Picture a movie scene where Wall Street bankers, politicians and socialites chat and conspire while cutting into thick steaks, and sip whisky on the rocks or smoke a cigar in a dimly lit cavern in Lower Manhattan.

You can replicate that scene in southern Seoul at Manhattan Grill, a classy steakhouse in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel. This is a place where businessmen want to come with their male colleagues for a proper gentlemen’s evening.

The restaurant’s interior is a combination of dark blue leather sofas and mahogany walls and makes the venue very New York-like. The black and white photos of the Big Apple’s skylines hang on the walls while jazz music plays in the background.

“We’ve adopted a New York-like atmosphere. It’s urbane as well as stately,” said Park Ji-yoon, marketing communications coordinator of the Renaissance Hotel.

It offers a classic menu, serving tenderloin, sirloin and rib eye steaks of different origins. The meat is sourced from Korea, Australia and the U.S., and Park boasts Kobe Wagyu beef imported from the U.S. exclusively for the restaurant on the menu that is pricier than premium Korean beef or hanwoo.

The restaurant also has an extensive list of seafood dishes including grilled red snapper, abalone, steamed king crab and Canadian lobster. It keeps a variety of wine from all over the world as well as a small collection of cigars.

The New York experience doesn’t come cheap, however. Steaks on the a la carte menu cost from 55,500 won (premium U.S. beef sirloin steak, 310 grams) to 105,000 won (hanwoo rib eye steak, 270 grams). Ten percent value added tax and another 10 percent service charge will be added to the bill.

Customers with tighter wallets can consider the reasonably priced lunch sets at Manhattan Grill. Two different courses ― one with Australian steak and another with seafood ― is 55,000 won plus tax and service charge. The set menu includes a buffet of appetizers along with a soup choice at the beginning and desserts at the end. (Korea Times)