Restaurant in New York City, United States · Inside The Maritime Hotel

Tao

Name: Tao
Address: 92 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011, New York City, US
Telephone: (212) 888-2724

345Pearl Points

Group dinner that doubles as a night out.

About Tao

Tao in Chelsea is a credentialed Asian fusion dining room — ranked #576 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025 — that works best for groups who want real kitchen ambition alongside a polished, high-energy environment. The dual Japanese and Thai menu operates at $$$ pricing, with an unusually deep wine list of 225 selections and $25 corkage. Easy to book, dinner only, open until midnight most nights.

Who Should Book Tao — and When

If you are planning a group dinner in Manhattan's Chelsea that needs to work simultaneously as a night out and a meal, Tao at 92 9th Avenue is a strong call. It is the kind of place that handles a table of six or eight without friction, where the room does some of the heavy lifting for you. For a solo diner or a quiet couple's dinner, the format and scale will feel mismatched — consider Dimes or Hortus NYC instead. But for groups who want a proper dining room with real kitchen ambition behind the Asian fusion menu, Tao earns its place on a shortlist.

What the Kitchen Is Doing

Tao runs a Japanese and Thai dual-cuisine program under Chef Ralph Scamardella, with Wine Director Nikki McCutcheon overseeing a list of 225 selections across a 4,430-bottle inventory. That wine program is unusually deep for a venue in this category: California and France anchor the list, Champagne is a strength, and corkage sits at $25 if you bring your own. The cuisine pricing lands at $$$, meaning a typical two-course dinner without drinks runs above $66 per head. That positions Tao in a mid-to-upper tier for Asian fusion in New York, not a budget option but well below the omakase-format Japanese rooms that push $200 or more per person.

The kitchen's output under Scamardella spans both Japanese and Thai traditions rather than blending them into a homogenized pan-Asian menu. If you are returning after a first visit, the stronger play is to anchor your order in whichever of the two traditions felt more precise last time and order further into it rather than sampling across both. The wine list rewards the same approach: the $$$ pricing tier means many bottles clear $100, so ask McCutcheon's team to guide you toward the California selections if you want value density relative to the list's overall positioning.

Opinionated About Dining ranked Tao at #576 in North America in 2025 (up from #588 in 2024), which places it in a credentialed tier that goes beyond pure scene value. That trajectory matters: a venue climbing the OAD rankings while operating at this scale is demonstrating kitchen consistency, not just front-of-house management.

Booking and Timing

Tao opens for dinner only, Monday through Thursday from 5 PM to midnight, Friday and Saturday until 1 AM, and Sunday until midnight. No lunch service is offered at this location. Booking difficulty is rated easy, which means you are unlikely to need more than a week or two of lead time on most nights, though Friday and Saturday at prime hours (7:30 to 9 PM) will fill faster. If your group is flexible on the day, a Thursday booking gets you the same late closing as a weekend without the weekend-night crowd compression.

General Manager Adam Lore oversees operations for owners Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, the Tao Group principals. The operation is polished at a hospitality-group level, which means service is consistent and trained rather than idiosyncratic. That is an asset for groups who need the logistics handled well; it is less interesting if you are after a chef-driven room with a singular personality. For the latter, Buddakan nearby offers a comparable scale with a slightly different energy.

For more options across the city, see our full New York City restaurants guide, and if you are pairing dinner with a stay, our New York City hotels guide covers where to stay nearby. The New York City bars guide is useful for pre- or post-dinner options in the area.

If you are curious how the Asian fusion format plays in other cities, Dos Palilos in Barcelona and Aalto in Milan are worth comparing. For high-end American dining benchmarks across other markets, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Smyth in Chicago, and Providence in Los Angeles each represent what rigorous kitchen programs look like at scale in their respective cities.

Quick reference: Dinner only, 5 PM daily, easy to book, $$$ cuisine, $$$ wine list with 225 selections and $25 corkage.

Ratings

Google: 4.3 out of 5 (5,238 reviews)
Opinionated About Dining: #576 in North America, 2025 (ranked #588 in 2024)

Frequently Asked Questions

How far ahead should I book Tao?

