Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare **

Kira Jabri
Nov 28
2 min read

Updated: Dec 2

November 26, 2025

Chef Max Natmessnig and Chef Marco Prins

There are certain restaurants in New York City that become part of your family traditions that you look forward to all year. For us, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare is exactly that. Easily, our favorite restaurant in NYC, and it has become a cornerstone of our annual Thanksgiving week in Manhattan.

Our first visit years ago left us completely enchanted by what felt like a secret garden hidden behind the bustle of a grocery store. You can read more about that experience here, but the short version is this: the magic was immediate.

Helmed today by Chef Max Natmessnig and Chef Marco Prins, the restaurant has entered a new era, one defined by extraordinary technical precision, quiet confidence, and food that feels deeply considered.

Hokkaido sea urchin on a crispy Belgian waffle with truffle supplement

There is nothing worse than returning to a restaurant you adored only to find the spark gone. But Chef’s Table? If anything, it gets better.

We just completed our third visit, and we can say without hesitation that everything, the service, the atmosphere, the food, remains as exceptional as ever. Each visit reminds us why this restaurant has become such an essential part of our NYC story.

One of our biggest dining faux pas, admittedly, is tilting a plate to capture every last drop of sauce. Emma of course gets a pass that we adult's envy. At Chef’s Table, they’ve solved that for you. For the Rainbow Trout course, the plate is designed to tilt slightly, encouraging the final bite without any need to break etiquette. It’s the kind of detail only a restaurant operating at the highest level would dream up.

Our only critique?

It isn’t for the restaurant. It’s for the Michelin Guide, which continues to hold it at two stars when this is, without question, a three-star experience. Many restaurants preach attention to detail; very few execute it at this level.

Every dish is plated with intention, every movement of the team is synchronized without being performative, and every element of the experience is polished but still warm. One thing we always appreciate at Chef’s Table is the choreography of service. It’s thoughtful without being fussy, elegant without being rigid.