THE PRICE HIKE

The NoMad, Daniel Humm and Will Guidara’s impressive French-American restaurant in Manhattan’s Garment District, has stopped serving its not-so-impressive family-style tasting menu, which I criticized in my Bloomberg News column and on The Price Hike. It’s a smart move. Diners can now focus on more elegant a la carte items, such as Humm’s $78 chicken, instead of passing around cold cuts and scooping bay leaf ice cream out of a carton for $125. 

The NoMad Rooftop, a separate restaurant of sorts, continues on with its tasting menu-only dinner service. The NoMad’s super-cool general manager, Jeffrey Tascarella, was nice enough to give us a tour of the roof a few weeks back. No surprise, it’s a looker, with primo views of the Empire State building. Pre-paid tickets are available online-only and day-of-only, as dining is dependent on the weather. Tickets go on sale at 11am.

As of publication, there are still a few Rooftop slots left if you want’em! 

Just one thing: We wish The NoMad Rooftop made it easier for potential guests to locate the relevant pricing information. Diners don’t see either the menu price ($250 for two) or the real cost ($326.63 for two after tax and 20% administrative fees) until they place the tickets in their “shopping cart.” Beverage pairing prices, by contrast, don’t appear to be published anywhere on the website; receptionists at The NoMad weren’t able to confirm the pairing prices either. 

Here’s the rule: Restaurants that ask customers to pay for their tasting menus in advance should give those customers better access to beverage pricing in advance.