New York’s Great Steakhouse Tradition Lives on at The Dynamo Room

1. Sunday Hospitality goes classic.

Sunday Hospitality is likely behind a restaurant (or two) you’ve dined at before. Maybe it was for brunch at Sunday in Brooklyn for those highly covetable pancakes, or a see-and-be-seen meal at Café Chelsea involving ravioles du Dauphiné, or a feast of tonkatsu and silken tofu at Rule of Thirds. No matter which spot, it’s likely that you picked up on the vibes and ambiance of each, and The Dynamo Room will be no exception.

“It’s gonna be super fun,” Young says. “We’re going to play old-school rock. We want to be fun and approachable, but also with a sense of refinement — not in a fussy way. We like things that are accessible and light, but at the same time, a nice dining experience.”

The restaurant is housed in the PENN 2 building near Penn Station, meaning it will likely draw crowds for business dinners, as well as visitors to the city or those headed to Madison Square Garden. Originally, Young says, they thought about opening another location of Sunday in Brooklyn, but decided the space called for something else.

“We wanted to go into a different direction, just because of the size of the space and the opportunity. We thought about doing this old New York steakhouse. Coincidentally, a lot of new steakhouses popped up as we were building,” Young laughs. “We kind of missed the boat a little bit, but we’ve been planning this for the better part of two or three years at this point.”

2. The menu is old New York steakhouse, with some new ideas.

The menu stays true to that classic steakhouse ethos, with a sizable raw bar and plenty of prime cuts, but the team hopes the restaurant will also break some of those molds. The kitchen is led by chef and partner Derek Boccagno, previously of Café Chelsea.

“It’s not just a classic steakhouse. We’ve been calling it more of a grill house,” Young explains. “There’s the backbone of a steakhouse, but we have so much more. We’ve been looking at older menus, trying to reinvent some classics that I think could be the next iteration of iconic New York dishes.”

Among such new icons are their whole chilled lobster, served with deviled egg filling. There’s also going to be lobster ravioli (“For me, as a kid in the ’90s, that was on every menu,” Young laughs) with egg yolks and a roasted lobster-bone sauce accented with makrut lime. Caviar is woven throughout, whether it’s served with cheddar waffles or atop spaghetti with pancetta and mimolette cheese.

There’s also a whole section of the menu for cuts, ranging from the to-the-point “steak for one” ($42.95) to the 40-ounce, 45-day dry-aged Demkota tomahawk ($249.95). Prime rib, strip steak, and wagyu also make appearances. To go with your meat is another section for sauces, with choices like hollandaise, barbecue beurre blanc, roast garlic beef jus, and chimichurri.

For dessert, they’re doing an homage to a classic French dish with their gold-flecked chocolate caviar tart, plus offering steakhouse standbys like cherries jubilee and New York-style cheesecake. Oh, and there’s hot chocolate for two, served with marshmallows and whipped cream.

3. Drinks follow the same formula.

Libations follow the same classic-steakhouse-with-twists formula, with a whole section devoted to martinis (Gibson, vesper, Rob Roy, to name a few) and a long list of house non-alcoholic and classic cocktails.

Examples include the Space Oddity, made with Tequila, saffron, pandan leaf, and apricot, or the zero-proof NY Sour with Abstinence Malt, ginger-honey, curry leaf, and passionfruit. Not your speed? There’s also Miller High Life and a succinct, largely North American wine list.

Brian Evans, Sunday Hospitality’s director of bars, says to look for the Saturn, a tribute to a lesser-known tiki classic, made with gin, passion fruit, macadamia nut, and makrut lime leaves. The martini program, he adds, is also “globally inspired,” with a vesper made with Japanese gin and sakura barrel-aged shochu and green apple, and a Tuxedo #4, made with Mexican gin, mango, sherry, and hoja santa leaves.

4. Expect ever-changing artwork and an open-air patio.

The most stunning part of The Dynamo Room may be, well, the room itself, which was designed by Evidence of Things.

Over the bar sits an enormous art installation from Parisian artist Vincent Leroy, made up of clear and white rotating lenses. Art will always be a main component here, with the Karma art gallery organizing a selection of ever-changing pieces.

“We’re always going to have a different artist to showcase,” Young says. “It just brings so much to the space beyond design — it’s mood, and vibe.”

Inspiration for the design came from things like oyster cellars, the next-door Penn Station, and even the space race.

The room is divided into three unique spaces — the patio; the oyster bar, where guests can sip Champagne and order from the raw bar; and the dining room. The patio has large windows which they plan to open fully on days with nice enough weather. Throughout are additional elements like their pastry show kitchen, and a 20-person private dining room, too.

5. Location is everything.

“I think what defines us as a company is that we like to go into a place and become a part of the fabric of the neighborhood,” he says. “A big part of doing this particular restaurant for us was knowing that this is such an important part of New York City, It’s this huge transportation hub. We wanted to be a part of reviving this area and doing something to make it special.”

The Dynamo Room is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m., with daily breakfast and lunch service to follow soon.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.