Delmonico’s: Oldest restaurant in the United States

Credit: Delmonico’s

Delmonico’s, located in the Financial District, is said to be the first fine-dining restaurant to open in America. The Delmonico brothers opened its doors in 1837, and started selling pastries, fine coffee, cigars, and liquor. Today, at the same location: the intersection of Beaver, William and South William Streets, it is mostly known for its signature Delmonico steak.

The restaurant has magnificently kept its upscale characteristics through the years, in terms of their menu and their location. The property is made up of three floors and a cellar; the first two are large dining rooms and the third holds individual private saloons. The cellar guards wine vaults with 16,000 bottles of French wine. 

Credit: Delmonico’s

Delmonico’s claims the creation of the now famous brunch dish, eggs-benedict, in 1860. According to them, regular diners Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand Benedictine, were bored of what the restaurant was offering and inspired the Delmonico’s brothers to create the dish.  

“The Delmonico brothers were notorious for naming dishes after their customers,” said Delmonico’s Chef Billy Oliva to AMNewYork in 2015. The actual origin of the dish remains a mystery, given the fact that the New Yorker ran a piece in 1942 reporting that stock broker Lemuel Benedict inspired the eggs in hollandaise sauce while he was eating dinner at the Waldorf hotel in 1894.

What remains to be certain is that Delmonico’s created the Baked Alaska and Lobster Newburg dishes, which are still served at the restaurant.

In the words of ZAGAT, Delmonico’s is “one of America’s ‘most historic’ restaurants, this FiDi (Financial District) steakhouse rolls out ‘gold-standard’ chops along with ‘classic dishes’ actually invented here (e.g. baked Alaska, lobster Newburg), all dispensed by an ‘attentive’ staff in ‘old-world’ digs.”

Aside from its gastronomy innovation, Delmonico’s is also known for being the first restaurant in the country to use a menu for its customers, a wine list, and table cloths.