Book at least one to two weeks out for weeknight dinners; for Friday or Saturday, aim for two to three weeks minimum. Tao runs dinner-only service at 92 9th Ave, and weekend slots move fast given the venue's size and dual role as a dining and nightlife destination. OAD has ranked it in the top 600 restaurants in North America two years running, so demand is consistent year-round.

What should I order at Tao?

Tao runs a Japanese and Thai dual-cuisine program under Chef Ralph Scamardella, so the menu spans sushi and sashimi alongside Thai-influenced dishes. Wine Director Nikki McCutcheon oversees 225 selections with particular strength in California and France — the wine list is priced at $$$, meaning expect plenty of bottles above $100, though a $25 corkage fee makes bringing your own a viable option. Focus on dishes that play to the kitchen's Japanese and Thai strengths rather than ordering across every category.

What should I wear to Tao?

Tao skews dressed-up casual to night-out attire given its positioning as a dinner-plus-nightlife venue in Chelsea. There is no documented formal dress code in the venue record, but the crowd and setting call for something more polished than jeans and a t-shirt, particularly on Friday and Saturday when the room runs until 1 AM.

Is lunch or dinner better at Tao?

Dinner is your only option — Tao does not offer lunch service. Hours run Monday through Thursday 5 PM to midnight, Friday and Saturday until 1 AM, and Sunday until midnight. If you want a midday meal in the neighbourhood, you will need to look elsewhere.

Does Tao handle dietary restrictions?

The venue database does not specify a documented dietary restriction policy, so check the venue's official channels before booking if you have serious allergies or requirements. The dual Japanese-Thai menu does offer range, which typically means options exist across dietary preferences, but confirm specifics with the team rather than assuming.

Can I eat at the bar at Tao?

Bar seating availability is not confirmed in the venue record, so it is worth calling ahead if bar dining is your preference. Tao's format trends toward full table service for dinner groups, and given the scale of the operation — 4,430 wine inventory, a full management team including GM Adam Lore — this is a sit-down dining operation rather than a casual drop-in bar.

Location

92 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011

New York City, United States

Compare Tao

Comparing Tao to Alternatives

Venue	Cuisine	Price	Awards	Booking Difficulty
Tao	Asian Fusion			Easy
Le Bernardin	French, Seafood	$$$$	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Atomix	Modern Korean, Korean	$$$$	Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Per Se	French, Contemporary	$$$$	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Masa	Sushi, Japanese	$$$$	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown
Eleven Madison Park	French, Vegan	$$$$	Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best	Unknown

Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.

Also Consider

Le Bernardin, French, Seafood, $$$$
Atomix, Modern Korean, Korean, $$$$
Per Se, French, Contemporary, $$$$
Masa, Sushi, Japanese, $$$$
Eleven Madison Park, French, Vegan, $$$$

Tao sits in a different competitive tier than most of New York's headline dining rooms. Against Le Bernardin, Atomix, Per Se, Masa, and Eleven Madison Park, all operating at $$$$ pricing with tasting-menu formats and Michelin recognition, Tao offers a materially different proposition: a la carte Asian fusion at $$$ pricing, easy booking, and a room that functions well for groups. If you are choosing between Tao and any of those $$$$ rooms, the question is whether you want a destination-dining format or a dinner that works as a social event. For the latter, Tao is the stronger call.

Within its own category, Tao's OAD ranking at #576 in North America gives it more credential than most large-format Asian fusion venues in the city. The 225-selection wine list with a $25 corkage option is a genuine differentiator at this price tier, none of the $$$$ comparison venues above offer corkage as a practical option. If wine matters to your group and budget is a factor, Tao's list and corkage policy give it an edge over similarly priced competitors in the Asian fusion space.

For a quieter, more intimate version of the Asian-influenced dining category in New York, the comparison set shifts entirely. Tao is a large-format hospitality-group operation, consistent and polished, but not a chef-driven room with a singular creative voice. If that distinction matters for your booking decision, the $$$$ rooms above will deliver more in terms of culinary specificity and kitchen personality. Book Tao when the group dynamic and the overall evening matter as much as what is on the plate; book Le Bernardin or Atomix when the kitchen is the primary reason you are going out.