With New York’s ever-so busy restaurants scene it’s hard to pick on just one. GATO though, doesn’t just serve tasty mediterranean cuisine with a creative twist. It’s the high-ceiling space, the buzz from the loud crowd and certainly the ever evolving chef, Bobby Flay.

Long before America had its food renaissance, Bobby Flay started working in the kitchen purely out of coincidence. When Bobby at 17 dropped out of school, his father insisted he gets a job within 2 days. Three years later he was already working as a sous-chef at an Upper East restaurant. Between appearing on TV food shows, including showing up on Food Network’s channel sometimes even with his teenage daughter, and running quite a few restaurants across the country, Bobby partnered with Laurence Kretchmer in 2014 to open up GATO.

Bobby Flay in the works of GATO’s kitchen in Greenwich Village

I first visited GATO in 2015 on an early evening of a rainy cold night and the place immediately caught my attention. The bar to begin with was very inviting as they also serve food there in case you don’t get your table on time. Tapas were very tasty, especially the Burrata and the Beef crudo.

Unarguably the roasted octopus with sour orange, bacon and oregano is the dish of the place. Yet you should also try the roasted cauliflower with padron peppers (yum!) and the handcut papardelle.

Scrambled eggs with harissa sauce and wood-oven ciabatta