not understand what I was getting at and seemed a touch annoyed at my presumptuous.
Very nice restaurant, high quality food and nice atmosphere. The owner seemed very nice but rarely did I ever see many people in the dining room. I always wondered how did they stock high quality steaks and fish and keep the items fresh with little business.
It was always a puzzle why Cafe Luxembourg is packed for 25+ years yet nothing lasts at the location next to it. I’m sure another restauranteur will take a chance at this location but hard to imagine anything doing well except for perhaps a Celebrity Chef with a large following.
The owner also owns Club A Steakhouse, a popular and top-rated Manhattan steakhouse gem. I’m sure he shared the meats he was already buying for Club A…
Luxembourg is eternally packed because it is lively but not off-puttingly hip, serves varied, satisfying but not challenging food; welcomes a diverse clientele, and sends them off to nearby Lincoln Center happy and full, but not somnolent.
I wonder whether the old steakhouse model — big hunks of meat often accompanied by heavy starches and potent drinks,and paid for by expense account, has gone the way of Mad Men and the three-martini lunch. There may still be room in NYC for a Smith & Wollensky and a Peter Luger, but more and more they seem to be artifacts of a past way of living and “working.”
My family and I used to love this place until framed photos of Trump were recently hung on the walls. Stopped going after that.
The tolerant Left…
Well, there’s your answer. This is the UWS. Framed trump photos? Really?!
Yup. There are several businesses on the UWS who are Trump fans. This steakhouse failed because there are not enough people who eat this type of fare in this area. Cafe Luxembourg survives because of a Lincoln Center. Wasn’t there a kosher steakhouse in this spot?
insert eyeroll here
Bruno and his crew are the best. They make great, and consistent meals in a friendly environment.
Try their other restaurant “club A” on the east side. Best of luck w the new restaurant
Bring back Compass!
As the expression goes:
“Fool me once, shame on you,
Fool me twice,
Shame on me”
I went there twice.
Cafe Lux is great atmosphere-wise but the most overpriced place in the neighborhood, and the food is average at best at this point. Never go into the restuarant business, totally unpredictable what will work and why.
I’ve always rather intimidated going into that space — no matter what the restaurant — because you can’t see in the windows. There’s no way to tell what’s going on, if there’s a crowd or empty. It’s off-putting, especially for foot traffic.Maybe there’s a landmarking issue, but I bet any restaurant would do better if there were a big picture window.
I always thought this would be a great spot for an upscale sports bar. It’s huge with room for several groupings of chairs, couches etc to show several games. Need only serve good quality bar food and drinks. I’ll bet there are lots of days looking for a quiet place to watch a game.
“Upscale sports bar” That’s the oxymoron of the day! Does that mean the drunk loudmouths are wearing collared shirts?
They had a good run. That location is just cursed. Great steaks and their first couple years they had 30 different wines for $30 a bottle. Some really decent wines in there. A really good value considering the prime steaks they served.
I’ve heard from local chefs that the problem with the space is it’s too large, which makes for high rents and it is difficult to fill a space like that night after night. The bar area is huge and then the back dining room is large with another dining room on the side. With a location devoid of foot traffic and being on the UWS it’s going to be difficult to find something that makes sense there as a restaurant.
Shame can’t get a good restaurant to stay in that lovely location. I think Cafe Lux is overrated and have enjoyed dining at Loi and Compass. Never heard of Mendys
Benya forced Seinfeld to take him to Mendy’s to pay him in meal for Armani suit
Bring back Unganos…. I saw Capt. Beefheart at this location in the 1960s https://concerts.fandom.com/wiki/April_14,_1969_Ungano%27s,_New_York_City,_NY
In olden days (when dinosaurs roamed the Upper West Side and the Café Luxembourg space housed The Pelican Restaurant)… the Steakhouse space was a cabaret bar called Grand Finale, with a large gay clientele. Both Pelican & Finale existed together from about 1975-85 before the UWS started to go upscale.
Had Dinner there many times. Only top Steak House on th e
West Side………Too Bad
I’m a little confused about what’s next. It was reported a year ago that the restaurant was getting a new look and a new menu (https://www.westsiderag.com/2018/08/24/openings-renovations-chalait-gazalas-place-lincoln-square-steak-new-japanese-restaurant) but it doesn’t seem like that ever happened?
Now this story says that the owners of the steakhouse are planning a new restaurant — is the idea basically that the new concept reported last year is finally close to becoming reality?
Hello: Sorry to hear about the closing…I’ve had really nice times there to celebrate my birthday, and I’ve treated friends quite often. I can only hope that the new restaurant is as good as the old one….Best of luck!
That space is like a WWII bunker. The new owners need to break out the entire front of the property and open it up for the patrons to see out and for pedestrians up the block on Amsterdam to see that a restaurant actually exists there. Otherwise, it’s bombs away over and over again.
Turn the space into a health club.
Keep in mind cafe lux is at best a third the size. The space is huge. It needs a lot of people. It should be a fun or a shake shack or something like that which is going to bring in a steady crowd.