It was never just a restaurant. It was a stage, a boardroom, a see-and-be-seen theater of American power. To talk about the Four Seasons is to talk about the architecture of Philip Johnson, the social anthropology of the "Power Lunch," and the gustatory evolution of American fine dining. It is a story of how a room designed by geniuses, run by eccentrics, and fed by perfectionists became the most important restaurant in the history of New York City.
But the true genius was the in the Pool Room. For decades, the best deal in New York was a $20 burger and a glass of champagne at the bar, watching the titans eat their $200 lunches. It was a democratic crack in the wall of privilege. menu four seasons restaurant nyc