Frequently Asked Questions

What is Next Restaurant?
Next Restaurant will explore world cuisine. It is being developed by chef Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas, and the creative team that built Alinea, including Crucial Detail designer Martin Kastner, Architect Steve Rugo, and Interior Designer Tom Stringer.
Next Restaurant will serve four menus per year from great moments in culinary history – or the future. Our team of chefs will investigate, test, refine, and present authentic menu interpretations from cultures, places and times. Depending on the cuisine, meals will be 5 to 6 courses and will include food, beverage pairings, and service.
Our goal each season is to present the best possible menu from each culinary inspiration. We want to take diners on a journey to the foods we find exciting, delicious, and important.

How much?
A meal at Next will represent a great value. Depending on the menu AND what day and time you are dining, food will be $40 to $75 for the entire prix fixe menu. Wine and beverage pairings will begin at a $25 supplement. Next’s goal is to serve 4-star food at 3-star prices.

Tickets?
Yes. Instead of reservations our bookings will be made more like a theater or a sporting event. Your tickets will be fully inclusive of all charges, including service. Ticket price will depend on which seating you buy – Saturday at 8 PM will be more expensive than Wednesday at 9:30 PM. This will allow us to offer an amazing experience at a very reasonable price. We will also offer an annual subscription to all four menus at a discount with preferred seating.
Two walk-in tables will be available every evening.
The tickets will be available via our website, and we are building the reservation system from scratch to ensure the best customer experience. It will be simple to use, efficient, and familiar to anyone who has booked a show or travel online.

When?
We learned not to predict an opening date. Fall 2010 if all goes well. Sign up here to be notified when we begin booking, or follow our progress on Facebook and Twitter.

What is The Aviary?
The Aviary is neither a bar nor a lounge exactly. Or perhaps it is a bar without a bar or bartenders. Or a lounge without the attitude of a lounge. It is our version of where we want to go for drinks on a Thursday evening with friends who care about what they are drinking and eating.

No Bartenders? No Bar?
We will have chefs and a kitchen producing drinks. The drinks will be innovative, beautiful, and consistent. Some will be classics, others will be informed by the menu at Next, still others will be something else entirely.

Food?
Yes. We think every great drink deserves a food pairing. Or perhaps every-other great drink if you are on a pace. So we will craft bites to pair with the drinks, much like we normally find drinks to pair with our bites.

Tickets for this place too?
No. Just walk on in. Take a look at our drink kitchen, have a seat, order an alcoholic tasting menu.

When?
Same opening as Next Restaurant.

Who Made the Trailer?
Martin Kastner and Nick Kokonas. A special thanks to Allen Hemberger who is not only cooking his way through the Alinea book, but also did the CGI for Hong Kong before starting his new job at Pixar.

How?
FinalCut, AfterEffects, Logic Studio, Photoshop, midnight oil.