Review: Laser Wolf

Loved It

TLDR: Laser Wolf is one of those rare restaurants “everybody loves” that actually is worth loving. Their unique menu creates a tasting-like experience at bargain prices you won’t feel bad about. Despite how hard it is to get in here, the food and atmosphere at Laser Wolf will quickly dissolve any frustrations you may have held onto from clicking refresh on their booking page continuously.

Some of you may be familiar with Laser Wolf, whose Philly location famously made the “best new restaurants in the world” list in 2021. Their Brooklyn location (yes, I went to BK!), opened this year to much fanfare on the roof of the Hoxton hotel – a general upgrade from the initial outpost and, in my experience, a fiercely competitive reservation. Who wouldn’t want to be on a rooftop having delicious food and cocktails while looking out onto the East River and all the glory that the Manhattan skyline has to offer?

All this to say, after a while of trying to get in, I’d pretty much written off Laser Wolf as over-hyped. “How good could it be?”, I thought. I gave up. Well, lucky for me the stars aligned and after a last-minute drop out I got to go with my wonderfully thoughtful friend (thank you 🙏) for an obnoxiously early 5PM dinner.

It did not disappoint. Sure, it was grandma hour, and sure, the rooftop is probably extra special in the summertime when the restaurant is actually entirely outdoors, but at least sunset at 4:30PM made it look like dinnertime and the view is still the same in the dark. Laser Wolf is undoubtedly a fun spot – even the staff (who were super professional and friendly) seem like they’re having a good time. Put together with the open grill kitchen and game-top tables, the vibe was rock solid.

What really sold me though was the menu at Laser Wolf. In traditional Israeli style, Laser Wolf makes the menu dead simple – just order a main per person and everything else (all the dips and pickles and various other veggie things that they serve at the restaurant) come to the table. That’s 11 salatim you get to try, with as many refills on them as you want. And all especially tailored to my acid-craving tastes! Did I mention dessert comes with it too? Yeah, it does.

For someone who’s a sucker for Israeli food like myself, this is heaven. Of the 11 sides, my favorites were the cherry juice-soaked mushrooms (I need to figure out how to make these at home – refill please), the fennel salad with orange, the ultra-creamy baba ganoush, and the Yemenite pickles. I also tried the salmon and eggplant mains which were excellent. Not to over-hype it, but it may actually have been the best salmon I’ve ever eaten – delectably soft inside with a perfectly crisp and seasoned crust. Simple, delicious.

It was really quite difficult for me to pick a rating for Laser Wolf. On the one hand, the experience itself was top notch. I loved the menu concept, they had great food, a great setting, and it was shockingly affordable (bordering on cheap for NYC 😯). On the other hand, you can’t get in at a reasonable time, a big loss in my book.

After serious deliberation (I take this job very seriously people), I believe that Laser Wolf deserves a Loved It. It really is worth going whenever you can, and I think it has earned the praise it’s received. I know I’ll be trying my best to make this a repeat experience.