Where will you find such a restaurant in Manhattan? Down on the Lower East Side or the West Village? Nope, it's tucked away on a quiet street in my neighborhood, the Upper West Side.
The brainchild of Spanish born chef, Jesus Nunez, Graffit is his first restaurant on American soil, previously running two Madrid based restaurants and even having a brief stint as the Spanish culinary ambassador to Korea. Nunez aims to bring contemporary Spanish cuisine with all of techniques to American shores. Does he succeed? Yes, he goes above and beyond, if you ask me.
There is a tapas menu served only in the front bar section along with a dinner menu. The tapas menu is a mixture of seemingly standard tapas dishes -- pulpo (octopus), a shrimp dish, a tortilla, and a selection of cheeses to name a few. The dinner menu is a nice combination of inventive appetizers and fish and meat based entrees. For those of us who are not meat eaters, this was a place that surely had more than enough options which is always a good bonus!
So what did we have? We had a bunch of smaller plates so we could try a variety of what the chef had to offer!
Our meal started with the chef's amuse bouche which was a small frozen sangria paired with a mini braised octopus crostini with pop rocks. Colorful, playful, alive, and above all fun, this was going to be an outstanding meal.
Next up we had their tortilla - an "updated potato omelette, with different textures, served in a martini glass." Traditionally when you think tortilla, you think a thick square of eggs, potatoes and onions, right? This was not that! It was layers of purple potato puree, regular potatoes, carmelized onions, egg foam and fried onions. This dish took what you think of as a tortilla and turned it on its head! Successful, yes! Too oniony however.
Next up we had their savory carrot "cake" with Mahon cheese and asparagus and their "not your average egg, seasonal vegetable stew." The carrot cake was this fabulous carrot puree topped with melted Mahon cheese with a few slivers of asparagus and dehydrated carrot to accompany it. Mahon cheese is an unpasteurized firm cow's milk cheese from Spain, perfect for melting purposes. This dish was an ode to the carrot, dynamic, flavorful, and placed at center stage. Definitely lighter than the traditional carrot cake and just the right amount of creaminess. The vegetable stew was a beautiful melange of seasonal roasted vegetables and one poached egg -- packed to the brim with rustic and earthy flavors, this was a dish that I could go back and keep having.
Then we had two of their specials that evening -- black truffle falafel on a "soil" bed and their homemade cream cheeses. The black truffle dish was out of this world -- earthy, nutty, and not at all overly oily as falafel dishes can sometimes be. The soil underneath was a mixture of veggies and provided just the right amount of crunch and a nice dichotomy to the black truffle falafels. The cream cheese dish was supposed to be three different cream cheeses infused with: dried fruits, hazelnuts, and cured meats. However we had the dried fruit and hazelnut ones paired with a homemade red pepper tapenade and honey valedon foam with a small little side salad. The cheeses were fresh, lactic, flavorful and the perfect sort of end to such a fabulous meal!
Truly a revelation! Creative, delish dishes presented in inventive, witty, and distinctive manners with hints of humor served in a modern space. You almost felt as though you were transported to the new avant garde dining rooms of Madrid and other European cities. Easily the best restaurant I have been to in a long time!
Graffit
141 West 69th Street
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