Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare

The story

The person handling reservations has been stalked by strangers desperate for an earlier table — that is the temperature of want surrounding Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare. Moe Issa opened it next to a grocery store in Downtown Brooklyn with chef César Ramírez, seating just 18 guests around a counter. No phones, no notes, no choices: 24 courses, no menu. It became the first New York City restaurant outside Manhattan to earn three Michelin stars. In December 2016, it moved to Hell's Kitchen, carrying its austere, Japanese-inflected philosophy — freshness, simplicity, ingredients above all — across the river.