Some fine-dining establishments are sharing as few details as possible online in hopes that diners will let go and trust their chefs.
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There are several bits of information you might wish to know before going to a restaurant. For example: When does it open? What can you eat there, and how much does it cost? These are just the sort of details that appear on a restaurant’s website, traditionally a digital repository of facts about your prospective meal.
Unless they don’t. Lately, a number of establishments — not under-the-radar mom-and-pops, but chic or pedigreed restaurants, the kind of places that appear on must-try lists — are withholding the details in favor of an air of mystery.
If you are willing to click past the warning that your connection is not private, the website for Warlord, a buzzy Chicago restaurant known for its long lines and defiant lack of P.R., offers only a black homepage promising “a relaxed dining experience in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago focused on preservation and live fire; from the foundations of family and friendship.” There are hours and an address, but no indication of what might be cooking on the fire.
The landing page for Frog Club, in New York City, which only recently allowed photographs to be taken in the dining room, offers no information other than a link to Resy, a “contact” button and a large image of an aggressively closed door. Saigon Babylon, in Cambridge, Mass., has no website at all, but does maintain an Instagram account. Currently it has nine posts, none of which feature food.
If you are trying to plan your evening and would like to know if there is a vegan option or how much the hamburger might cost, the low-information restaurant can be infuriating.
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