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Our rating of the restaurant at the top of One World Trade

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Dining at One World Trade – a breathtaking culinary experience or another New York tourist trap?

Will setting up a restaurant on the 101st floor of Freedom Tower entice foodies to reserve a table? Or run away from the prospect of overpriced food and dishes based on the lowest common denominator?

Whether you guessed A or B, you're probably right, because ONE Dine (the New American lunch and dinner spot “above town”) is conveniently located at the intersection of both.

But to be honest, I'm kind of here for it.

Or – at least – me Was when I visited for dinner last night.

Eating at 1,300 feet

ONE Dine is an American restaurant located one floor below the observatory at One World Trade. The plaza rises 1,300 feet into the sky and offers guests expansive views of the city's five boroughs. The menu, according to the team, offers “a range of decadent dishes, from fresh seafood to succulent steaks, all beautifully presented and full of flavour.”

To any native New Yorker, that description probably has as much appeal as the M&M's store in Times Square.

However, I'm from New Jersey and was dying to give myself an “I HEART NY t-shirt and call myself a Yankee” when a review proposal landed on my desk.

Worst case scenario, I took a selfie with this view.

Or a cocktail with a view.

So, yes. I was there.

Access to ONE Dine

I arrived at ONE Dine just before sunset. As I sent my bag through security, I built two hypothetical columns in my head: “Unique Experience” on the left, “Overpriced Tourist Trap” on the right. I kept counts in each category throughout the evening.

Access to ONE Dine requires visitors to do so Also Purchase a ticket for One World Observatory, which costs between $49 and $79 each (an automatic right-side price). There is an additional charge for all food and drinks consumed in the restaurant (expected, but still another point for “tourist trap”).

I entered the elevator with my ticket in hand. Ascending to floor 101, the car's walls transformed into an immersive video chamber, showing footage of the development of New York City. I hadn't been this cool in an elevator since my descent to Mars 2112 (IYKYK), so that was one point for “unique experience.”

When the doors of the observatory car opened, another video wall was waiting. After a moment it fell apart, revealing the breathtaking view in front of which I would dine.

Point number two for the experience column on the left.

Manhattan's summeriest fall menu

A hostess accompanied me to the table in ONE where my colleagues were sitting. The dining room's interior lighting was dimmed, allowing Manhattan's exterior lighting to illuminate the space (point for “unique experience”). There was a bar behind the tables.

The restaurant's “fall menu” is on my place setting – but it was packed with dishes focused on tomatoes, sashimi, lobster and green beans; each reminiscent of the light flavors of July.

I would forgive this (and assume the kitchen is still in summer mode) if it hadn't been for the dinner theme literally been “Case Equinox” and the menu does not literally be named “Autumn menu.”

One point for tourist trap.

The three entrees I tried at ONE Dine included yellowfin tuna, Caesar salad, and burrata with tomato. All were simple in concept, suggesting an “overpriced tourist trap,” but some actually tasted pretty good – and a dish that tastes good is expensivenot overpriced.

So, appetizers at one of those restaurants with New York views that don't feel like they're coming from the Applebees on 42nd Street? Definitely a point for a unique experience.

However, I can't say the same for the main courses.

Main courses, toilets and two rounds of dessert

For dinner, my friends and I tried fried chicken, miso cauliflower, lobster fusilli, and branzino.

Starting with the good, I loved the Branzino. The skin was crispy, the drizzle of butter was enriched with Moroccan herb sauce chermoula, and a blackened lemon half added color to the presentation. At $42, the price was high—from a Jersey resident's perspective—but honestly, I would eat it again.

The lobster fusilli, on the other hand, was woefully underseasoned. It and the chicken were both served in brothy sauces that lacked richness and creativity. At $49 and $43 each, they were nowhere near worth it (serve me the same rotisserie at Costco price, though, and I'd be all for it).

The cauliflower also seemed overpriced to me at $32. Considering the $49 entry fee, a vegan guest at ONE Dine is looking at a bill of $81 plus tax for a bowl of vegetables.

Balance sheet for tourist trap.

Between dinner and dessert, I had time to explore the other areas of the restaurant. Near the Uptown window were cozy, semi-circular booths where guests could curl up on their dates and enjoy the stunning skyline under the stars. Point for a unique experience.

On the way to the restrooms (which, unlike the Olive Garden on 47th Street, were immaculately clean, so I give the left one kudos) I passed the large bar where visitors can enjoy a cocktail without paying $40( +) having to pay) for an appetizer. Another review for a unique experience.

When I returned to my seat, dessert was there. A sticky toffee pudding à la mode that was sinfully delicious.

And when the waiter got an extra at the end of the night and Just leave it to me because it looked like I enjoyed the first partThe hospitable service warmed me, as did the cake's rich brown sugar sauce.

Two points for a unique experience and two hours of running the next morning.

The final balance

I left ONE Dine at 9pm. I took the elevator down 100 floors packed with my colleagues and wrote down my balance sheet again in my head.

Out-of-season flavors and expensive mandatory entry tickets were the main arguments for an overpriced tourist trap, with the right column receiving four points.

However, incredible views, melt-in-your-mouth cakes, friendly service, fresh burrata and romantic tables wiped out that score, giving eight points for the team's unique experience.

And since 8 > 4, there you have it.

Visit ONE Dine, New Jersey.

You will (probably) like it.

ONE Dine is located at 117 West Street in NY, NY. To learn more about the restaurant or to make a reservation, visit oneworldobservatory.com/bar-restaurant.

Kara VanDooijeweert is a food writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you don't find her in Jersey's best restaurants, she's probably at a race track in the mountains. See her on Instagram: @karanicolev & @northjerseyeatsand sign up for them North Jersey Eats Newsletter.

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