First Look Inside 'Top Chef Kitchen'

Top Chef Kitchen is officially open! The limited-time-only restaurant opened its doors yesterday, and The Dish is giving you an exclusive look both inside the kitchen, and also showing you how we transformed the space from a shuttered restaurant into a chic new spot.

First-up, the opening week chefs and their food. Mike Isabella and Edward Lee are the lucky ones who get to show off first (as well as work out all of the kinks), and judging from these shots and what we're hearing from those who have eaten there, the grub they're dishing up is no joke. We've got pics of nearly all of the plates, including Mike's scrumptious looking lamb and Ed's magnificent looking fried chicken salad with schmaltz vinaigrette (below). This is good eating, people -- click on the pic to see the full gallery:



And if that wasn't enough TCK goodness for you, we've got a photo journey that shows you what the NYC restaurant looked like when we first got the keys, and takes you through all of the work that went into making it the modern, gorgeous restaurant it currently is. Everything had to either go or get modified, and while it wasn't always pretty, the end result is nothing to argue with. Wouldn't you agree? Check out the pics by clicking on the photo below.

Were you lucky enough to score a reservation? Be sure to take pics and Tweet or Instagram them with the hashtag #topchefkitchen!