Andy D'Amico

5 Napkin Burger | Nice Matin | Marseille | Nizza | Playa Betty's

Culinary Managing Partner

Chef Andy has been captivating New York diners for over four decades, with creative cooking that can be traced back to his big Italian family, the food of his childhood, and many years of Mediterranean-focused travel.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Andy started in the kitchens of prestigious hotels, from The Parker House in Boston, to The Berkshire Place in New York, before landing the pivotal position as sous chef at the Santo Family’s Sign of the Dove, one of New York’s prettiest and most romantic restaurants in 1982. It was there that he developed his love of the honest Mediterranean flavors so prevalent in Southern French and Northern Italian cuisine — hallmarks that would become his signature.

Chef Andy thrived at Sign of the Dove, eventually being promoted to Executive Chef of the Santo Family Group. Along the way, he enjoyed two 3-star New York Times reviews by Brian Miller in 1988, and again in 1994, exalting his use of the ingredients and flavors of Europe, Asia and the Middle East in his dishes.

Making a move to the Tour de France group, now Chef Driven Hospitality, Andy partnered with Simon Oren to open Nice Matin in 2003 as Executive Chef and Partner, featuring an inventive menu of classic dishes and new recipes inspired by a fact-finding trip he took to the South of France. Nice Matin was an instant critical success, receiving 2 stars from The New York Times and Crain’s New York, and 2 1/2 stars from The Daily News and New York Post. In November 2003, New York Magazine food editor Gillian Duffy named him one of the “Best Chefs of 2003.”

Now, Chef Andy oversees a team of Executive Chefs and Chefs de Cuisine for 5 of Chef Driven’s concepts, alongside regular support and consultation throughout the wider group. His goal remains the same as when he first started cooking — to maintain the integrity of the food and offer patrons an honest dining experience with the best tasting food possible. “My greatest food memory is from my trip to Emilia-Romana where I experienced an amazing meal cooked by three generations of Italian women in a little farm house. I want to impart that feeling in all my restaurants whether it’s Marseillaise cuisine at Marseille, Ligurian cuisine at Nizza or burgers at 5 Napkin Burger.”