Masa Serves as Few as Three Covers on Summer Nights

On eGullet today, a user posts a lengthy review of a recent meal at Masa, New York's most expensive and recently demoted three star sushi restaurant. The most interesting part of the review comes when the reviewer, visiting from Sydney, mentions just how few people dined in the restaurant throughout the evening:

I notice there are only two people sat in the entire restaurant, one guy who clearly has some prior affiliation with Chef Masa...and doesn’t appear to receive a bill. The other was me. Shortly afterwards, he disappears and a young Slovenian woman (whose name I can’t recall) arrives...they only did three covers for the entire night. I did ask Chef Masa about this, and he said the summer, particularly summer weeknights, have historically been quieter. I can’t help but feel that the newest market crash, when combined with nosebleed inducing prices, has not helped matters.

Three covers over an entire night? Good thing the base here is $450 a head to begin to cover that Time Warner Center rent and the cost of express shipping all that toro and kinmedai over from Japan every day. Our humble reviewer ends up spending $760 for a meal for one, but doesn't regret it for a second.
"'Is it worth it?' Unequivocally, yes. It is undoubtedly an experience I shall take with me for years to come...That sort of experience costs money."
· Masa and Bar Masa [eGullet]
· All Coverage of Masa [~ENY~]
[photo credit]

Masa

10 Central Park South, New York, NY