Gotham Bar and Grill

The story of Gotham Bar and Grill is one of seeming contradictions that, to the delight of discerning diners, make surprisingly perfect sense: Sophisticated cuisine with mass appeal; knowledgeable service that’s never stuffy or pretentious, and a persistent creativity, energy, and popularity that make Gotham feel like each season’s hottest new opening, even though it’s been at the forefront of New York’s dining scene for a quarter of a century.

 Of course the cornerstone of any restaurant is the food, and Chef Alfred Portale’s cuisine has lured diners to Gotham for twenty-five years, and influenced the culinary scene far beyond the restaurant’s walls.  One of the driving forces behind modern American cuisine, Portale helped revolutionize the way Americans dined in the 1980s—thoughtfully breaking with French conventions, calling on previously unfamiliar ingredients from around the world, and exhibiting a fierce devotion to seasonality—and to this day consistently drives himself to create new, of-the-moment dishes that keep the Gotham experience fresh and exciting year after year.

 Gotham Bar and Grill also proudly pioneered a new era in restaurant service.  Where fine dining once meant tuxedoed waiters and boardroom-level dress codes for guests, Gotham was among the first to abandon pretension and formality in favor of a more casual, but no less expert, service style and to let each customer set his or her own standard of attire, offering only “smart casual” as a guideline.  As a result, as former New York Times critic Ruth Reichl once declared, you feel as comfortable in the Gotham in jeans as you do in a tuxedo, and are treated with the same warmth and respect by the staff either way.

 Taken together, Gotham’s food and service helped set the table for an entire generation of restaurateurs and diners, and continue to act as standard bearers for the industry.  As Jonathan Gold wrote in Gourmet magazine at the turn of the current century, “There is not a large city in America without a restaurant operating in a Gothamesque mode.”

Origin and History

 Gotham Bar and Grill first opened its doors at 12 East 12^th Street, along a tree-lined stretch of the city’s fabled Greenwich Village neighborhood, in 1984.  The story began when Jeff Bliss, Jerry Kretchmer, Richard Rathe, and Robert Rathe, New Yorkers from diverse professional backgrounds, decided to open the kind of restaurant they longed to dine in: a breathtakingly large (at the time) but warm and hospitable destination that matched the ambitious design with sophisticated food and service and an egalitarian spirit, with not a bad seat in the house.

 After a few months, the owners enlisted chef (and, eventually, partner) Alfred Portale, then an unknown saucier who had recently returned from working in some of France’s best kitchens.  The rest, as they say, is history: The chef created an audaciously original menu (though perceptive observers noted that it was firmly rooted in time-honored technique) that perfectly suited the dramatic and soaring space and the public responded with an enthusiasm that has never abated; Gotham is still one of the most popular places for New Yorkers to dine, and a perennial destination for visitors to the city. 

 Gotham is the only restaurant to have received four consecutive three-star reviews from the New York Times, and in 2009 was named one of the most important New York City restaurants of the past forty years by New York Magazine.  Additionally, the restaurant won the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award as Outstanding Restaurant in the nation in 2002, and Chef Portale was named Outstanding Chef in the nation in 2006.  The restaurant also holds one Michelin star and is perched high atop the Most Popular Restaurant List in the annual Zagat Survey, ranking in the top ten for more than a decade; in the 2009 Survey, Gotham weighed in as the fifth most popular restaurant in the City. 

Secrets of the Gotham’s Success

 In addition to the consistent quality of food and service, Gotham’s uncommon longevity can be attributed to the tireless efforts of the restaurant’s team who periodically update the dining room, menu covers, and art collection (Gotham contracts its own curator) so that it remains always vibrant and ever-current.   Chef Alfred Portale constantly reinvents Gotham’s menu, reserving space for a few classics while introducing new dishes several times each year.  Gotham also enthusiastically participates in popular developments in fine-dining; for example, by adding a menu of original house cocktails, or advancing the option of dining at the bar with signature trays that create an aura of privacy for diners.

 The restaurant’s wine program has evolved over the years as well, as a succession of distinguished experts have calibrated Gotham’s list to suit the time of their tenure. Along the way, we’ve earned the respect of many top wine makers, who share rare and hard-to-obtain vintages and small production wines with us. The result is a vast and varied cellar where emerging styles mingle effortlessly with beloved classics, making Gotham Bar and Grill an essential wine destination where the presentation and service makes it equally accessible to everybody, from casual aficionados to the most knowledgeable collectors.

 The ideal spot for any occasion, Gotham Bar and Grill serves dinner seven nights a week. Gotham serves lunch Monday through Friday, when the room is awash in bright sunlight, and the restaurant offers its legendary prix fixe lunch menu, an institution unto itself and one of New York City’s great values.