Don Julio is to Argentinian steakhouses what Lionel Messi is to Argentinian soccer. (He’s dined there, of course.) Graciela, the West Village sequel, lives up to legend, but it’s an irresistibly seductive restaurant even if you’re unaware of that pedigree. Dinner here is like a series of smoothly choreographed magic tricks, from the moment you walk through the door and a sparkling limonada materializes in your hand, to the moment, hours later, when six ice creams appear at your table along with the one you actually ordered. It all adds up to making you feel like the most important person in the room.
photo credit: Kate Previte
video credit: Molly Fitzpatrick
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Sonal Shah
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
Glance at the long mirror along the wall, and you might observe an unusually high staff-to-customer ratio, with an almost comical amount of stage-managing happening just out of view. Servers breezily steam-iron tablecloths, someone shims a table before anyone notices the wobble, and one night, one of the owners personally escorted us to a line-free restroom when he saw us waiting. Everyone seems deeply invested in making this the best night ever, while also making that effort seem warm and spontaneous, like they just happened to remember what you ordered last time and have thoughts on what you might like to try tonight.
Steak is essential, specifically the majestically fatty ojo de bife, which is one of two cuts imported from Argentina. But while the parrilla is massive—a huge grill that can feed over 100 diners—it doesn’t dominate the rustic-chic dining room. Nor should live-fire dishes dominate your meal, because nothing on the menu feels like an afterthought, from the housemade charcuterie and the simple but perfect “Un Tomate,” all the way through to the last custardy bite of flan.
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
Take advantage of Graciela’s sommeliers too, because they’re generous with their guidance through a wine list that ventures far beyond Argentinian malbec—and which is best studied with one of several startlingly good cocktails in hand. They’re eager to suggest half-pours, offer a glimpse of the cellar in the overflow dining area downstairs, and whisk the bottle you’ve chosen away for a quick decant. Just like everyone else in the building, these people are on a mission to make sure you never want to leave.
Reservations are released two weeks in advance at 10am, and limited tables are available for walk-ins. For the best odds, put your name in for a seat at the bar (where, as a bonus, half portions of steak are available). On a Monday at 8:30pm, we only had to wait around 10 minutes.
RESERVE A TABLE WITH
Food RundownDips
Start here, with lightly scorched bread to drag through your choice of dip. There’s red pepper crema topped with crushed almonds, and baba ghanoush-adjacent charred eggplant, but our favorite is the brócoli dip, an intense shade of green hidden under a generous layer of cheese. It’s so vibrant and vegetal, it might make you rethink broccoli’s position in your personal vegetable ranking.
Salumeria
Graciela cures its own meats in collaboration with Ends Meat in Brooklyn, and the results are spectacular. The cecina in particular is a must-order: tri-tip sliced as thin as stained glass, glistening with fat, and as intensely beefy as tartare.
Un Tomate
Don’t let the understatement of “a tomato” fool you. This beautiful heirloom tomato, worthy of a blue ribbon at a county fair somewhere, is dressed with yasgua sauce, Aleppo pepper, and purslane. It’s vividly sweet and savory. Consider it an apology for every watery, anemic grocery-store tomato you’ve ever suffered through.
Empanadas
All the empanadas here are crisp and bubbly, but we’re partial to the one with a rich ossobuco filling. If it’s available, try the spinach and cheese variety, too—it scratches the creamed-spinach itch. The corn and cheese empanada is sweet and photogenically gooey, but not as essential.
Fainá
Dusted with smoked paprika, this aged provolone-laced chickpea tart has a charred, almost brûléed exterior and a sweet, custardy interior. We’d happily eat it for dinner, breakfast, and possibly dessert.
New York Strip Milanesa
Crisp, craggy, and perfect, this juicy slab of breaded steak sings with just a squeeze of lemon and a dab of the parsley aioli on the side. There’s also a Milanesa Napolitana on the menu, beautifully layered with heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella. It looks like an oil painting and tastes like a beef-based pizza. Enjoyable, but we prefer the simplicity of this version.
Steaks
The ojo de bife, a 16-ounce center-cut ribeye, tastes like butter sculpted into steak form, gently perfumed with smoke from the parrilla. The New York strip (the only other cut imported from Argentina) is also tender and beefy—by any normal measure a good steak—but pales in comparison. Our second-favorite cut at Graciela is the intensely flavorful skirt steak from South Dakota. You can order half-portions of some steaks at the bar, which is ideal for solo diners, or anyone else trying to sample as widely from the menu as possible.
Papas Fritas
When a server told us the fries were the result of two months of research and development, we were a little skeptical—especially when we saw the $15 price. One bite confirmed that every minute of those two months was well spent. Imagine molten mashed potato encased in a crunchy shell, all of it perfectly seasoned. Speaking of mashed potatoes, the puré de papas tastes like it’s at least 50 percent butter by volume. If you’re feeling a little deviant, it’s great for dipping your fries.
Desserts
The flan is thick, with the irresistible jiggle of a chubby baby, and you should try it. But ice cream is the marquee dessert at Graciela, with silver coupes dotting nearly every table, and you should try that too. All the flavors are luxuriously creamy, but we especially like dulce de leche with a faint bitter edge, and the almond-studded almendrado.
Dining and Cooking