Fourth of July weekend, half the city fled to the Hamptons, and Shannon and I took full advantage of the empty reservation slots that opened up as a result.
Post-Yankee game, we struck.
Cote is one of my top restaurants in this city. Full stop. I would never pass up a reservation. It is a great meal every single time, you always leave full, and it is just fun and chill in a way that a lot of high-end steakhouses forget to be. So when the new Cote 550 location opened up underneath Bar Chimera, there was no version of events where I was not going.
The Space
Cote 550 is technically the same restaurant group as the original, but it has its own personality entirely.
You walk directly into the bar area, which is sexy as hell. Since it was a Saturday there was a DJ playing old school late 2000s beats, super chill energy, the kind of room where you can mellow out while your table gets ready instead of standing around awkwardly.
The main dining room feels calmer than the original location. There is a pool of water, a pond, whatever you want to call it, in the middle of the room, and you can hear it splashing gently under the music. Each table feels isolated because of the lighting, so even in a full room you feel like you are more or less by yourself. That is a genuinely well-designed touch.
The Staff
Fast and friendly, as always. They operate like machines in the best possible way, highly knowledgeable and quick. Drinks came out fast even on a packed holiday weekend.
The Wagyu Hot Dog Cart
Since it was the 4th of July, they had a hot dog cart going around cooking Wagyu hot dogs. Full patriotic spirit, genuinely cute touch.
Here is my honest take. Is a Wagyu hot dog meaningfully better than a regular hot dog? Not really. The mustard was excellent, they did not use the cheap stuff, and if it is two or three bucks more I will happily pay it. But I grew up on Nathan’s and dirty water dogs with weirdly chemical flavoring, and once you are used to that, a fully natural, premium hot dog just does not hit the same nostalgic note. Nothing wrong with it. I am just not sure I am ever specifically going out to buy Wagyu hot dogs. Sometimes a regular hot dog is exactly what 250 years of America tastes like, and that is fine.
The Menu Differences from the Original
The 550 location has its own spirit and its own signature dishes, including the A5 Blackjack Wagyu sandwich and the Dungeness crab fried rice, which is technically called al bap on the menu but I am just going to keep calling it fried rice because that is what it is.
The Butcher’s Feast
We went with three martinis and the Butcher’s Feast, which is four different cuts of meat all grilled tableside in front of you: hanger steak, dry-aged ribeye, American Wagyu flatiron steak, and Cote galbi, marinated short rib.
The meal opens with a piece of fatty tuna served to get things started before the main event.
Every single cut was cooked perfectly. You understand exactly why this restaurant group has a Michelin star the moment the meat hits the table. Juicy, full flavor, executed at the highest level across all four cuts.
I will say something that might be controversial in steak circles: I am still a fan of the marinated short rib, the galbi, even next to premium wagyu cuts. I know some people think it is the lesser option on a plate like this. I do not care. It is just good.
The Dungeness Crab Fried Rice
They mix it tableside, loaded with Dungeness crab and a little caviar, the red kind, not the black. Honestly I do not care about the caviar either way. The whole point of this dish is the crab, and it delivers. I do not want anything overpowering that crab flavor and nothing did.
Final Verdict
Spectacular meal from start to finish. This is exactly why Cote sits comfortably on my Best Steakhouses in NYC list, and Cote 550 earns that same spot in its own right.
This restaurant group has been solid for years. Cote’s original Butcher’s Feast started the love affair, and now Cote 550 gives it new life right underneath Bar Chimera, which you already know I am a fan of.
Shannon, thank you for finding this reservation window. Worth every bit of holiday weekend luck.
As always, what do I know? I am just a fat guy from Brooklyn trying to survive the week, one martini at a time.
Looking for more NYC restaurant reviews? Check out my Best Steakhouses in NYC, Best Burgers in NYC, and Best Restaurants in NYC lists