Thomas Keller’s Extravagant Hudson Yards Restaurant TAK Room Has Closed

TAK Room — the luxe, year-old Thomas Keller restaurant at Hudson Yards which served a $100 entree for one, among other dishes — has permanently closed. The chef announced the news in an email sent to restaurant guests, which was also shared on TAK Room’s Instagram page. “Given the challenges of the past five months, we could not find an economically viable path to continue operating without expected seasonal, New York tourism and traffic,” Keller writes in the email.

Keller also announced that he has closed the Hudson Yards location of Bouchon Bakery, though the Columbus Circle location of the bakery will reopen once the state allows malls to reopen in New York City. Bouchon’s Rockefeller Center location closed permanently last month due to low sales amid the pandemic.

The announcement marks the first major closing for the west side megadevelopment, which also includes several other pricey establishments like Estiatorio Milos, Electric Lemon, and Kawi. Most of the restaurants at the swanky Hudson Yards development have remained closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — save for José Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain, which has stayed open for delivery and takeout, and recently added outdoor dining at Spanish Diner, inside the market.

Keller’s first NYC restaurant since Per Se — which opened more than a decade earlier — TAK Room debuted in March 2019 to mixed reviews, much like the other big-name restaurants at Hudson Yards. New York Times critic Pete Wells dubbed it an inconsistent “millionaire’s hangout,” New York Magazine’s Adam Platt found it “generically posh,” and Eater critic Ryan Sutton wrote that the quality of the food was not worth the price.

Yet, the restaurant was a hit among the moneyed residents of the megadevelopment, who touted it as one of their weeknight favorites while frequently dropping hundreds of dollars on each meal. The decision to shutter TAK Room marks the first major pandemic-related closure announcement for Keller, whose restaurant empire stretches to establishments in California, Nevada, and Florida. It’s also one of the first uber-luxe NYC restaurant to shutter — along with Momofuku Nishi — due to the financial downturn from the ongoing crisis, which has already led to the loss of hundreds of establishments in the city.

Aside from the two locations of Bouchon, Keller’s three Michelin star Per Se still remains in NYC, though the restaurant has been temporarily closed since the start of the pandemic.

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