Grand Brasserie

Introducing one of the only train station lobsters that won't leave you filled with regret Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Vanderbilt Hall makes for a seriously dramatic setting. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

The leeks vinaigrette, a bistro staple, are in fine form here. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Salade lyonnaise, with a runny-yolked egg and crisp-chewy lardons, is the way to go. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Towers of seafood are, of course, available for those looking to show off. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Retreat to the bar in the back for a more intimate setting. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

The tower of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and other bagel necessities is the star of the brunch menu. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Order a drink after many of the bars in the area have closed down. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Yes, the lobster is a splurge, but it's substantial enough for two. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

A breakfast spread might include a lobster omelet, pastries, French toast, pancakes, and a croque madame. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

Don't sleep on the desserts. Courtesy Grand Brasserie

It’s close to midnight. You’re stepping out of a Broadway theater and into the neon hellscape of Times Square. You’re hungry, and too dignified (and/or sober) to wait two hours for a slice of Joe’s Pizza. The Olive Garden, Hard Rock Cafe, and Margaritaville don’t enthrall you, despite their ability to seduce out-of-town masses. The Rum House, a perpetually mobbed piano bar, will require you to beg and bribe your way in. What’s a patron of the Midtown-based arts to do?

We say make a beeline for Grand Central Station. No, you’re not fleeing, you’re dining. Admittedly, most of the city’s major transit hubs are not places where one would dine by choice. And yet, this 1913 Beaux Arts architectural masterpiece is home to two very good restaurants.

It’s too late in the evening to visit the century-old Grand Central Oyster Bar, but you’re just in time for dinner at Grand Brasserie. This 400-cover, 16,000-square-foot restaurant opened in 2024, but you’d swear it had always been here. Situated under the cavernous, chandeliered ceilings of Vanderbilt Hall, this classically French restaurant is open 5:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week, and the kitchen stays open right until the bitter end.

Given that 750,000-odd souls pass through this hall on a daily basis, Grand Brasserie could easily have coasted on location and looks alone, which makes its food as much of a surprise as it is a delight. The menu of bistro heavy-hitters by chef Guillaume Thivetwhich encourages cosplaying life in the Gilded Age, and we’d recommend the leeks vinaigrette, crab persillade, and skirt steak au poivre to help get you in character.

If you’re hoping to play robber baron for an hour or so (we encourage this wholeheartedly), get the lobster frites. It comes bathed in shamrock-hued persillade butter and cleaved in two, the claw meat removed so that aspiring aristocrats need not dirty their fingers. Two hungry diners could easily split it, particularly if you dunk the accompanying crisp, slender fries in said butter. It’s a fittingly decadent way to leave New York, or just to pretend you live in a different version of it.

Know Before You Go

Should you and a few trusted companions find yourself in Grand Central Terminal during the day, order the vertiginous tower of smoked salmon, bagels, and accouterments to share.

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