ALFRED PORTALE

Executive Chef & Owner

Alfred Portale is an American chef, author, and restaurateur known as a pioneer in the New American cuisine movement. Born in Buffalo, New York, Alfred was raised in a family where his mother and grandmother took Italian cooking and adapted it to American ingredients. He graduated at the top of his class at the Culinary Institute and then apprenticed in France with chefs like Guerard, Troisgros and Maximin, where he refined and mastered classical French techniques. 

In 1984 he became the executive chef and a partner at the Gotham Bar and Grill, and took the restaurant to new heights with his beautiful plating and insistence on high quality ingredients. His culinary accomplishments earned him multiple nominations and three James Beard Awards wins for Outstanding Chef (2006), Outstanding Restaurant (2002) and Best Chef: New York City (1993). In 2010 the New York Times awarded Gotham Bar & Grill its fifth three-star review, a distinction achieved by no other New York restaurant. During Alfred’s long reign at Gotham, the restaurant maintained a one-star Michelin rating. 

Alfred Portale has written three cookbooks: Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook, Twelve Seasons Cookbook, and Simple Pleasures. 

In addition to his work in the kitchen, Chef Portale is actively involved in various charities dedicated to providing food for the needy and is a member of City Harvest Food Council. 

After over 35 years as Executive Chef and Partner at New York's iconic Gotham Bar & Grill, Chef Portale decided it was time to strike out on his own. Portale restaurant, his first long-anticipated solo venture, is a new chapter in his culinary career.