At around 10 p.m. on a recent Saturday night at Gato, Bobby Flay’s new Noho restaurant, Kelly Ripa and Jessica Seinfeld stood up from their table in the middle of dinner — and had a dance-off.
It’s debatable who won. But Eva Longoria and star stylist Robert Verdi still popped over for some double-cheek kisses and hugs.
If it weren’t for the legitimately good food Flay is sending out of the kitchen, you’d think patrons would be satiated on the celeb-heavy scene alone.
Ever since Gato opened in March, everyone — from Upper East Side sexagenarians in Stubbs & Wootton smoking slippers to Soho fashion designers — to, yes, Flay fangirls — have been stopping by to sample the Food Network star’s Mediterranean fare.
And, naturally, to catch a glimpse of the famous grill master himself.
Amy Sherman, 50, and her 60-year-old fashion apparel colleague, Loe Berelson, were two of Gato’s hungry gawkers last Tuesday.
The pair dined at the bar for a dual birthday celebration (Berelson called to score a table five times, but the dining room was booked).
Turns out, their stools afforded a better view of Flay — who has yet to take a day off — sautéing away in the glass-enclosed kitchen.
“I love the fact that he’s a runner. That’s what I love about him. And I love him on ‘Entourage,’ ” giggles Tribeca resident Sherman when asked what she likes most about Flay.
“I never really do that,” says Flay, wearing his standard uniform of Levi’s and a striped blue-and-white apron with a No. 2 pencil tucked into the pocket. “I would never assume that the tables want to see the chef. Plus, I need to cook.”
After all, the pressure is on for Flay.
Gato, named for a stray red cat that slipped through Flay’s legs while the chef visited the Lafayette Street space, is his first NYC restaurant to open in almost a decade (his Mesa Grill and Bolo, are now closed; Midtown’s Bar Americain is still open).
With 13 Food Network shows (most recently, “Beat Bobby Flay”) under his belt, some wonder if the TV darling is, well, just that.
But Flay says the kitchen is his tried-and-true stage.
“My restaurants are far, far, far more important than anything I’ve ever done in television,” says the Upper East Side native. Flay currently resides in Chelsea with his wife, actress Stephanie March. “It’s the place where I’m most comfortable.”
And it shows.
The restaurant, previously home to the Bowery Residents’ Committee’s drug rehabilitation, is now oozing with beautiful people addicted to Flay’s heavenly scrambled eggs dish — made with bucheron cheese and almond romesco and served with tomato confit toast — and roasted octopus with a tangerine sauce.
“Bobby is doing God’s work with vegetables, like the spiced carrots and roasted cauliflower,” says Jessica Seinfeld. “The crab risotto is a showstopper. And the night I brought our son Julian, who is a giant Bobby Flay fan, he proclaimed the charred beef to be ‘outstanding.’ ”
“If ‘Sex and the City’ were still shooting, they would film in this restaurant,” says Verdi after tucking into the popular $27 kale and mushroom paella, served in a cast-iron skillet and topped with an egg. “We had everything. Eva and I are both pigs. It’s amazing she is still at her birth weight.”
“I came here on Sunday with a friend, and she’s English and a huge snob, and she posted photos of the decor on her Instagram. It’s definitely above snuff,” says Varchola, who lives in the Financial District and returned to Gato with her husband Tuesday night to meet their future Hamptons share housemate.
Her hubby Rado, clad in a fitted gray blazer and pink shirt, looked around the room.
“Is this opening night?” asked the 41-year-old real-estate agent.
It wasn’t. But Gato’s charm is that it manages to boast the energy and enthusiasm of a Keith McNally spot without the pitfalls: overwhelming noise, pushy crowds and too many tables of 25-year-old girls screaming over one another.
“The place already feels like it will be here for a long time,” says Carroll Gardens resident Brandon Barton, 32, who works in sales.
“I love the vibe,” says 42-year-old Francesca Farber, a second-time visitor in town from Philly. “The Main Line,” she purrs. “My backyard is where Grace Kelly grew up.”
Sharles Dennehy was less concerned with the atmosphere and more concerned with throwing down.
“We want to challenge Bobby Flay to a burger challenge on the ‘Rachael Ray Show,’ ” says Dennehy as she and two friends waited for their table. “I definitely could beat him.”
What makes her burgers special?
“The way I just kind of mold it,” she says matter-of-factly.
Dennehy, an executive assistant, drove in from Hazlet, NJ, to celebrate her 42nd birthday on Tuesday evening and there was only one wish she had: to meet Bobby Flay.
“He’s very personable, just kind of like a regular guy. Even though he’s a super celebrity chef. And he’s not bad-looking,” she adds, before skipping a beat.
“Can you put in a good word?”