Gato

The “New Mediterranean” menu is Spanish-inflected, like at Bolo, although the food has been updated from the old white-tablecloth formula to include a small armada of elegantly casual spreads and tapas-style dishes, designed to be consumed in bites at the giant, predictably mobbed bar. The back dining area is dimly lit and set with spare wood tables and bent-cane café chairs, and as dinner progresses (and the club music is turned up), the big brick-and-tile-covered space fills, inexorably, with a gently thrumming wall of sound. Of course, an elevated noise level is one of the hallmarks of the post-gourmet restaurant experience, and if you wish to take a bit of the edge off, I recommend calling for another cherished post-gourmet hallmark, the retro cocktail. The desserts are comfort-oriented, and sometimes preassembled, but they have a certain tasty, professional flair.