Centurion New York: The Amex Club on the 55th Floor of One Vanderbilt
Christian··5 min read
Most Centurion benefits happen at airports. Centurion New York is the exception: a restaurant and club on the 55th floor of One Vanderbilt, right next to Grand Central in Midtown Manhattan. You do not need a boarding pass, you need the card, an ID and in most cases a reservation.
I have been there several times, for a meal and just for a coffee. This is the article I would have liked to read before the first visit.
What Centurion New York is
Part restaurant, part members club, with a kitchen by Daniel Boulud. The rooms run along the tower's facade, facing west across Midtown to the Hudson. There is a dining room, a bar, and seating areas for people who only want a coffee or a place to work. It is open daily from 11 am into the evening.
Window seat on the 55th floor. The view is the reason you do not leave quickly.
Who gets in
Centurion cardholders can walk in any time without a reservation. Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders have access during certain hours and must reserve in advance. Reservations are taken by phone, up to 60 days ahead, and the reservations desk is only staffed on weekdays in a short morning window. If you show up spontaneously with Platinum, you will not get in.
Check-in happens in the ground floor lobby of One Vanderbilt: show your ID, the reservation is confirmed, you get a code for the elevator. Only then do you go up to the 55th floor.
What it costs
This is the most important difference from every Centurion Lounge: Centurion New York is not complimentary. You pay as in a restaurant, at prices that fit Midtown and the name.
From the menu, as of my last visit:
- Starters: Marinated yellowfin tuna with sesame tuile and avocado 28 dollars, jamón ibérico (Cinco Jotas) 35 dollars, oysters 30 dollars, wagyu tartare 30 or 58 dollars
- Mains: Dry-aged hanger steak with romanesco, grilled romaine and romesco 69 dollars, Maine sea scallops 48 dollars, truffled chicken 55 dollars, DB Burger 35 dollars
- Sides: Charred broccolini with stracciatella 15 dollars, fries 17 dollars, pomme purée with black truffle 18 dollars
- Desserts: 20 dollars each, cheese plate 35 dollars
- Menus: Three-course prix fixe 165 dollars, five-course tasting 225 dollars, 350 dollars with wine pairing, caviar trio 210 dollars
- Coffee: Espresso 7 dollars, Americano or cappuccino 8 dollars
An Americano came to 8.71 dollars with tax, tip not included. That is New York hotel bar level, no more and no less.
What ends up on the plate
I had the hanger steak: thinly sliced, rare, on romesco, next to grilled romaine with caesar dressing and manchego. On the side, broccolini with stracciatella and chili. To start, the tuna with avocado and crispy nori chips. Bread comes in a wire basket with a round of salted butter.
The kitchen is at the level of a good Boulud restaurant. Not experimental, but precise, and with the view it is a lunch you are happy to show guests from Europe.
Who it is worth it for
For Centurion cardholders it is a place that is otherwise hard to find in Manhattan: a quiet table with a view where you can sit, work and eat at any time without a reservation. If you have the Centurion Card and are in New York regularly, you will use it. The German counterpart is the China Club Berlin in the Adlon Palais, also with benefits for Centurion cardholders.
For Platinum cardholders it is a restaurant visit with a hurdle: reservation weeks ahead, by phone, in a fixed window. That is worth it for a special occasion, not for a coffee in between. If you only want the view, the same building sells it with a ticket for the Summit observation deck, no card and no reservations desk required.
And one thing to know beforehand: at the airport the card pays, here you pay. That is not a criticism, but it is a different expectation from everything else that carries the name "Centurion". How the concept differs from the airport lounges is in the overview of the Centurion Lounges.