(photo by Christian Johnston)
Not so long ago, bustling restaurant kitchens were kept hidden from paying diners. These days, however, no restaurateur worth his artisanal sea salt would design a dining room without at least a couple of chairs close to the cooking action. Why? Because food-obsessed New Yorkers want to watch the chef’s culinary performance.
“Diners love to be entertained,” says Marisa May, owner of SD26 on Madison Square Park. When May and her father, Tony May, were designing the restaurant in 2009, they included an open kitchen that can be seen from any table in the room. “People here are so food-savvy,” she says. “They’re interested in how things are made, and they want energy, ambience.”
When George Mendes opened Aldea in the Flatiron District in May 2009, he was determined to have his chefs on show, too. “Aldea was always going to be an open-kitchen restaurant, where the customers could talk to the cooks and be entertained by the theatrical aspect,” says Mendes. And the design works: Gastronomes are drawn in droves to these spots.
Read on for the very best seats in restaurant kitchens.
SD26
19 E. 26th St.; 212-265-5959
Kitchen: 1,500 square feet, including aneight-seat table
What you’ll eat: A $125-per-person six-course tasting menu served by head chef Matteo Bergamini.
What you’ll see: The table sits between the dessert station and the main pass, so you’ll see every dish being plated before it leaves the kitchen. “You feel like you’re watching live theater,” says Marisa May. “Maybe you learn some culinary secrets. You might even hear a scream or a wail from the chefs!”
How to get a spot: Call at least 48 hours in advance to reserve the table, which can be split into two tables of four. It’s booked most nights.
Joseph Leonard
170 Waverly Place; 646-429-8383
Kitchen: 80 square feet, including a counter that fits two diners. Owner Gabriel Stulman added the seats after a trip to Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon: “We had an amazing dinner at their chef’s counter.”
What you’ll eat: Anything on the menu, plus extra treats.
What you’ll see: Everything: the glint of knives chopping, the delicate prep of the chicken liver mousse, the freshly roasted Brussels sprouts being pulled from the oven. All of the fabulous New American food served here is prepared within reaching distance by executive chef James McDuffee (who met his girlfriend when she took a seat at the counter one night).
How to get a spot: Turn up and wait. Joseph Leonard doesn’t take reservations.
Bell Book & Candle
141 W. 10th St.; 212-414-2355
Kitchen: 650 square feet, including a 12-seat table
What you’ll eat: A $75-per-person meal that includes a variety of family-style appetizers and desserts, and a choice of entree from the regular menu.
What you’ll see: Chef John Mooney’s supervising his cooks and servers and plating dishes at the pass. “I like the interactivity,” says Mooney of the table, which is made from reclaimed wood from a tenement building on the Lower East Side. “I serve the people myself, and it’s a lot of fun. They get a kick out of it.”
How to get a spot: Make a reservation one week in advance. The table is very popular with groups celebrating special occasions on the weekend.
Aldea
31 W. 17th St.; 212-675-7223
Kitchen: 600 square feet, with a six-seat counter
What you’ll eat: Anything on the menu or the $85, five-course tasting menu. Mendes recommends the latter.
What you’ll see: You’re right in front of the cold prep, vegetable and hot appetizer station, but also have a good view of the very orderly kitchen. “People always want to know what we’re working on,” Mendes. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
How to get a spot: Reserve it a month in advance.
Carmine Club Cafe
41 Carmine St.; 212-933-0527
Kitchen: 200 square feet, with a two-seat counter
What you’ll eat: A special menu that starts at $55 per person. “We can make a menu in advance, or we can just have fun with it,” says owner Noel Cruz.
What you’ll see: Cruz calls the kitchen spots “theater seats,” because they give you a full view of chef Joe Vigorito and his staff’s culinary dance. “It was a Eureka! moment” when they realized they had room for diners to observe the food preparation, he says.
How to get a spot: Cruz announces availabilities via Twitter (carmineclubcafe) and Facebook.