When Pablo Rivero, the restaurateur behind Buenos Aires' legendary Don Julio, announced he was opening his first US project, expectations were stratospheric. Don Julio holds the title of Latin America's Best Restaurant, a distinction that carries enormous weight in the culinary world. Somehow, Graciela not only meets those expectations but surpasses them.
Named after Rivero's mother, the restaurant at 81 Greenwich Avenue captures everything that has made Argentine dining one of the most exciting movements in global gastronomy. Open-fire cooking sits at the heart of the experience, but this is about far more than exceptional steak. The parrilla and wood-burning Josper oven, fuelled by imported quebracho blanco charcoal, occupy the centre of the dining room, and the parrillero works in full view of every table. As Rivero himself puts it, the star of the asado is the parrillero, and they deserve to be seen.
The menu spans the breadth of Argentine cooking. Housemade empanadas with yasgua salsa, ojo de bife grilled over flame, milanesa a la napolitana, and seasonal vegetables all play starring roles. For charcuterie and cured meats, the kitchen works with Brooklyn's Ends Meat, producing chorizo, morcilla and cecina to traditional Argentine recipes. Around 15 per cent of the wine list is Argentine, a significant figure for a New York restaurant, and Rivero is determined to show the breadth and quality that extends well beyond the country's most recognised labels.
Developed in partnership with American entrepreneurs Adam and Alex Saper, Graciela was designed as something entirely distinct from Don Julio. Rivero has been clear that Don Julio is a place rooted in Palermo, Buenos Aires, and is not meant to be replicated. Graciela, by contrast, could only exist in New York. The dining room strikes that elusive balance between refined and effortlessly cool, equally suited to an anniversary dinner or an industry power lunch.
Securing the right beef proved the greatest challenge. In Argentina, the finest cuts rarely leave the country, so Rivero and his team had to convince producers to invest in an entirely new supply chain, from breeding and raising cattle through to packaging and export. Duplicating that level of quality at scale is no small undertaking.
Rivero has also been unequivocal about what Graciela is not chasing. No rankings. No Michelin stars. No recognition from restaurant lists. The goal is simpler and more ambitious: to let the world experience Argentine cooking and hospitality at its most genuine. As he told reporters, the food is not the important part. What matters is what you can do to make your guests feel better. The kitchen is just the pretext.
In a city that rarely agrees on anything, Graciela has already earned that rarest of distinctions: near-universal consensus that it belongs at the very top.
