This is a new generation fine dining which is unpretentious, low key and focused on food. The ambiance is romantic and tasteful, you totally forget you just had to step over a couple of crackheads on the street on the way here (in the end it is LES, not the best place to sport your diamonds).The celebrity former "teen chef" Flynn has definitely done amazing job and gained his name in the industry. At the same time he is very approachable and you will most probably see him bringing one-two courses to your table.We tried Flora menu ($155 for 8 courses) which was vegetarian and mostly delicious but I had higher expectations. I loved probably 3 savory courses, the dessert was good but a bit too sweet and rich on dairy.The amount of food was good and we didn't leave overstuffed (but we are both thin ladies), an average American man might still want to go get some pizza afterwards:)The service was very friendly and nice, execept one faux-pas when a waiter poured my sparkling wine in the same glass whivh I had tried a white wine from. Their wines by glass are very reasonably priced btw. Overall verdict- definitely worth a visit if you love fine dining and have funds to spend.Vegetarian options: The whole Flora menu was vegetarian
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Vickie Wang
Love the vibes of the restaurant and the presentation of each dish, but the menu didn’t really work for me. The dishes we had were very interesting and innovative but I did feel like some things were paired together just to be different than because they really worked well. Also, we left so hungry we had a second dinner later in the evening, which given the price… not great.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Chantal Tjong
GEM nails it all. A feast of flavors with the right balance of wines (we took a pairing), time and quantities in a simple, stylish vintage setting and music and wonderfully relaxed but clearly caring and passionate crew. If you consider yourself to be a serious foodie, this place cannot be missed!
Jady T.
Portuguese and seafood theme. VERY SALTYI never really had authentic Portuguese food before so cannot say if this one was authentic. The ambiance there is nice and cozy since the place is not too big. Service there was a bit weird cuz they told us we needed to leave in 1.5 hours. As a result, the entire meal was very rushed but later it turned out we didnt need to leave by that time.
Shamil Garifullin
It's creative I guess...I ended up paying $300+ and I think I'm not the audience for it.The presentation is great, the atmosphere is good (music and happy staff). But the food is lacklustre.I got the chef's pairing to the default 10 course (it was Portuguese themed). The first 4 dishes were mostly lemon juice and the wines were very citrusy as well, the rest didn't impress either.I guess if you're a person who never tried anything apart from traditional US food, the novelty of it and the "wunderkind" chef would impress you. Otherwise not worth it.
Luca B
Overall a very good experience, considering the age of the chef and how is keen and committed to conducting his ideas. The restaurant proposes a seasonal menu, and the winter menu is inspired by Portuguese dishes prepared with seafood from the northeast. The suggested pairing with Portuguese wines it's for sure not for everyone: the wines are very interesting but far away from the "cliches". It does not deserve yet the excellence because the chef is just at the beginning of his career and, for sure, the best is yet to come! Last, the price: 155$ per person + taxes and tip and if you want the wine paring, 55$ more (+ taxes and tip) - as written on the website, so...no surprises! It's up to you to decide if it is worth it, but always remember you are tasting a food experience in NYC!!! Very last, wine list: it needs some improvements - I know a huge cellar is an investment so, let's give him time!
Danielle Vergara
I can’t say enough about this meal. It’s like this seasons’ Portuguese menu has been the permanent menu somewhere for ages, because everything, down to the utensils, is well thought out. So creative, so beautiful and so damn good. Thank you for a meal I’ll be talking about for a long time.
Jagoda
Really nice experience here the past weekend. The restaurant is small and intimate plus really nicely decorated. Service was great and the Portuguese winter menu was delicious. Only didn’t like one of the ten dishes. Overall I would defiantly come back and try a new menu when it changes again
Sheila L
We had a family dinner for our sons 30th birthday last night. The restaurant is calm and not pretentious at all. We did the wine pairing with the 10 courses and both the food and the wine were incredible. Flynn is very much visible in helping to bring out each course and explaining what we were about to be eating. His sister explained each wine as it was paired with the food. It was a really special night for our adult sons and my husband and I. The dinner is an experience to remember!
Elsie W.
