Don't Eat at One World Trade Center's Sky-High Restaurants

Eater restaurant critic Ryan Sutton heroically visited and revisited the three eateries atop One World Trade Center. (Considering there's a $32 entrance fee each time, that's some effort.) One Cafe, One Mix, and One Dine are located within One World Observatory, part of the three-level observation deck and "entertainment experience" on the 101st, 102nd and 103rd floors of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. He laid out everything you need to know about dining at One World Trade—and ultimately concluded that "you probably shouldn't eat at any of them."

More World Trade Center coverage:
Previewing One World Observatory and Its Extraordinary Views
Clouds Greet One World Observatory's First Public Visitors
Spend a Day on the Highest Floor of One World Trade Center

It goes without saying that the views are stellar, even on a cloudy day, but the food and the overall experience... they don't really compare to Windows on the World, atop the old North Tower.

To summarize Sutton's extensive analysis, it's pricey (a bottle of water is $5.44 with tax, and that's just the beginning), the food isn't even that great—likened to "corporate catering," it's merely "expensive food without a narrative."

The thought of an out-of-towner writing off New York's great dining scene after a shake down at our city's most recognizable new building is a notion that should trouble us all. The restaurants at One World Trade aren't so much ambassadors for our shiny and safe city as they are shady hustlers on a street corner. If Windows on the World, when it opened in 1976, served as a glimpse to the rosy future of New York, the concessions at One World Trade represent a retreat to its soiled past.

Head over to Eater NY for the full review.
· Everything You Need to Know About Dining at One World Trade [Eater NY]
· Previewing One World Observatory and Its Extraordinary Views [Curbed]
· Clouds Greet One World Observatory's First Public Visitors [Curbed]
· Spend a Day on the Highest Floor of One World Trade Center [Curbed]
· All One World Observatory coverage [Curbed]
· All One World Trade Center coverage [Curbed]