What's Considered The Most Expensive Restaurant In America?

There are many levels of dining out in the States. You've got your cheap, quick, easy bites that could set you back as little as $1.50 (we're looking at you, Costco hot dog and soda combo). Then there's the other end of the spectrum, featuring upscale spots that can run diners hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. One such establishment, widely considered to be America's most expensive restaurant, is Masa.

Located in New York City, Masa first opened its gilded doors in 2004. Captained by chef Masayoshi "Masa" Takayama, it became the first Japanese restaurant in the United States to earn three coveted Michelin stars, a title it held for 15 years before being downgraded to two stars in 2025. Even so, a single star is hard enough to come by, and restaurants with stars under their belt are often (though not always) accompanied by exceptionally high price tags.

Masa follows the same formula as many critically celebrated Japanese restaurants, offering diners a unique omakase experience. The regular omakase menu charges $750 a head, while the premium Hinoki counter experience will set diners back $950, and that's before drinks and tax (fortunately, gratuity isn't expected here). For those unfamiliar, an omakase restaurant means putting your trust in the chef to deliver a multi-course meal built entirely around the day's best ingredients. It's already one of the most luxurious styles of dining, and at Masa, things go even further. Nearly all the seafood is flown in daily from Tokyo's Toyosu Fish Market, and the menu regularly features coveted, ultra-rare ingredients like black and white truffle, luxurious Japanese wagyu, and Osetra caviar. Reservations are just as exclusive, and the main room seats only 26 guests.

When a restaurant charges upward of a thousand dollars for a single meal, diners understandably expect something unlike anything else out there. Masa does seem to clear that bar for plenty of people, and the internet is full of glowing reviews praising the food, service, and atmosphere. But even with all that praise, many diners still can't quite justify the price tag. One former diner put it bluntly on Reddit, saying, "If you have literally infinite money, it's an exceptionally good meal with many nigiri being the best versions I've had of the specific fish types ... but no way is anything worth that much money."

The gap between price and experience is exactly what's fueled the backlash since Masa's Michelin downgrade. Another Reddit commenter reacted to the news, writing, "The absolute chasm between Masa's price and quality sort of made this inevitable. Very good sushi, but for what they charge it had better be extraordinary and it wasn't." Diners have increasingly started drawing comparisons to other New York omakase spots, like Sushi Noz, which still set back diners several hundred dollars but come in well under Masa's price tag. 

For most, Masa is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are few other places in the world where you can dine of a $260,000 Hinoki counter, hand-sanded daily to keep its texture smooth, or eat at a restaurant that politely asks diners not to wear perfume so it doesn't interfere with the delicate flavors of the food. But if that doesn't sound like your kind of thing, you could just save the $950 and book a flight directly to Japan instead, where a meal like this comes at a fraction of the price.