Gage and Tollner

Did You Know?

• Head waiter Ike Gaskill, who served from 1900 until his death in 1960, memorized the names of over 5,000 customers, including some who had visited only a few times.
• Politicians who ate at the restaurant tended to separate by party: Democrats sat on the west or right side, Republicans on the east or left side.
• The restaurant banned 'short shorts' despite having a casual dress code.

History

The building at 372-374 Fulton Street went up around 1875 as a home. The Craft family bought the land from the Smiths in 1873 and kept the building, called the Craft Building, for fifty years; a tailor worked there in the 1870s. Charles Gage started an eating house at 302 Fulton Street in November 1879, selling ale, lager, and dishes like lobster Newberg. Eugene Tollner came on board in 1880, and by 1882 the place was called Gage & Tollner's. On February 18, 1889, the restaurant moved to 372-374 Fulton Street.

A storm door was added in 1890, and electric lights were installed later that decade to go with the original gas ones. The spot became popular with department-store bosses, judges, and politicians. By 1900, women could not smoke, and guests arrived by horse-drawn carriage. The restaurant shut down each year from June 1 to September 1 because oysters were unavailable in summer. Men got permission to smoke in 1902, but women still could not.

Architecture

Gage and Tollner occupies a four-story brownstone built in the late Italianate style, located at 372–374 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Only the northern facade, which faces Fulton Street, is visible from the street. The wooden ground-level storefront, likely installed when the restaurant took over the space, is Neo-Grec in style. At its center, a pair of Doric columns supports a slightly projecting portico.

To the left are a double door and a window; to the right is another door. These are separated by colonettes topped with capitals decorated with foliage, which support a frieze featuring alternating eight-pointed stars and decorative brackets. A cornice runs horizontally above. The upper three stories are clad in brownstone with molded frames, corbels under the window sills, and cornices above each window.

A cornice with modillions and fascia runs above the fourth story. The interior retains its original Victorian design, which prioritized comfort through fine woodwork and mirrors rather than elegance. The main dining room was designed to evoke the interior of a railcar. As of 2021, the main dining room seats 70 people, and the bar has 40 seats.

Cuisine

At first, Gage and Tollner’s menu was limited to seafood, steaks, and meat chops, with no roasted or fried options. Seafood was cooked in front of customers using a variety of methods. Hard coal, specifically anthracite, was used for boiling; a 1956 report noted the restaurant went through 12 short tons of it each month. To keep ingredients fresh, the kitchen bought food in small batches and prepared each order individually.

Some recipes later appeared in a 1982 cookbook from the Master Chefs Institute. The restaurant would usually accommodate dietary restrictions by swapping ingredients, but would not substitute skim milk for whole milk or margarine for butter. At the turn of the 20th century, oysters were offered fried three ways, stewed five ways, and broiled six ways. A 1919 menu listed twenty-four preparations for Saddle Rock oysters alone.

By the 1960s and 1970s, the menu had expanded to include many meat dishes, salads, and potato and vegetable options alongside the seafood. The wine list was extensive in the mid-20th century but avoided rare vintages. As late as 1981, only three frozen items appeared on the menu. Before broiling a steak, waiters would show it to the diner, and French fries accompanied all meat dishes.

Reception

In 1971, Alice Smith of Women's Wear Daily said the decorations evoke a genuine vision of the era of Diamond Jim Brady. Paul Goldberger of the Times wrote in 1979 that other restaurants seem showy and false, while Gage & Tollner is quiet, graceful, and the real thing. Another Times writer called it probably the most celebrated New York City landmark in which to eat, and food critic Mimi Sheraton called it the city's most beautifully intact landmark restaurant.

In 1976, New York Daily News writer Joan Shepard described the atmosphere as grand but not stuffy; a 1996 reporter from the same paper called it the original theme restaurant. A 2000 Boston Globe writer said it still looks as it did when Queen Victoria was on the throne. A Times critic praised the food and decor in 2001. The Times Union wrote in 1917 that the restaurant's persistent popularity, despite its rigid adherence to old-fashioned rules, indicates that many people like to eat without cabaret thrills if the food is of the best quality and the service polite.

A 1934 Brooklyn Daily Eagle critic called a visit an epicurean treat. In 1952, one magazine dubbed it one of the world's best seafood restaurants. Holiday magazine gave it a dining distinction award on several consecutive years in the 1950s and 1960s.