 The Leopard at des Artistes located on the west side of Manhattan in New York City New York steps away from Central Park is an elegant, sophisticated bijou of a restaurant where the stunning décor, ambience, and impeccable service duly complement the Southern Italian cuisine of Executive Chef and partner Vito Gnazzo. Together with partners Gianfranco Sorrentino and Paula Bolla-Sorrentino the restaurant is a shining star in a city renowned for its fine dining restaurants. Buon appetito!
Gianfranco Sorrentino, Chef Vito Gnazzo, Paula Bolla-Sorrentino
We had dinner at The Leopard
at des Artistes on a Sunday in late February 2017 and immediately fell in love
with its gracious hospitality, stunning décor, ambience, and attentive service,
before we had tasted even one morsel of the delectable cuisine from Executive
Chef Vito Gnazzo. In the space that was once the Café des Artistes (the
restaurant closed in 2009), partners Gianfranco Sorrentino, his wife Paula
Bolla-Sorrentino, and Vito Gnazzo deftly created The Leopard at des Artistes,
which opened in 2011. On a Sunday, a night when many restaurants are slow, the
restaurant had a steady stream of patrons.
The restaurant is a
sophisticated and elegant tribute to fine dining with gracious décor,
arrangements of white orchids and pussy willows hinted at the upcoming spring
season, palm fronds in tall white vases strategically placed throughout the
restaurant and the bar added interest, as did the leopard sculpture that graced
the window sill on the first-floor dining room.
The Leopard at des Artistes
There are three levels of
dining at the restaurant, the first-floor has a wall of windows, carpeted floor,
and paneled walls, the second-floor is home of the famous landmarked murals
created by Howard Chandler Christy between the late 1920s and 1935, and the
third-floor is the bar, where diners can eat at the bar for more casual dining,
sit at the tables, or in one of the more intimate dining spaces.
Service is impeccable with
attention to detail without being intrusion. The professional wait staff are
attired in white coats, white shirts and ties, and black pants, and assistants
are attired in white shirts, black bow ties, and black pants.
The Leopard offers a Seasonal
Three Course Tasting Menu as well as an a la carte dining, and the selections of
antipasti (appetizers), primi (pastas and risottos), secondi (man course) consisting of sea
and land items, and contorni (side
dishes) are diverse enough to appeal to a wide variety of palates. The
extensive wine list of Italian wines complement the Southern Italian cuisine.
CHEERS!
We began our evening with
glasses of prosecco to enjoy with the bread basket which consisted of two
excellent breads that aficionados would deem as having "good crumb" and thin,
and crispy house-made rosemary and black pepper bread sticks accompanied by a
rich pool of extra virgin olive oil.
Antipasti
We continued with an
artistically arranged antipasti of grilled eggplant, grilled octopus with heart
of escarole salad, celery, Casteletrano olives, and pickled onions dressed with
extra virgin olive oil and lemon, mozzarella di buffalo garnished with basil,
and quartered cherry tomatoes. It was a delicious introduction to Chef Vito
Gnazzo's culinary vision of using high-quality ingredients, simply, yet
deliciously prepared. Important to note is that the restaurant flies in
mozzarella di buffalo and burrata twice weekly.
Gnudi Buffalo Ricotta Gnocchi
Next there was Gnudi Buffalo ricotta gnocchi, in butter
and Parmigiano Reggiano sauce, with sage and wild mushroom ragout. These were
incredibly delicious and were like eating the filling of a ravioli without a
pasta layer. We loved the melt-in-your-mouth sumptuousness of the gnudi which
were the size of generous meatballs, and the cheese sauce and wild mushroom
combination was a symphony on the palate.
Busiate Trapanesi
When we did not think that it
could get much better, we sampled the Busiate
Trapanesi with shellfish ragout and cherry tomatoes with mussels, clams, scallops
and shrimp, which was like being transported to Sicily via our palates. Paired
with Pecorino Colline Pescaresi Ciavolich 2015, 13.5% alcohol, this course was
another winner.
Rafael Filleting Bronzini Tableside
We continued with the Bronzini,
presented to us in its entirety, which our waiter Rafael expertly filleted
tableside, and placed alongside haricots verts and a lemon half. The bronzini
was succulent and perfectly cooked, and was especially well paired with
Marramiero Altare Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, DOC, 2013, 14.5% alcohol.
Bronzini
Dolci - The
Leopard Temptations is a fanciful and inspired dessert menu with a rich
diversity of choices. We had the Nutella chocolate mousse served in hazelnut
crunch with banana gelato, which was a delectable chocoholic's dream, and the
Traditional zabaione with fresh mixed berries, which was perfect and created
tableside. We ended our evening at The Leopard with espresso and mignonardises
which consisted of a selection of three types of cookies.
Nutella Chocolate Mousse
From start to finish, our
dining experience at The Leopard des Artistes was once of excellence. Bravo to Executive Chef and partner Vito
Gnazzo, Gianfranco Sorrentino, Paula Bolla-Sorrentino, and their professional
and dedicated team.
Traditional Zabaione
The Leopard at des Artistes
is open for Dinner: Monday through Saturday from 5:00 pm until 11:00 pm, and
Sunday from 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm. The restaurant serves Brunch on Saturday
and Sunday from 11:30 pm until 3:00 pm. The restaurant will now celebrate a
different region of Italy each month on its Three-Course Tasting Menu. Also
nice is the BYOB - no corkage fee on Sunday evenings at The Leopard. "Bring
Your Own Bottle Italian Sunday Supper - We Do the Cooking, You Bring the Wine."
Chef Vito Gnazzo
Read
our interview with chef/Partner
Executive Chef Vito Gnazzo who graciously shares his recipes to provide you with a tempting taste of The Leopard at des Artistes in the Chefs'
Recipes section.
The Leopard at des Artistes
Chef
Vito Gnazzo's recipes include: Parmigiana of Zucchini with Smoked Mozzarella,
Fresh Tomato Sauce and Basil, and Beef & Veal Meatballs Wrapped in Savoy
Cabbage Leaves with Thyme Sauce, served over Mixed Greens.
The Leopard at des Artistes
1 West 67th Street
New York, NY 10023
United States
Telephone: +1-212-787-8767
Fax: +1-212-787-9767
Website: www.TheLeopardNYC.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheLeopardatdesArtistes
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