Luksus

This review is long time overdue. In short, the whole experience was fantastic! I absolutely loved the food and pairing with beer. Chef Daniel Burns knows his craft. The dishes perfectly balanced the basic, natural tastes of organic ingredients and was nicely presented. For me it was a bit of a culinary travel back in space and time as the food reminded me of growing back in rural central Europe and eating organic stuff fresh from the garden. And that fresh bread from the oven with butter on top! Simple life pleasures!
The place is tiny and the experience is intimate. It comes with a price tag but totally worth it.
I’ll be back.

Ludicrously overpriced. Great concept. Dreadful execution. Was really attracted to the notion a progressive chef pairing food with beer. Done this at some of the best restaurants in the world with wine (Oaxen, Lilla Ego, Relae, Septime, Verre Vole, dozens more recently) have often had my wine horizons widened, was hoping to have the same experience with beer at Luksus. The failure here is that the beer selected didn’t enhance the food but fought with it. I was expected a range of flavor profiles in the beer selection and expected to be presented food with interacted with these profiles in interesting ways. All the beers served were in the «sour» profile, and none of the food served with them made sense, had a chance to interact with a profile so strong that it merely overwhelmed the dishes (one exception, a small bowl of white beans with duck had a kind of «rich/​bland» fullness which the «sour» from the beer from that course). I had no idea how expensive it would be (same cost as eating the night before at Nomad — which involved multiple courses, cocktails, multiple glasses of fine wine, cheese course and dessert wines) and although I am always willing to spend in this range for a great experience, the food itself was underwhelming and the beer pairings extremely disappointing. That said, I am interested incoming back to Torst (their bar) and trying a range of beer and snacks, I just hope it doesn’t set me back 200. Per person like the restaurant did.

Writing a review for the bar food. Came here for a tasting menu when they first opened for my birthday and it was inspiring. I still remember the duck dish I had with the duck heart, roasted beets and plum purée. It actually changed how I think about food. Big props to DB. That was before they got thier michelin star. Came back this past weekend to try their bar snacks and sours. Everything was absolutely delicious. The rarebit toast was my favorite and all the breads are really tasty.
This is for everyone who thinks theyre a food blogger these days. You cant give a place like luksus 1 or 2 stars. Simply based on the physical amount of work that goes into getting service going everyday. Luksus is a special place and I just want them to know they have a serious fan. And for all of these Unilocalers who go to restaurants and go home and immediately write a bad review… You can all go straight to hell. Youre not a food blogger and you know nothing about food. These people are lonely, self-​entitled whackos, who’s only self validation comes from themselves when they write a negative review.

Hidden behind a closed door in the back of Torst (bar) with only 2 seatings per night (6:30 /​9.00pm). Luksus features a very adventurous and challenging tasting menu w/​optional beer pairing (do it if you like beer — and they will keep pouring if you keep drinking, though fair warning, you will run out of room for food). Speaking of the food — not an easy experience as many of the flavor /​texture combinations are sometimes subtle and unexpected (at least for me given my light experience with Scandinavian cuisine) but a very pleasurable experience nonetheless. Pickled beets of various flavors made an appearance in three different courses. The lavender cured duck w/​a side of fried sweetbreads and lentils was amazing. Dessert of citrus/​bayleaf ice cream and sweet cumin crumble. Pacing was a bit rushed through earlier courses but settled into a great pace about halfway through. Knowledgeable staff (geeks out on the beer) and very friendly and unpretentious service.

