Looking for Unique Luxury Fine Dining Experiences?
Top Exclusive Restaurants in the USA to add to Your List
Masa: New York, New York
Masa is one of the most exclusive sushi experiences on the planet. There are only 26 seats in the entire restaurant, and for a good reason. The Masa experience is nearly unparalleled in the world of sushi, with few being able to rival the experience.
Masayoshi Takayama's sole purpose when preparing a dish is to: "bring 100% of the essence of something, the umami, to the outside". The entire focus of the dining experience is maximal sensory indulgence.
"Shibui is never complicated or contrived. On the contrary, purity of being, living, and sense are inherent in all Masa experience elements."
Here's another interesting part of the Masa experience- there's no menu. Chef Masa curates an entirely unique experience every single night based on the availability of the freshest ingredients.
Everything about the Masa experience is indulgent, sensual, and refined. There is little in the way of furniture or decoration since the "simple décor is intentionally sparse to act as a blank canvas on which the food will be allotted space to shine".
If you're interested in an a la carte menu, Masa also owns the restaurant and bar next door called "Bar Masa."
Atelier Crenne: San Francisco, California
Atelier Crenne is the brainchild of French Chef Dominique Crenn. To date, she is the only female chef in the USA to be awarded three Michelin Stars for the restaurant we're discussing right now.
The word "Atelier" literally describes a workshop or studio. The entire Atelier Crenn experience is focused on the artistry of fine cuisine. In addition, Atelier Crenne offers dishes from various cultures- all inspired by Chef Crenne's different upbringing as a child.
Having been adopted at 18 months old, Chef Crenne would be introduced to the culinary arts by both of her parents in distinct ways. Her mother ran the household kitchen and had a bold and "adventurous palette," introducing her daughter to Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants in Paris. Her father, a politician, would often take Chef Crenne to restaurant experiences with his friend, a fine-dining critic.
This culminated in the modern French experience we know as Atelier Crenn today.
The restaurant is pleasing to the eye, decorated with modern themes, lots of open space and well-finished wood fixtures. Seating is even more exclusive than Masa at just 22 seats available per night.
The menu includes items like Japanese Wagyu, -one of the most expensive steaks globally- turbot -a delicious flatfish found in the Baltic sea and Osetra caviar. A typical dinner for two, with appropriate wines can cost you $1000.
Bern's Steakhouse: Tampa, Florida
Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa is an unconventional addition to this list. Contrary to the other entries on this list so far, Bern's seating is not the most exclusive. As a matter of fact, it's quite the opposite.
Bern's can comfortably house 600 people at maximum capacity and typically requires a staff of 300 people to operate successfully.
Also, unlike the other restaurants on this list, Bern's food -while delicious- isn't the highlight of its menu. Bern's features a number of sumptuous steak and seafood dishes like Snapper a la PLancha, Grass-fed Ribeye steaks and Japanese Wagyu.
However the item that makes it one of the most luxurious restaurants in America is its Gruaud Larose, 1845 wine. A bottle of this wine will cost you $49,000- and for good reason. The wine predates the civil war and has been preserved authentically and undisturbed since it was first fermented.
Le Burger Brasserie, Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas has long been heralded as the city of sin. Indulgence in every form is on the menu no matter where you look. That includes the menu of Le Burger Brasserie in the Bally's Las Vegas.
The restaurant prides itself on offering a "French interpretation of a classic American staple - the hamburger - in a lively sports bar environment." One of those interpretations is the 777 burger, which literally costs $777.
The burger features a savory combination of Wagyu beef, poached lobster meat, goat cheese, pancetta, two slices of foie gras, arugula, and Balsamic Vinegar that's been around for more than a century (Not a Typo). It's been featured on a number of programs that you're probably familiar with, like Gordon Ramsey's American Road Trip. Famously difficult to impress, Chef Ramsey found the sandwich to be "Bloody Delicious", "Disgustingly Expensive", but still- "Bloody Delicious