[TOKYO] Peter Luger Steak House will open its long-awaited Tokyo branch in September, the first location outside New York for the legendary Brooklyn restaurant that first opened in 1887.

The three-story brick-clad restaurant will open in Ebisu Garden Place, an upscale development near Shibuya that also hosts the Westin Tokyo, and was once where Morgan Stanley had offices.

The restaurant will have 241 seats, with a bar on the first floor and a shop for takeout, ideal for the Covid era. Reservations will begin in August, with dinner expected to cost 18,000 yen (S$220) a head, with lunch estimated at 8,000 yen, according to Peter Luger's local partner, Wondertable.

That's higher than at the two existing locations in Brooklyn and Long Island, with local tariffs on US beef on top of import costs to blame (though Tokyo servers won't expect a tip). The steakhouse had originally been scheduled to open in 2020 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed and are now set to take place in July of this year.

Although Japanese beef has been gaining in popularity overseas in recent years, American-style steakhouses have grown in popularity in Japan as local diners gain a taste of dry-aged beef. Peter Luger joins Wolfgang's, as well as Benjamin Steakhouse, Empire Steak House and Morton's, which all opened locations here in recent years.

Unlike in New York, fine dining in Tokyo has continued largely uninterrupted throughout the pandemic. Even during the country's two states of emergency during surges in virus cases, the city has continued to keep bars and restaurants open, albeit with shorter hours. That may change, however, if another state of emergency is declared in the capital in the coming days.

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