Special Report

This Sushi Restaurant in NYC Is the Most Expensive in the Country

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: January 24, 2023 12:00 pm

There are 140,000 restaurants in the U.S. People can go to the local Olive Garden and have a complete meal for $35 or less. Really expensive restaurants cost a good deal more. The most expensive restaurant in America carries an average dinner price of $750 to $950. And that is for just one person. Welcome to Masa, a Japanese restaurant in New York City. Its specialty is sushi. (It is easily one of the best sushi bars in America.)

Masa is located in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in New York, at the low end of Central Park on the West Side. It is adjacent to one of the most expensive residential complexes in the city, part of the complex known as Time Warner Center, after the company that was once headquartered there. (These are the most expensive Michelin three-star restaurants in the world.)

Owner and chef Masayoshi Takayama grew up in a small area of Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. His family had a fish market there. He studied under Sugiyama Toshiaki, the head chief at Tokyo’s Ginza Sushi-ko restaurant. He opened Masa in 2004.

People who would like to dine at Masa need to remember three things. The first is that a reservation is impossible to get. Another is that it is not open often – only on Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 2:30 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. It is closed on Thursday for lunch. It is not open Sunday and Monday. Third, people should be “conscious of the amount of perfume or cologne you apply before your meal.” It can spoil the meal of other guests.

Masa is not entirely unique. Celebrity chefs at some of the nation’s top-rated restaurants these days offer multi-course meals that cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars – for one person, not including beverages, tax, or tip.

24/7 Tempo combed lists of pricey restaurants in the U.S. to find the most expensive ones. Most of the places on our list have earned the accolade of two or three Michelin stars, considered the ultimate acknowledgement of restaurant quality in the gastronomic world (Masa has three), and almost all of them serve only fixed-price menus, though a few may offer à la carte options as well.

Click here for the 24 most expensive restaurants in the U.S.