If you want some adventurous and mysterious dinner experience Luksus will deliver. This tiny place (7 tables only) is in the back of a beer bar. Don’t look for a sign, logo, restaurant’s name or a menu outside, you won’t find any sign of this restaurant’s existence. You need to make a reservation ahead of time, and then you walk into a bar and tell the bartender you are here for a dinner, you wait till someone comes to get you and leads you through a backdoor to a small room with full kitchen.

Luksus is located in the heart of Greenpoint and although the chef is not polish, I do not think it is a coincidence for the name choice because Luksus in polish means Luxury. Chef Daniel Burns works his magic in the kitchen that is open to the dinning room, that way you can see the process of your food preparation. The décor is very simple and inspired by Scandinavian style; its simplicity speaks for itself. I think some of the dishes are inspired by Scandinavian cuisine.

Since the place is very small naturally it is cozy and very welcoming, the fact that there can be only 7 couples at any given time makes you feel special. Someone is cooking just for you; the chef sees who he cooks for, and you see who cooks for you. There is no menu, your only option is tasting menu that is served that day. You do not have a choice between dishes and you are not presented a list of dishes till after the dinner, the menu is more like a souvenir you keep, so you know what you just ate. You can add beer pairing or just get a beer to your dinner, but there is no other alcohol served. We were told the menu changes each month, with some small changes and twists on a weekly basis.

We were served many dishes and I was contemplating if I should list them all or not, but since everything was delicious, plated with extreme attention to details I decided to provide full list, so here it is.

Roasted cauliflower with chorizo sauce – this was a good start, cauliflower was plain but the sauce was full or flavor, hot but not spicy at the same time.

Beef tartar with chives on black pepper cracker – this little bite was exploding with spices; I suspect black pepper cracker was made from scratch because it was breaking easily like a soft fresh cookie

Raw fluke and lobster relish – very sophisticated plate, the relish stole the spotlight, it is surprising how much flavor you can pack in a tiny bite.

Fried oyster with sweet potato plated on cabbage leaf – this was one of my favorite snacks, presentation was not breath taking since the oyster was fried, covered in a dough, but sweet potato paired with oyster was a party in my mouth

Aebleskiver – it looked like a fried rice ball with filling of smoked white fish and celery, very tasty. This is the dish that is apparently Scandinavian.

Bread with yogurt butter – bread is served at every restaurant, but this bread came out of the oven in front to us, soft and salty yogurt butter was too addictive not to finish the whole bowl we were served.

Olive oil pouched skate with slightly sour dill pesto – Interesting creation, many flavors on the plate, some stronger than others so you need to get all of them into one bite to fully experience this dish.

Roasted turnip broth with radishes and turnips – I absolutely loved this dish, not only for its meticulous plating but the deep roasted turnip flavor was delicious, it tasted better and better with each spoon.

Slow roasted pork neck with salsify and a side of rustic cornmeal topped with ricotta cheese and pork topping – if you are pork lover this dish was perfect, I am not a pork person; however, this was done to perfection, soft, greasy, full of natural flavor, not overpowered by seasoning. For those who want to know what salsify is, it is a cross between potato and celery root.

Pallet cleanser – sour, fruity sorbet

Parsnip parfait – yes, you read it right, we got parsnip parfait with cranberry malt, this tasted like regular ice cream and you could not tell it was made from vegetable. Nothing spectacular about the dessert but it was decent and a good way to finish the menu.

I decided that I would be picking one favorite dish each week. This week’s winner is fried oyster with sweet potato.

I absolutely loved this place, not only the ambience and unusual process of getting to the restaurant but the food was amazing. I cannot wait for us to come back here because we will be back for sure.

Cuisine: Modern Scandinavian/American

Avg price per person: $95 tasting menu only

Attire: Casual

Overall Rating: 5 plates