Hubby is a massive craft beer aficionado and we love Torst. Dinner at Luksus seemed like the ultimate splurge for our recent weekend in New york. (Finding a tasting menu with beer pairings is a rare thing!)
we checked in at the back of Torst and were seated in the small restaurant that’s through a subtle door at the back. It felt exclusive and exciting as we sat down in the room that only held 16. The food smelled great, and we agreed to do one beer pairing and share it thinking that hubby might order a bottle of something from their cellar (he’s much more into stouts than sours and ales that they were serving on the pairings that night.
Dinner started with a bunch of snacks — beetroot (delicious), cabbage chips (like crunchy paper), cured fish with radish salsa. Beet was the best one. Bread and butter came next… the bread was warm and crunchy and the butter was whipped with yogurt. Something was salty too. This course must surely be the sole reason for this restaurant’s michelin star.
moving into the actual courses, there was daikon (again) with a sauce and broth. meh. (and something green did not taste good!) main course was a very small piece of lamb belly for hubby and endive for me (pescatarian option) with root veggies and beet (again). palate cleanser was a ginger and beet (again) sorbet. and dessert was bizzare… carrots something with meringue pieces. Aside from the stupendous bread and butter, the best thing we ate was the ‘last bite’ with the bill which was a cookie with buttermilk ice cream and chocolate covered honeycomb.
The beer pairings were fine… lots of sours and funky ales (maybe to go with the funky food?), getting one pairing and splitting it worked well too since we they often left the bottle at our table and we refilled our own glass a little more than they planned to.
It’s fairly shocking that the restaurant has a michelin star. I’d give it a 2 for food. Nothing we ate was remarkable. the courses were repetitive, and for the price, there was virtually no protein involved.
By contrast, we quite enjoyed the experience there. It felt exclusive, and the service was great. I’d give that part a 4.
Overall, should you go? You should definitely go to Torst. Enjoy the beer and the ambiance. And, if you have a bunch of money kicking around that you won’t miss, dinner at Luksus does make for a fun night.

Unlike many other Michelin stars, Luksus secretly hid itself inside a beer bar torst. It was indeed very tiny, with only four counter seats and five tables; and open kitchen was located right in front if you were fortunate enough to nail one of those four.
We were not huge fans of beer so went ahead directly with our tasting courses. They serve many small snacks before three main courses. I was a bit disappointed as none of the main dishes impressed me — especially the sea bass, which was flavorless to me unfortunately. The only highlight of the meal was the carrot dessert, with a mixture of sour and sweet, and was very refreshing.
Probably Luksus was simply not designed for me…

I have been to Luksus 4 times, and every time my mind is blown by at least 1 snack or dish. It’s truly a restaurant that pushes creativity to the next level in hopes of touching or evoking some kind of magical feeling.
Most of the time, they succeed. Sometimes, you really want less radishes. And I do think you deserve an additional 4 oz of protein in the entrees for that $ 125 price tag. It’s the only thing about this restaurant that could leave a bad taste in your mouth.
But mostly, it’s a meal that challenges you in a good way and 75% of the time you taste something that really blows your mind and makes you grateful to have such a world respected gem in your neighborhood. When you’re that ambitious, hitting the mark 3 out of 4 times is pretty great.
The service is usually outstanding, which is equally as important as the food. The team is a pleasure to be around, and there are few restaurants in Brooklyn and Manhattan that have this level of kindness and serving the customer’s needs. They graciously accepted 1 more into our party at the last minute, and also kindly catered to an illness in our party. Super compassionate, I wish all restaurants had their approach!

Sadly our highly anticipated dinner at Luksus lagged well below expectations. We arrived early and enjoyed the nice selection of craft beers (though expensively priced) at sister venue Torst. Despite being early on a weekday Torst was packed and standing room only. We alerted the bartender of our reservations and were ushered into the dining room in the back of Torst promptly at 6:30. Same building but markedly different vibe. Luksus is among the smaller restaurants I have frequented, four bar seats on the other side of the small kitchen and a handful of tables in a row — seating for approximately sixteen total. We were hoping for the bar seats as we enjoy watching kitchens working their magic and interacting some with the chefs, but ended up at a table; the one positive was the stools at the bar were backless and did not appear to be terribly comfortable for a tasting menu.
The food got off to a solid start with the snacks; a series of six small bites delivered in rapid succession. The chips made out of cabbage were absolutely delicious and the beef tartare served as a lettuce wrap quite tasty as well. Sadly the three savory courses that followed were mediocre and not memorable or all that interesting. My main protein, a duo of goat (belly and shank) was tough, gristly and not even attractively plated. Dessert had the same pattern with the mignardise (purposely singular) far tastier than the composed dessert. The executive chef it turned out was out of the country; perhaps this in part resulted in the lack of quality but that is unacceptable at this lofty price point ($ 125 per/​person pre tax/​service for the food). Since the snacks are served rapidly as though a single course the meal was FAST for a tasting menu and more of a five course prix fixe. If not for bread service (which was edible but very salty) I would have left hungry.
Service was quite poor compared to nearly every other Michelin starred venue I’ve frequented. No major gaffes, just complete disinterest in doing anything more than delivering the cuisine. Never even learned the name of our primary server (or anyone at the restaurant for that matter) and no banter whatsoever. For me service is as important as food (so many venues with excellent food in large cities) and when splurging for an upscale dinner I expect servers to enhance the meal, not just drop off my plate and recite a blurb about the components. While the restaunt inquired about dietary restrictions when the reservation was confirmed (and again at the onset of the meal) my wife’s strong aversion to honey was subsequently ignored on the final course. Overall there was just a sense of arrogance from the front of the house.
Beverage wise Luksus is beer only in terms of adult beverages. You can order a la carte from the Torst menu (approximately 20 different craft beers on tap with options for five, ten or fourteen ounce pours) or a paring of five beers for $ 55 (bottled beer not on the Torst menu). A la carte is a much better value, but the pairing price is not unreasonable — my wife opted for pairings whereas I chose a la carte; after tasting my wife’s wines I do not believe I missed out — though as we left Luksus we did feel we had missed out on something, an opportunity to have dined at a far warmer venue during our short Brooklyn journey.

