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Expert Advice on Eating at 1WTC's Restaurants: Don't Do it

 The food at 1WTC is overpriced and underwhelming, according to an Eater review.
The food at 1WTC is overpriced and underwhelming, according to an Eater review.
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DNAinfo/Irene Plagianos

There are three places to eat at One World Observatory, the soaring perch atop One World Trade Center, and they all have two things in common: the views are spectacular, and the food is not.

That’s the takeaway from Eater’s funny and, well, biting, review of what they characterize as the overpriced and underwhelming food options you’ll find 1,250 feet up in the air.

There’s fine dining, a bar with small bites and a grab-and-go area — and “you probably shouldn’t eat at any of them” writes Eater’s Ryan Sutton. All the food is operated by Legends, a hospitality company that runs concessions at big sports arenas, like Yankee Stadium.

Setting the foundation for steep price complaints: even if you just want to go to the restaurant or bar, you still have to pay $32 (the fee for entry to the observatory) to get in.

Here are some highlights from the review (and, of course, low points for the food).

On the overpriced food and drinks at the One Mix Bar:

“One Mix serves 'handcrafted small plates and cocktails celebrating New York.' I suppose this explains why the margarita is dedicated to Corona, Queens, with its predominantly Latino population (really). Corona also happens to be one of the region's most affordable neighborhoods, and so the margarita at One Mix is affordably priced at $18. The tipple tastes of alcohol and sugar. And this is when you realize that the WTC's diluted Disney-approach approach to honoring the city's gastronomic diversity might not work.”

On the fast-casual One Café, which charges $5.44 for a bottle of water, he says diners should “avoid everything”

The fine dining isn't bad, it's just crazy overpriced, and not really fine-dining, according to Eater.

"This is expensive food without a narrative."

And in case you thought Eater saw anything redeeming about these places, rest assured, you'd be wrong. The kicker:

"...[T]he thought of an out-of-towner writing off New York's great dining scene after a shake down at our city's most recognizable new building is a notion that should trouble us all. The new restaurants at One World Trade aren't so much ambassadors for our shiny and safe city as they are the shady hustlers on the street corner."

So, um, bon appetit?