GATO

Gato is a trendy, bustling restaurant nestled right between the East and West villages, on Lafayette. I’ve been in New York for about a month now, and although I’ve done plenty of restaurant dining – my meal at Bobby Flay’s Spanish-inspired, Mediterranean fare Gato stood out for a few reasons that I think I should verse you on.

The menu was fantastic. It’s hard to say what makes a menu good or not, and it’s definitely a subjective point of view, but at least for me, everything on this menu sounded amazing. Put simply, I could have ordered any dish and been happy. For starters our table of 4 shared 3 of the small dishes, along with the lamb and mint pizza. The three small bites were the yellowtail, eleven-layer potato, and piquillo filled with raw tuna. All three were quite tasty in their own right. My genetic fondness for starches made me take a liking to the creamy potato dish over any of the others, but the yellowtail was quite a close second. (Note these dishes are very small and were difficult for 4 people to share)

The pizza was divine. Thin, crispy crust, with fresh mint, and Moroccan spiced lamb sausage. The pizza held a unique, Middle Eastern flavour that made it infinitely more exciting than your average slice you find on the street. (Although I must admit, NY’s $1 pizza is pretty great too).

For mains we ordered and shared the pork chop, orata whole fish, scrambled eggs, and crab risotto with a side of carrots. The risotto was a bit of a bust – too fishy and not a good consistency. The fish too was overcooked and not a stand-out dish for the night.

What was tasty were the pork chop and scrambled eggs. As weird as it might sound – the scrambled eggs with boucheron cheese and tomato confit toast were creamy, buttery, and melt-in-your-mouth tasty. This dish is one of the restaurant’s more well known dishes, and it’s a must order for any dining table. The pork chop was seasoned perfectly with a creamy polenta accompaniment. Lastly, the side of carrots, besides looking like something the wicked witch of the west cooked up, were scary good. I’m not one to rave about vegetables, but the sauce – comprised of mint, harissa, and yougurt was an outstanding addition to everyone’s meal.