Take a look inside The Grill, the luxurious, revamped version of the NYC restaurant that invented the power lunch
No matter when customers choose to dine at The Grill, Carbone says they'll be offered a curated experience made possible thanks to hands-on service and the highest-quality ingredients the country has to offer.
Lunch does, however, offer unique menu choices that aren't available during dinner, such as the wild mushroom omelette. It's Carbone's favorite item on the lunch menu, and a dish that he says is a nod to the Four Seasons' designation as the first restaurant in America to serve wild mushrooms.
You won't find those theatrics at lunch, though. "The customers have a very finite amount of time with us," Carbone said. "They need to dine quickly, and we want to make sure we can execute it as best we can in the amount of time that we have."
At dinner, it's all about dishes that are prepared tableside, something that Carbone says allows for personalization and interaction between the diner and their captain, or head waiter.
At lunch, lighter fare, like fish and crudité, are popular choices.
But that's not to say that the restaurant doesn't still attract executives hoping to dine and do business. According to Carbone, The Grill serves a wide demographic: those who come for the food, those who come on business, and those who have been dining here for decades.
Carbone says that, when it came to menu planning, the idea of the power lunch — and the dishes that characterized it— were not the focus.
"The Grill is definitely a period piece," Carbone said. "We tried to make a great American fine dining restaurant as a throwback to the late '50s and early '60s."
Carbone was determined to create a menu that balanced what people ate back then and what people eat now.
The restaurant's dinner menu came before its lunch menu.
Carbone says he spent over a year researching every great American restaurant that had existed in Midtown Manhattan in the past several decades.
"In my opinion, this the greatest restaurant space that's ever been created, so I was more than okay with just cleaning it and making it shine again," Carbone told Business Insider.
Carbone says it's this distinction that gives the space its charm and makes it so special. Everything from the furniture to the artwork is original, and he says he loves that about the restaurant.
Carbone and his team knew from the beginning that they would be restoring — not renovating — the space. The Grill is the only restaurant in the country whose interior is landmarked.
The Grill was opened in May by Major Food Group, a New York City-based restaurant group that's behind high-end spots, like Carbone, that are known for both their extravagance and celebrity clientele. Major Food Group has also opened another new restaurant in a different part of the Four Seasons space, called The Pool.
Source: Business Insider
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