About Us

Founded in Brooklyn in 1887, Peter Luger Steakhouse (Peter Luger) is one of the oldest steakhouses in America. The store's name at the time was "Karl Luger's Cafe Billiards & Bowling Alley." Peter Luger, a German immigrant, was the owner, and his nephew Karl was in charge of the kitchen.

When it first opened, Peter Luger was a local restaurant beloved by neighborhood residents. However, with the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903, Brooklyn became easily accessible from Manhattan. After hearing about the store's reputation, businessmen started coming from Wall Street and elsewhere, and the store became very prosperous. In 1920, the current owner family, Sol Forman, establishes a metal fabrication company across the street from Carl Luger's Café. For him, Karl Luger's Café was the perfect place to entertain customers, so he went there almost every day, sometimes even two or three times a day.

In 1941, the founder Peter passed away. The restaurant was taken over by his son Fredrik, and the name was changed to the current Peter Luger Steakhouse. Then, towards the end of the 1940s, when America was hit by a severe economic downturn, Peter Luger's business fell into slump, and eventually it was put up for auction. Sol participates in the auction and becomes the owner of the store, thinking that it would be a shame if the store that entertains customers disappears.

Sol was excellent at factory management, but he was an amateur when it came to restaurant management. So he hires a retired USDA beef professional to teach his wife, Marsha, how to identify the best beef. This is because we believe that the shortest way to provide the best steak is to prepare the best ingredients.

After that, Marsha visited various packers and seriously learned about beef connoisseurship. She was the only tall Russian woman wearing a fur coat in New York's meat processing industry at the time, but she approached her work with more passion than anyone else. Marcia uses seven strict criteria to select the best beef for her store. Apparently, only about 20% of the beef delivered met her standards. Thanks to his dedication, the store regained its former glory and once again became a thriving store.

The commitment to choosing beef has been passed down to Sol and Marcia's sisters, Marilyn Spiera (former president) and Amy Rubenstein (current president). Today, in addition to Amy, Marilyn's daughter Jody and Jody's nephews Daniel and David also participate in the management, and the four members of the ownership family select the beef. They visit multiple beef wholesalers every week and put their stamp on the beef they select based on their ``seven criteria.'' This is the mark of the beef that Peter Luger purchased. Because of the relationships of trust they have cultivated over their 70-year history, they have the right to choose the best beef before any other restaurant.

Marcia also pays close attention to the dry aging method in order to bring out the maximum flavor of the beef. The dry aging method devised by Marsha is still passed down as a secret method. The aging cellar in the basement of the main store is locked, and only the four family owners and a small number of cooking staff have access to the entire story of the unique dry-aging method.

Dry aging generally involves controlling temperature, humidity, and wind to increase water activity in beef and concentrate protein and minerals into the lean meat core. Furthermore, enzymes inherent in muscle cells and enzymes produced by specific microorganisms break down proteins, dramatically increasing umami amino acids and creating soft, juicy meat.

Peter Luger's dry aging method uses the same basic concept, but through special management methods and ingenuity, we have succeeded in suppressing unnecessary aging odors that can give off unpleasant tastes. Using this secret method, we have created the best steak that consistently delivers the flavor and tenderness unique to dry-aged beef, while also allowing you to enjoy the natural aroma of beef.

The way Peter Luger serves steak was developed through years of trial and error. First up is the T-bone steak style, where you can enjoy sirloin and fillet at the same time. It's now on every steakhouse menu, but Peter Luger was the first to offer it and make it famous in America.

The steak is grilled in a high-heat broiler at 500℃. It is then served on a plate that has been heated to over 100 degrees Celsius, and the meat is further heated around the edge of the plate. By doing this, you can not only adjust the doneness to your guests' tastes, but also the sound of the meat heating up will whet your guests' appetite. To finish, add a meat juice called ``vitamin'' that is full of flavor.

The beef is carefully selected using excellent connoisseurship, aged to the optimum condition, and then served in the style of a T-bone steak. Peter Luger's steaks continue to be loved by discerning New Yorkers, and from 1984 to today, they have been rated New York's No. 1 Steakhouse in the Zagat Survey.