I had a great time. The food was good quality and tasted amazing. I would have liked for the seats in front of the kitchen to bee more comfortable. One is seated for a long time. The snacks I would say were the best part of the meal. The entrees need a little more work. Over all I say bravo to all involved in creating the meals and the atmosphere.

Came here in January to celebrate my wife’s birthday, and we still talk about what a great meal and experience it was. We were living in Greenpoint, just a few blocks away, at the time, so we thought it was a really authentic but next-​level representation of what a Michelin starred restaurant in Greenpoint should look like. The ambience isn’t Daniel or Per Se – it’s Brooklyn (only, you know, a step above). The space is tiny, but chef Daniel Burns, and their staff, is engaging and attentive. The beer pairings are phenomenal, and something you can only experience here, as Torst, its accompanying bar, is wonderful and unique in its own right.
If you’re on a journey through Michelin starred restaurants, I can’t imagine that you’re anything but impressed after going here. You get something different, but still high level. And you’re paying, idk, $ 150ish per person? That’s on the low end of the ballpark, from what I’ve experienced (though I definitely can’t say I’m a Michelin veteran).
Can’t wait to come back again some time!

Very very nice food, brilliant techniques and new flavors. All this accompanied by a beer matching menu. Some of the beers were a bit odd, nevertheless a true experience!

If you visiting New York and want to experiance something different that is paired with beer I grantee you you will love Luksus. I loved sitting in front of Daniel Burns as he created the perfect dish to be served. All ingredients are carefully selected, seasonal, and locally sourced. You have to experience Luksus so make your reservation for seating and have fun!

Hidden behind a backroom, which was cozy & intimate, and laid back vibe. Really nice surprise to have a blend of speakeasy and fine dining. Everyone has a view of the kitchen and small staff at work. The service was up to standard with fine dining establishment.
The food was clean and delicious. Nothing was super memorable for me, but at the same time everything was delicious and i can see most dishes have great preparation. It was a great meal from beginning to end.
Would love it if they offered wine, but i get it since they want to promote their great selections of beer.
Would come back here and try again since they change their menus.

I’m alone in my view, and I’m ready for the firing squad…
Nothing was bad, but nothing was something to get passionate about.
This is not a decadent restaurant, which is what I was looking for, but a lot of the flavors were not what I personally would revisit.
We started the tasting menu with some snacks. They brought out radishes with a goat cheese dip, nothing mind blowing, but a beautiful presentation. A fried oyster wrapped in iceberg lettuce… Didn’t taste any different than its description. An uni chip, which was just a chip with dollops of uni purée, which was a bit fishy for me personally.
We also got a soup with egg white and some herbs. It again, wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t mind-​blowing.
The steak tartar was mind-​blowing. It was beyond delicious. The person who went with me doesn’t even eat anything below medium well and even he liked it. Every herb and ingredient was doing what it needed to do to give flavor to the beef.
Then next we were served the skate with ramps. The skate itself was plain, and skate in its natural form is a very flavorless fish. There was sauce on the plate that was probably supposed to be incorporated in every bite, but the skate’s texture kind of didn’t allow for anything to stick on. They then came out halfway through that plate with fried skate cheek and what I believe was raw garbanzo beans and pine nuts. It was good but again, tasted no different than it’s description.
We were then served a rhubarb with pickled licorice sorbet. It was fine… Lastly we had a chocolate flødebolle with rhubarb and seaweed… See, here’s the thing. It does make it more obscure and unique to throw in some seaweed, and I maybe don’t have a refined pallet, but all I got out of it was a good initial taste, then a murky after taste.
The service was great, beer was great, setting was great… I just see this more as a food scene (unique food plated beautifully in a hidden door in the back of a bar), than something that I would crave and couldn’t wait to go back to. It wasn’t a bad experience, it just wasn’t crave-​able in the food department, but the experience was worth it.

