Gotan in Hoboken, NJ

2024-2

Sep 1

Serving Mediterranean cuisine, Gotan is not unknown to me as I discovered this place few years ago in New York, where the owner, Rami Rosen, had several locations, before closing a few when COVID hit. Another place I knew of him is Yuki’s Coffee and Bakery in Hoboken, located few steps from the largest space the restaurant has ever occupied, with 5,000 square feet and two floors. The food there is fantastic, with two favorites of mine: the Gotan breakfast ($16.50), composed of an egg over easy, a Mediterranean salad, labneh, potatoes and a fluffy pita that is also served with my second favorite: the shakshuka ($18). This dish is a bit different from my family recipe that is a stew made with roasted peppers, tomatoes and garlic, mainly eaten cold. At Gotan, the tomato stew is topped with tahini, chimichurri and pine nuts, served with two eggs poached in this heavenly delicious stew. If you prefer a sandwich, the falafel one, although classic is really good, but, a more original is the halloumi & grilled pepper, made with roasted halloumi cheese, grilled red pepper, onion, watercress, tahini, parsley pesto and olive tapenade. They also have more classic Mediterranean dishes like their hummus and peppers ($16.50) where their hummus is nice and creamy, and of course, they have an avocado toast ($14.50) that seems to be what any restaurant needs to have on their brunch menu in the past few years, this one being topped with feta cheese and mint to give a Mediterranean flair. They also serve coffee and tea, but, each time we went, we got their spearmint lemonade ($5) that was perfectly made, not too tart, not too sweet.