Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Our bill approached $10,000 at Manhattan's Lever House. Or so I was told. My companions were paying. The 20 or so young attorneys racked up quite a tab on tuna tartare and pinot noir. They expensed it.

That was the summer of 2006. It was high times for Lever House, a precocious restaurant in Midtown's landmark building. The venue had an impeccably dressed co-owner (John McDonald), a Michelin star (which it eventually lost) and was the darling of the power-lunch scene (giving competition to Michael's and The Four Seasons).

It was a second Gilded Age, before the credit crisis, before major investment banks began to fail, before ex-bankers started selling cupcakes.

So are things different at Lever as it celebrates its fifth anniversary? Judging from three recent visits, not really -- except for the new chef (late of Arizona) and the high prices (now even higher). A meal for two will easily run $300 with wine, tax and tip.

A palm-size lobster sandwich costs $38. The delicate crustacean seems to dissolve in your mouth like cotton candy. An oven-cured tomato sweetens the meat; bacon tempura lends a hint of smoke. It's ridiculously expensive, but what other venue offers a BLT this good?

Thank chef Bradford Thompson, a James Beard award-winner who joined Lever in June. He serves elegant American cuisine that veers toward excellence -- occasionally.

How Much?

A hamburger without Kobe or truffles is $26 at lunch -- $35 with fries. The medium-rare patty was underseasoned and overwhelmed by red-wine onions. Couldn't taste the cheddar. Value is subjective, but when there are better burgers for $10, even the wealthy will feel ripped off.

And then there's the noise. And the crowds. Here's the scene one night last week: A pearly white bar filled up with suits who reached past you to pick up their $16 dirty martinis. A pack of young lawyers strategized how to get the bartender's attention. The sommelier told me one table rang up nearly $8,000 on wines like a 1966 Mouton Rothschild.

McDonald (photographed in Esquire) was dining in the tail end of the gorgeous room -- a 1950s space-age view of the future with hexagons everywhere and slanted angles. Imagine a Jetsons- style bachelor pad. And as loud as the New York Stock Exchange.

Portions are modest; order an appetizer and pasta before your entree. A few bites of agnolotti cost $23. Firm noodles encase tiny bursts of sweet corn cream. The summer vegetable approaches an ethereal state in Thompson's hands; try his silky corn soup. Mascarpone and chanterelle risotto? It's nothing new, but that's OK when it's this rich and creamy.

Temperature Travails

Skip the room-temperature oysters, or the raw tuna (yet another tired riff with avocado). A $24 fried crab cake had little crab flavor. Steamed halibut was cool when it reached our table; a lobster sauce salvaged the $40 dish. Poached skate ($37) was bland and lukewarm. Meaty striped bass had the oomph to stand up to a spicy pepper sauce.

My $42 lobster couldn't have been bigger than a large langoustine. Claws were the size of my thumbs. A hint of Banyuls offset the butter-roasted flesh. Small but stunning. Medium-rare veal was just as tender as the accompanying sweetbreads.

Finish with melon soup (light and basil-spiked), a caramel pot de creme (memorably complex) and corn ice cream (surprisingly sharp).

Oh, wait -- you wanted beef? There's a half-pound sirloin for $44 or a hanger steak salad: just a few under-salted bites for $31. One catch: The bovine dishes are only on the afternoon menu. That's why it's called power lunch, not power dinner.

Rating: **

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? An arm for appetizers, a leg for entrees.

Sound level? Type-A's trying to talk over one another.

Date place? Only if you can expense your social life.

Inside tip? Let your lawyer pay like I did.

Special feature? My martini was strong and undervermouthed -- if that's the sort of evening-ending cocktail you want. And cheers to sommelier Arnaud Devulder for value-conscious wines.

Private room? Yes.

Will I be back? In the next Gilded Age.

Lever House is at 390 Park Ave at 53rd St. Information: +1-212-888-2700; http://www.leverhouse.com.

What the Stars Mean:
****         Incomparable food, service, ambience.
***          First-class of its kind.
**           Good, reliable.
*            Fair
No stars     Poor.

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 16, 2008 00:01 EDT