I loved my experience here. I loved sitting in front of Daniel Burns as he worked his magic, and as he threw away (sadly) little bits and pieces of things that just weren’t perfect enough for to be served. I loved that the ingredients are lovingly selected, seasonal, and locally sourced. One thing that the chef and I had a little giggle about were the heirloom carrots– purple carrots, what? What kind of sorcery was this? I also loved the mushroom chip, I was like, damn this is familiar. Wait– he made this on mind of a chef! Fun stuff.
But yes, some of the ingredients are unique, but if you wanted chicken salad, you should have went to eat at applebees. I don’t really have the time to write Unilocal reviews anymore, but I thought that I could spare a few minutes in defense of this little gem.
The only downside I could remember was that I didn’t get to finish every beer. Although I fancy myself a quick drinker, the drinks came faster than I could imbibe.

My friend and I did the tasting menu and beer pairing through Sosh Concierge.
The food had incredible textural balance, and everything was beautifully presented. The walk-​through-​the-​bar to the restaurant aspect felt a little fun/​playful, and I enjoyed how different servers told us about the different beers and courses; it felt like a whole performance with different players.
Food highlights for me were the smoked bluefish, the perfect crunch of the crackers in one of the «snacks,» and the cara cara orange/​ginger sorbet, which was smooth and creamily perfect on the palate. The sourdough bread and whipped butter were simple but also delightful and definitely a highlight. The? perhaps supposed to be final course of carrot-​yogurt sorbet was pretty delicious (the carrots and indian-​spiced side elements, the cotton-​candy tasting sugar sheets on top; I didn’t care for the strong ‘grass-​fed milk’ flavor of the yogurt swirled with the sorbet), but overall it was too savory of a course to really finish the meal in our opinion. So we were thrilled when we were brought out sweet bites to finish of chocolate crunchy bar with ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie (though if they were a bit tinier and could have been finished off in one whole bite like an amuse, that would have been perfect).
Beer highlights for me: Evil Twin Nomad Weisse, a pleasing sour ale that went well with the snacks, and Boulevard Harvest Dance Wheat Wine Ale, which was complex and flavorful, a delight to drink.
My dining friend and I both liked how at the end of the meal they gave us a copy of the menu of beers and food items as well as the Sosh card reminding us we were done. It was also nice to know from our prepayment that we were going to tip 20% (because we would have anyway, and the tipping system in the US is messed up). Though we opted for sparkling water during the tasting menu and expected an added charge at the end, there was none, so we gave a little extra tip for the courtesy.
The only thing that felt a little off when we left was that it was somewhat of an awkward ending in which we just felt like the staff wasn’t smiley/didn’t like us on the way out. It wouldn’t keep us from going back, but something felt weird when we were leaving. That’s probably why I am going ⁴⁄₅ stars.
I would probably try to go back on a night more fitting with my dietary preferences, as I missed out on the main course (pork replaced with endive) and one of the snacks entirely (beef tartare replaced with nothing). I’m not a vegetarian, but if the menu were mammal-​heavy I might just go for the vegetarian tasting, which from other reviews it seems they do. If there were an a la carte option, though, I would probably do that so as to be able to pick meats I eat without disrupting the flow of a tasting/​planned course.
Food photo credits go to my dining partner, Sarah!

Amazing. Nordic inspired cuisine, very contemporary, it truly was a «brand new» experience for me. The setting is very intimate, especially if you can get the bar seat. Watching and engaging with the chefs, witnessing how every dish for you is prepared and presented, it is an experience… just try it. Recent 1 Michelin star awarded (nobody was surprised by the way), the bread is like crack, and try a beer they made!

Passionate about the food and experience, Luksus’ environment almost makes up for the lack of refinement in their tasting menu.
Each plate, in and of itself, was interesting. The problem was too many plates and the tastes didn’t blend or transition very well. Also, too much food on each plate left this customer feeling bloated and uncomfortable. The beers they select to pair were probably the most unique I’ve ever had; too bad the food didn’t live up to it.