Oh Gem. How I really wanted to like you. Walking in, I loved the decor, loved the warm apartment feeling. Most of the staff was nice, but a few were a bit cold...The tasting menu this time was "Harvest", so I was excited for the game theme: duck, pheasant, quail, etc. Some dishes stood out but the whole meal felt so focused on vegetables. Yes they made vegetables taste good, but I felt like I was eating mainly veggies and not enough meat. The one thing that irked me was the main dish - I ate half of mine and the rest of the leg was pink (see photo) - not only that, but the texture felt fibrous like it wasn't cooked through. My companion's was even worse. We pointed it out to the server and asked "Is it supposed to be like this?" She hesitated and just said with uncertainty "...yeah." When another server came to take away the dishes, she saw we didn't finish and she said "Ya it's supposed to be like that, we dry aged it. It's DRY AGED." We couldn't even cut through the meat... and what was funny was that we went to Oiji Mi a week later for their Christmas Eve menu which also had dry aged quail and it was SO much better, none of that raw taste and chewy meat. Other than that, the rest of the dishes were tasty and had potential, but I felt like each dish had one element that was a bit disappointing. Maybe the next menu will be better.
Came for “East Coast Flora Menu” this summer and it was amazing. A unique, inventive and creative tasting menu ever.
Simon Spector
Truly my new favorite restaurant - a fine dining destination featuring the absolute best the seasonal bounty of New York has to offer. Every dish on the tasting menu was innovative and decadent, yet healthful and vegetable-forward. Never wanted the meal to end! Service is impeccable, atmosphere feels like eating in the dining room of a farmhouse. Price is highly reasonable for the quality and quantity of food. Would not be surprised if this place earns a Michelin star (or 3) in the near future, well done!
Jan Nielsen
We love gem. Saw the documentary at Sundance in Salt Lake City in 2018 with the whole family on stage and booked a table on the day of their opening announcement. Flew to New York City with friends and had an amazing experience.We just returned four and half years later and it's still amazing. Beautiful job, Flynn.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Senn
Exceptional Experience! Every dish on the Harvest menu was fantastic. Creative and fun plays on dishes. I’m looking forward to the winter menu!
Tim
Amazing restaurant. The food and service are on par with Eleven Madison Park or Dirt Candy. We had their Flora/summer menu which was vegetarian (just a little dairy, but can be made vegan). They were very accomodating of allergies and dietary preference.
This is a new generation fine dining which is unpretentious, low key and focused on food. The ambiance is romantic and tasteful, you totally forget you just had to step over a couple of crackheads on the street on the way here (in the end it is LES, not the best place to sport your diamonds).The celebrity former "teen chef" Flynn has definitely done amazing job and gained his name in the industry. At the same time he is very approachable and you will most probably see him bringing one-two courses to your table.We tried Flora menu ($155 for 8 courses) which was vegetarian and mostly delicious but I had higher expectations. I loved probably 3 savory courses, the dessert was good but a bit too sweet and rich on dairy.The amount of food was good and we didn't leave overstuffed (but we are both thin ladies), an average American man might still want to go get some pizza afterwards:)The service was very friendly and nice, execept one faux-pas when a waiter poured my sparkling wine in the same glass whivh I had tried a white wine from. Their wines by glass are very reasonably priced btw. Overall verdict- definitely worth a visit if you love fine dining and have funds to spend.Vegetarian options: The whole Flora menu was vegetarian
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Love the vibes of the restaurant and the presentation of each dish, but the menu didn’t really work for me. The dishes we had were very interesting and innovative but I did feel like some things were paired together just to be different than because they really worked well. Also, we left so hungry we had a second dinner later in the evening, which given the price… not great.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
GEM nails it all. A feast of flavors with the right balance of wines (we took a pairing), time and quantities in a simple, stylish vintage setting and music and wonderfully relaxed but clearly caring and passionate crew. If you consider yourself to be a serious foodie, this place cannot be missed!
Portuguese and seafood theme. VERY SALTYI never really had authentic Portuguese food before so cannot say if this one was authentic. The ambiance there is nice and cozy since the place is not too big. Service there was a bit weird cuz they told us we needed to leave in 1.5 hours. As a result, the entire meal was very rushed but later it turned out we didnt need to leave by that time.
