With The Astor, a newly-opened restaurant at The Public Theater, and The Dutch (131 Sullivan St.), an American oyster room, hitting 15 years in SoHo, chef Andrew Carmellini has many reasons to celebrate.
But Carmellini, whose first restaurant was A Voce in Madison Square Park, seems to take it all in stride. After all, this is the chef who was chosen by Robert De Niro to lead the kitchen at Locanda Verde at The Greenwich Hotel, which he did with his business partners Josh Pickard and Luke Ostrom to much success and acclaim.
Their NoHo Hospitality Group has a long history with the food and beverage team at The Public Theater, so The Astor and Bar Torino are a homecoming of sorts. Plus, they’re breathing new life into the legendary NoHo venue.
Between all this, we caught up with Carmellini to get the scoop on his favorite places to eat in his home neighborhood of Chelsea. Plus, his favorite places to eat outside of the city, solo, with friends, and with his wife, Gwen.
The Chef Shares Old School NYC Favorites
Bartolo
“I’ve had two great meals at Bartolo and singing the praises of what Ryan [Bartlow] is doing there. It’s very, very good and he’s cooking on a level that’s very underrated, I think.
In this age of Instagram and content, he’s putting out some well thought-out, delicious, Spanish food. Ryan does a really great traditional fried baccala; it’s really similar to what I’ve had in Spain. He does a great sucking pig there too.” 310-312 W. 4th St., West Village, bartolonyc.com
Txikito
“I’ve been in Manhattan for 36 years and I live in Chelsea, not far from the West Village. We go out all the time [and] I’m always checking out new things. But in Chelsea, I’m a big fan of Txikito. It’s so underrated. Alex [Raij] and her husband [Eder Montero] are so underrated.
A lot of times people are building restaurants based on vibes but for an actual, real Basque tapas situation that really delivers? Txikito is amazing and I go there quite often. Everyone should go there.” 240 9th Ave., Chelsea, txikitonyc.com
Milos
“I think Milos does a really nice job. You know, there aren’t many places in the city where you can get a whole wild European fish for two. (A lot of places do farm-raised
fish, but if you want a wild fish from Europe, it’s very, very hard to find and very expensive).
But if I’m in the mood for that, which sometimes I am, I’ll go to Milos—either location. Sometimes we’ll get wild turbot from France or Holland for Cafe Carmellini. It’s expensive but nothing beats it.” 20 Hudson Yards, 5th floor, Hudson Yard; and 125 W. 55th St., Midtown, estiatoriomilos.com
When Andrew Carmellini Goes Out For Drinks
Bar Goto
“[Owner/bartender] Kenta Goto is great and Bar Goto always has a good vibe; they always have a great Highball. And Kenta is flying under the radar too! He still does a great job and I love the wings.” 245 Eldridge St., Lower East Side, bargoto.com
Angel’s Share
“Angel’s Share is still great. And long before there were ‘best bar in the world lists’ and everyone was making their own proprietary bitters and all that, Angel’s Share was great. We used to drink Singapore Slings there; [years ago] it was the only place in New York to get a Singapore Sling [laughs].” 45 Grove St., West Village, angelssharenyc.com
Swift Hibernian Lounge
“For bars, Bar Goto, Angel’s Share, and Swift are all great places in my New York rotation. Swift is one of the great Irish bars of New York!” 34 E. 4th St., East Village, swiftnycbar.com
Date Night in Queens
“We’ve done some Flushing Date nights this past year and it’s so much fun. [We’ll eat at] Coco Hot Pot followed by black sesame soft serve at Soft Swerve, and then [we’ll go to] Gatcha or Round One for some pinball and those dumb claw machines. It’s so fun and different than a typical run-of-the-mill night out in the West Village.”
Coco Hotpot 皇椰鸡, 37-20 Prince St., Flushing, Queens, cocohotpotqueens.com
Soft Swerve, 37-12 Prince St., Flushing, Queens, softswervenyc.com
Gatcha, 133-33 39th Ave., Flushing, Queens, gatcha.us
Round1 Bowling & Arcade, 131-07 40th Road, Suite C01, Flushing, Queens, round1usa.com