KenScale: 8.5÷10
Luksus has everything you want for a cozy, enjoyable dinner. Tucked behind a not-​to-​secret white door at the beer bar Tørst serving some nice brews, it cooks New Nordic/​Scandinavian tasting menu from a small team led by chef Daniel Burns. I’ve always been impressed with the freshness and exquisite attention to detail of New Nordic cuisine, and been wanting to check out this place. Obviously, the location (I don’t have that many friends in Greenpoint) and the price (running at $ 95 per person now, up from $ 75 originally) were the two roadblocks but I finally convinced a friend in Greenpoint to come out and try this restaurant. I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed.
The tasting menu started out with several snacks, consistent with my experience at other places like Aska. I enjoyed most of these dishes, such as the crunchy radish, juicy beef tartare, lobster on top of seaweed biscuit and oyster and cauliflower wrapped in cabbage. Each dish had that unexpected pleasant surprise with attention to freshness of ingredients. All these snacks were followed by incredibly fresh bread basket that really heightened my expectations furthermore on all the dishes to come. I wish there were more of the tasty sablefish that came with tarragon and cabbage, and enjoyed blue mussels that came with bone marrow and watercress as well. I had a high hope for the squab that came with salted plum and smoked celeriac, but felt the meat was a bit too tough. Knowing that a squab can be cooked absolutely perfectly, I was slightly disappointed. After the delightful buttermilk sorbet to clear the palate, in came green juniper with squash and chestnut whose flavor was pretty unique but the overall balance of flavor somewhat felt slightly off. I would probably say the snacks were definitely strong (maybe because that was the first meal of the day and I was starving before my arrival?), although I saw some flash of brilliance from the team that still gave me a memorable dining experience.
Getting a reservation wasn’t particularly challenging, but I would still suggest making a reservation up front. There are some pretty nice beer selection, so definitely try a glass or two. As noted above, I was a huge fan of the cozy décor of the restaurant that felt very Brooklyn without much pretentiousness, and I highly recommend sitting at the counter right in front of the kitchen to see chef Burns and his team in action. Luksus is a worthy dining destination if you’re looking for excellent touches of New Nordic cuisine (and some brews to wash it down) in a charming environment. I will certainly come back again.

I had been eager to try out Luksus — the restaurant tucked in the back of the great beer bar Torst — in Greenpoint since I had read about Daniel Burns (the head chef) in NY mag’s «Where to eat 2014» piece. I was lucky to eat there on a somewhat quieter evening and had the pleasure of sitting at the bar area which gives you full view of the small, open kitchen where Daniel and his sous chef (I presume) were working away. The restaurant itself only seats about 20 – 24 people in total so it is a wonderfully intimate space.
The menu is a chef’s tasting at $ 95/​pp with an optional beer pairing for an extra $ 45/​pp. (There is also a non-​alcoholic version of a pairing for $ 25). Not only do I love the idea of a beer pairing, it is something extremely tough to come by here in the USA. I found it more prevalent in Europe and Scandinavia as the sophistication and appreciation of brews continues. Thank you Luksus for helping to promote the idea here!
To start we were served several «snacks» — our night consisted of pickled fiddle heads (a rare, early season green), smoked black sea bass with radish, lobster and seaweed, chicken oyster with cauliflower and lamb sweetbreads with a hay gribiche. This was followed by slightly larger portions of hake with green almonds and dill, a chrysanthemum broth accompanied by rutabaga and smoked egg, and a main course of skate — both the wing and the cheek were served — with sun choke and kohlrabi. There was a palate cleanser course of ginger sorbet with lime yogurt (almost my favorite dish of the night due to the textural perfection of the sorbet with the perfect citrus balance of the yogurt) and a dessert of licorice ice cream with beetroot sorbet (phenomenal combination) with quark and meringue.
The beer pairings I had were: bikini beer by Evil Twin, Berliner Weisse by Bayerisher Banhoff, Abraxxxas by Freigest (adorable label with a ghost), Oro de Calabaza by Jolly Pumpkin and finally Aphrodite by Dieu du Ciel.
All in all the menu was creative, interesting, normal boundary pushing (beetroot with dessert?) yet approachable. The service was great and due to our prime seating, we were able to speak with Daniel and his cohort throughout the service. He was extremely friendly, informative and took the time to answer our many questions about the restaurant itself, the dishes and his culinary past. And I asked if I could take pictures, as I never want to be rude and presume it is allowed, and he was happy that I do so. Since they change their menu rather frequently, I am already looking forward to my next dining experience knowing full well it will be just as exciting and mouth watering as the first.