The Lobby

Avenues may be gone, but under the direction of chef Lee Wolen, the Lobby—the most unassuming restaurant in the Peninsula Hotel—has taken over where Avenues left off. Service is as formal and polished as at the best fine dining restaurants, but the food is marvelous in a different way. This is essentially simple food, dressed up and prepared with obsessive perfection: roast chicken stuffed under the skin with brioche, carrots tossed with puffed bulghar, housemade gnocchi with an almost liquid center. Desserts don't hold up their end of the bargain, but even so, the Lobby is a winning bet.