Peter Luger's is Still Charming Enough, 138 Years Later

Brooklyn's oldest steakhouse is still a charmer. The steakhouse stalwart has captured the hearts of many and has remained virtually unchanged, almost staunchly so, as New York's steak scene continues to swell around it. Do you come here for the best steak of your life? No, not really. But eating a meal at one of the city's relics—seriously, it opened in 1887—is reason enough to give Mr. Luger a try.

A little bit of everyone finds their way to this South Williamsburg establishment, as tables are filled with the old and the young, lovebirds and families. White-aproned servers of a certain age tend to tables with swiftness and, at least at our table, a smile, scribbling orders on pads of paper and dropping off white napkined breadbaskets with efficiency. It all goes down in a setting that