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When then 19-year-old Flynn McGarry opened his first permanent restaurant in NYC, Gem, back in 2018, the city's culinary circles went nuts (in a good way): here was a teenager completely embracing fine-dining trends while showcasing the importance of an eatery's interior design and presentation—and the masses were listening to him.
Although Gem closed in 2023, McGarry has continued making a mark on the local gastronomic scene, opening new businesses, shuttering others and moving over menus from one spot to the next.
His latest effort just opened in Hudson Square, the area where Soho and Tribeca meet, at 299 West Houston Street near Hudson Street. Cove, as the restaurant is called, is a 70-seat eatery serving "East Coast ingredients through a West Coast lens," as noted by Eater.
The restaurant features a main dining room and a private room. Guests will be able to order a la carte when seated in the former and indulge in a set menu when dining in the latter.
According to a sample a la carte menu posted on the restaurant's website, McGarry is serving the sort of vegetable-forward dishes that he's now known for (it should come as no surprise: the chef has been managing a garden on Isabella Rossellini's farm on Long Island, where he sources a lot of his ingredients). Standouts include a dish of golden beets, wakame, roses and smoked dates; the marinated tomatoes with grapes, ajo blanco and fried thyme; and the mixed grill of late summer and early fall vegetables, black truffle and barley koji.
As for the $210 per person, eight-course tasting menu, curious palates will be treated to a fluke cured with cherry leaves and half moon bay wasabi; the Jonah crab custard with egg yolk, shiso and toasted bread; and the seabuckthorn sorbet with toasted rice and verbena to finish things off.
As McGarry's followers are well aware of, the chef's focus also centers on his restaurants' wine programs. At Cove, expect low intervention wines that, according to the website, "explore a history of influence between generations and winemakers." In total, there are 400 different wines on the menu, most of them by French and American producers, and all of them available by the glass or bottle, a la carte or as part of a wine pairing program that goes with the tasting menu.
Just as was the case at Gem, Gem Wine and Gem Home, McGarry's previous eateries, dining at Cove will be about eating great food and learning about the history behind each ingredient. A true New York experience, if you ask us.