About L’Amico
Our Story
Chef Laurent Tourondel opened L’Amico as a love letter to Italian-American cooking, for the city that keeps inspiring it.
Set inside the Kimpton Hotel Eventi in Chelsea, our chef-driven Italian restaurant is anchored by two large copper-clad, wood-burning ovens that are the heart of the kitchen and the soul of the dining room. Everything you eat here comes back to that fire: blistered Neapolitan-style pizzas with charred edges and carefully balanced toppings, as well as roasted meats and seasonal vegetables coaxed into wood-burning flames. The open kitchen is part of the theater.
The dining room is generous, without being overwhelming. Warm lighting, genuine service and a design that works equally well for a business lunch and a long celebratory dinner. The menu shifts with the seasons, guided by what the market offers and what the culinary team is inspired by.
This is a neighborhood restaurant in the best sense of the phrase. It just so happens that the neighborhood is Midtown Manhattan, and our guests also come from all over the world. L'Amico is among the most celebrated Italian restaurants near MSG and Penn Station in NYC.
Chef
Laurent Tourondel
Chef Laurent Tourondel grew up in Auvergne, France, shaped by long Sunday meals and a grandmother who cooked Italian food with the kind of patience no culinary school can teach. He trained at Saint Vincent École de Cuisine, served as personal chef to the admiral of the French Navy, and went on to work under some of Europe's most celebrated names before returning to New York, where The New York Times awarded him three stars at Cello.
In 2004, he launched the BLT restaurant group. BLT Fish earned a Michelin Star. Bon Appétit named him Restaurateur of the Year. Food & Wine recognized him among its 10 Best New Chefs. He has since authored three cookbooks and built one of the most consistently recognized hospitality groups in the country.
At L'Amico, all of that experience shows up in what looks, at first glance, like simplicity. A perfectly charred pizza. Hand-rolled pasta. A piece of fish cooked exactly right. Nothing on the plate is accidental, and nothing is here by chance.