It's creative I guess...I ended up paying $300+ and I think I'm not the audience for it.The presentation is great, the atmosphere is good (music and happy staff). But the food is lacklustre.I got the chef's pairing to the default 10 course (it was Portuguese themed). The first 4 dishes were mostly lemon juice and the wines were very citrusy as well, the rest didn't impress either.I guess if you're a person who never tried anything apart from traditional US food, the novelty of it and the "wunderkind" chef would impress you. Otherwise not worth it.
Overall a very good experience, considering the age of the chef and how is keen and committed to conducting his ideas. The restaurant proposes a seasonal menu, and the winter menu is inspired by Portuguese dishes prepared with seafood from the northeast. The suggested pairing with Portuguese wines it's for sure not for everyone: the wines are very interesting but far away from the "cliches". It does not deserve yet the excellence because the chef is just at the beginning of his career and, for sure, the best is yet to come! Last, the price: 155$ per person + taxes and tip and if you want the wine paring, 55$ more (+ taxes and tip) - as written on the website, so...no surprises! It's up to you to decide if it is worth it, but always remember you are tasting a food experience in NYC!!! Very last, wine list: it needs some improvements - I know a huge cellar is an investment so, let's give him time!
I can’t say enough about this meal. It’s like this seasons’ Portuguese menu has been the permanent menu somewhere for ages, because everything, down to the utensils, is well thought out. So creative, so beautiful and so damn good. Thank you for a meal I’ll be talking about for a long time.
Really nice experience here the past weekend. The restaurant is small and intimate plus really nicely decorated. Service was great and the Portuguese winter menu was delicious. Only didn’t like one of the ten dishes. Overall I would defiantly come back and try a new menu when it changes again
We had a family dinner for our sons 30th birthday last night. The restaurant is calm and not pretentious at all. We did the wine pairing with the 10 courses and both the food and the wine were incredible. Flynn is very much visible in helping to bring out each course and explaining what we were about to be eating. His sister explained each wine as it was paired with the food. It was a really special night for our adult sons and my husband and I. The dinner is an experience to remember!
Oh Gem. How I really wanted to like you. Walking in, I loved the decor, loved the warm apartment feeling. Most of the staff was nice, but a few were a bit cold...The tasting menu this time was "Harvest", so I was excited for the game theme: duck, pheasant, quail, etc. Some dishes stood out but the whole meal felt so focused on vegetables. Yes they made vegetables taste good, but I felt like I was eating mainly veggies and not enough meat. The one thing that irked me was the main dish - I ate half of mine and the rest of the leg was pink (see photo) - not only that, but the texture felt fibrous like it wasn't cooked through. My companion's was even worse. We pointed it out to the server and asked "Is it supposed to be like this?" She hesitated and just said with uncertainty "...yeah." When another server came to take away the dishes, she saw we didn't finish and she said "Ya it's supposed to be like that, we dry aged it. It's DRY AGED." We couldn't even cut through the meat... and what was funny was that we went to Oiji Mi a week later for their Christmas Eve menu which also had dry aged quail and it was SO much better, none of that raw taste and chewy meat. Other than that, the rest of the dishes were tasty and had potential, but I felt like each dish had one element that was a bit disappointing. Maybe the next menu will be better.
Restaurantji Recommends
Came for “East Coast Flora Menu” this summer and it was amazing. A unique, inventive and creative tasting menu ever.
Truly my new favorite restaurant - a fine dining destination featuring the absolute best the seasonal bounty of New York has to offer. Every dish on the tasting menu was innovative and decadent, yet healthful and vegetable-forward. Never wanted the meal to end! Service is impeccable, atmosphere feels like eating in the dining room of a farmhouse. Price is highly reasonable for the quality and quantity of food. Would not be surprised if this place earns a Michelin star (or 3) in the near future, well done!
We love gem. Saw the documentary at Sundance in Salt Lake City in 2018 with the whole family on stage and booked a table on the day of their opening announcement. Flew to New York City with friends and had an amazing experience.We just returned four and half years later and it's still amazing. Beautiful job, Flynn.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Exceptional Experience! Every dish on the Harvest menu was fantastic. Creative and fun plays on dishes. I’m looking forward to the winter menu!
Amazing restaurant. The food and service are on par with Eleven Madison Park or Dirt Candy. We had their Flora/summer menu which was vegetarian (just a little dairy, but can be made vegan). They were very accomodating of allergies and dietary preference.