{"id":176502,"date":"2026-03-26T21:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/176502\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:21:20","slug":"the-friend-inside-chef-laurent-tourondels-lamico-in-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/176502\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Friend\u2019: Inside Chef Laurent Tourondel\u2019s L\u2019Amico in Chelsea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"(left)\t\t\t<\/p>\n

L\u2019Amico is an Italian restaurant in Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of L\u2019Amico<\/p>\n

From the open kitchen to the wood-fired oven, Michelin-starred Chef Laurent Tourondel\u2019s L\u2019Amico is polished without being precious. The Italian restaurant, nestled inside Kimpton Hotel Eventi, is located on Sixth Avenue, a few blocks from the Empire State Building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just pizza, pasta, and meatballs,\u201d Chef Laurent said. \u201cIt\u2019s more elaborate.\u201d He draws from the full breadth of Italian regional cooking, such as Milan, where fish and a wider variety of dishes take center stage. At L\u2019Amico, the use of imported Italian products and locally sourced ingredients is prioritized, with the goal of maintaining authenticity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandmother was Italian, and she meant a lot to me. I grew up with family dinners, and that sense of tradition and togetherness is very personal to this restaurant,\u201d said Chef Laurent.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the restaurant is the wood-fired oven, which Chef Laurent treats as the soul of the kitchen.\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>A pasta dish from L\u2019AmicoPhoto courtesy of L\u2019Amico \"The<\/a>The Soppressata Picante pizza at L\u2019AmicoPhoto courtesy of L\u2019Amico<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wood fire adds smokiness and depth of flavor, with ash circulating inside the oven to give a different character to all the ingredients,\u201d he explained. \u201cEverything is cooked in that wood oven \u2014 meatballs, broccoli, fish \u2014 which brings a unique consistency and flavor to the dishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He developed the Neapolitan-style pizza dough himself, proofed over two days for depth and chew. The pasta, as well, is made completely in-house, from the dough to the sauces.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Amico\u2019s menu is a reflection of Chef Laurent\u2019s vision, from Antipasti to Secondi. It boasts items such as the sweet \u201cOur Bread\u201d baked with dried cherries and almonds and served with whipped ricotta, fresh pipe rigate with a rich veal rib and pancetta bolognese, and fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes topped with kumquat confit.<\/p>\n

The menu shifts with the seasons, though Chef Laurent clarified that doesn\u2019t mean flipping a switch on a calendar date. \u201cEverything is based on the availability and quality of the product,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, there\u2019s probably some asparagus in the markets, but it\u2019s too early. Maybe we test it and use it later in March, when it\u2019s really at its best. We wait until the product is good, and then we make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Adelaide Guan<\/p>\n

His current excitement? The wood-roasted chicken. \u201cIt\u2019s a dish that really reflects that transition,\u201d he said of the shift from winter into spring.<\/p>\n

On special occasions, Chef Laurent collaborates closely with Certified Sommelier Jason Hedges on the beverage program \u2014 crafting cocktail and champagne pairings for holidays like Easter and Mother\u2019s Day that complement what comes out of the kitchen.<\/p>\n

For first-timers, Chef Laurent wants guests to come in knowing what makes L\u2019Amico tick. \u201cIt\u2019s important for people to know that we are a seasonal restaurant. We make fresh pasta, and everything is cooked in a wood-fired oven, in a beautiful copper-clad kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

L\u2019Amico is located at 849 6th Ave in Chelsea. For reservations and more information, visit lamico.nyc<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"L\u2019Amico is an Italian restaurant in Chelsea. Photos courtesy of L\u2019Amico From the open kitchen to the wood-fired…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4921,1070,2931,21574,71647,9,24,55,54,56],"class_list":["post-176502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-chelsea","tag-food","tag-italian-food","tag-italian-restaurant","tag-lamico","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}