Alfred Portale’s entire career in New York has been linked to Gotham Bar and Grill, the iconic New York stalwart that he left over the summer. During his tenure, the chef was an innovator of some of the late 20th century’s most widely copied culinary trends including vertical plating, tuna tartare, and flourless chocolate cake. After all those years of making seafood salad, Portale says he’d been thinking about doing something else.

Now, his new spot, Portale, is in the home stretch, scheduled to open November 14. “It’s just energizing,” Portale says of the move. Located in the former home of Rouge Tomate, the Chelsea restaurant occupies space in a carriage house with a landmarked façade.*