It’s no secret that NYC has an endless collection of exclusive, highly popular restaurants and bars that are a nightmare to try and get a reservation for. So for a number of lucky New Yorkers who got a reservation at the top-rated Mehran’s Steakhouse in the Upper East Side this past September, it seemed like a dream come true. But TikTok has now revealed the most exclusive steakhouse in NYC is actually just a lockdown joke gone wrong.
TikTok user @willyhopps claims to be one of the masterminds behind the creation of Mehran’s Steakhouse. As Willy explains, he and some former roommates listed their apartment on Google as “Mehran’s Steakhouse” in tribute to their roommate Mehran and the bi-weekly steak dinners the friend group did during the pandemic. Friends who would come over and dine with them started then giving the fake restaurant 5-star reviews on Google, to keep the illusion alive.
However, Willy reveals that the joke started to go too far, when strangers showed up at their apartment looking for this 5-star dinner the reviews kept bragging about. So, his ex-roommate Riley made a website for their fake steakhouse, offering to waitlist hungry patrons a chance to enjoy a steak dinner. By the end of 2022 however, the restaurant site had amassed a waitlist of over 2,600 diners, with hourly calls asking when the next reservation would be open. So, like any broke college kids, the group decided to make the restaurant a reality for one night only. They were going to give customers the best steak dinner since that one girl on TikTok started making 5-star meals in her dorm room.
How TikTokers created Mehran’s Steakhouse
In the second part of the video, Willy explains exactly how he and his friends pulled this crazy stunt off. They rented an event space and got the proper licenses to host a restaurant in said space, which if Mr. Beast can run a restaurant, anyone can. 65 of their other friends all flew in from all over the country to help act as staff for the restaurant. These fake staff even got training from a Michelin star chef to make it seem authentic. Michelle, another roommate/planner, decorated the space with a variety of fake signs, photos, and memorabilia showcasing their roommate Mehran throughout history.
The true shining crown was the menu and theme of the night. On laser-carved disks, guests were treated to the “Bovine Circle of Life” as the inspiration for their meal. From a grass-themed salad as the starter, celebrating how the meadows give life to cows, to a angel/devil’s food combo cake for dessert, honoring the cows in the afterlife, detail was put into each part of the night. The crew even staged a fake proposal during the meal, to entertain guests and give them something to celebrate.
Naturally, many journalists throughout NYC tried to get in on the secret behind Mehran’s Steakhouse, including staff from The New York Times cooking section. Becky Hughes not only detailed her experience in a piece for the paper but shared her experience on the NYT Cooking account as well. While she acknowledged the crazy origins of the restaurant, overall she said the restaurant was a great experience and many of the guests actually had no clue this was all an elaborate ruse.
While the idea of a fake restaurant is far from original, many comments were surprised to see the friend group commit this hard to their dumb joke. “This The Bear spin-off is wild,” said one commenter, and now we’re dreaming of a The Bear pop-up restaurant. Another commenter is asking the real questions; “How did ya’ll know/convince the Michelin Chef??” Probably the best comment though is the person who just came up with Jury Duty season 2, saying “This is on the same level of Jury Duty, you guys need a show.” If that show does happen, we happily will play dumb as diners.