Among the 20 toniest restaurants, the average tab is $143.06, quite a hike from $84.45 in 2002, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

But do the high prices make New York food devotees shudder?

"These are restaurants frequented by young Wall Street types who don't have to worry about how much things cost and who are perfectly willing to spend $100 or 200 for a meal," said publisher Tim Zagat, who calls the Big Apple "The Dining Capital of the World."

At least nine eateries are included on the 2008 and 2002 Zagat lists of most expensive restaurants, including Daniel, where a typical dinner now costs $132, compared to $87 in 2002 -- a 51.7 percent hike -- and Bernardin, where the average dinner bill is $129, a 53.5 percent over its $84 tab six years ago.

For foodies whose wallets aren't quite so fat, the $39.46-per-dinner city average is only three cents more than last year.