Double Knot

Quick Take: Should You Book Double Knot?

Seats at Double Knot move fast, and for a Japanese-leaning global seafood concept in New York City, that scarcity is not accidental. If your window is limited, book early in the week when availability opens and competition is lighter. This is a venue that rewards planning over impulse.

What Double Knot Is

Double Knot serves Japanese and seafood-forward cooking with global influences, positioning itself in a New York dining tier that takes the craft seriously. The cuisine type alone — Japanese, Seafood, Global — signals a kitchen thinking across traditions rather than committing to a single lane. For the explorer-minded diner who wants depth and range on the same menu, that breadth is the point, not a compromise.

The service philosophy here is what determines whether Double Knot earns its place on your shortlist. In a city where the $$$$ tier is defined by destinations like Le Bernardin and Atomix, service either justifies the price or exposes it. At Double Knot, the expectation should be attentive without being formal , a register that suits the global-casual ambition of the menu. If you want white-glove precision, Per Se or Masa are better fits. If you want knowledgeable hospitality that tracks with a less rigid format, Double Knot is more likely to deliver.

Timing matters here. The optimal visit is earlier in the evening, before the room fills and service gets stretched. Mid-week dinner , Tuesday through Thursday , tends to give you a more focused experience than a Friday or Saturday peak. For context on how New York's broader dining scene stacks up around this kind of venue, our full New York City restaurants guide covers the field in depth.

Who Should Book

Double Knot suits the diner who wants range and craft in a single sitting , someone more interested in a kitchen's point of view than a single-discipline tasting menu. If you are already committed to the omakase format, Masa is the cleaner choice. If you want a more conceptually focused modern tasting experience, Atomix sets the standard in New York right now. Double Knot is the right call if you want something between those poles: global-informed, seafood-forward, and less ceremonial in its approach.

Booking is rated Easy, which is a real advantage in this market. You do not need to refresh a reservations page at midnight or work a waitlist. That accessibility, combined with a cuisine profile that travels well across group compositions, makes Double Knot a practical option for mixed-preference groups where one format might alienate someone at the table.

Practical Details

Reservations: Easy to secure , book a week or two ahead for preferred timing, earlier in the week for leading availability. Leading timing: Early evening, Tuesday through Thursday. Group suitability: Works well for small groups with varied tastes given the global-seafood range. Nearby: If you are spending time in the city, our New York City hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the broader picture.

How It Compares

Against New York's top-tier competition, Double Knot occupies a different register than the city's most decorated rooms. Le Bernardin is the definitive choice for seafood at the highest technical level , three Michelin stars, a formal room, and a kitchen that has defined the category for decades. If seafood excellence with maximum service polish is the goal, Le Bernardin is not replaceable. Eleven Madison Park offers a plant-based tasting menu at similar ambition levels, but it is a fundamentally different proposition. Double Knot is more useful as an accessible, globally-framed alternative when you want quality without the full ceremony of those rooms.

For Japanese and seafood specifically, the honest comparison is Masa, which is the most expensive restaurant in the United States and delivers a singular omakase experience with corresponding service depth. Double Knot does not compete on that axis and should not be expected to. Where it has an edge is booking ease and format flexibility , two things Masa does not offer. Atomix is the right peer comparison for modern technique and tasting-menu ambition in this part of the city, with a more tightly controlled experience than Double Knot's global range suggests.

If you are planning a broader dining itinerary and want to benchmark Double Knot against the full field, venues like Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Providence in Los Angeles, and The French Laundry in Napa illustrate what the top tier of American tasting-menu dining looks like outside New York. Within New York, Double Knot earns its place by being genuinely bookable, globally-minded, and focused on seafood in a market where that combination is less common than it should be.

FAQ

What should I wear to Double Knot?

• No formal dress code is confirmed in available data, so treat this as smart casual , the default expectation for a serious Japanese-seafood restaurant in New York City at this price tier.
• Avoid athleisure or overly casual clothing; the room and cuisine type signal a venue that takes the experience seriously, even if it is not prescriptively formal.
• If you are coming from a hotel or event, business casual travel attire is a safe baseline. For reference, venues like Per Se require jackets for men; Double Knot sits below that formality level based on its format and positioning.
• When in doubt, err toward dressed-up rather than down , New York's better dining rooms reward it, and you will feel more comfortable at the table.