I went to this restaurant for an early birthday a few days ago with a few others where I overall had a very tasty meal. The inside can get a bit loud and the air conditioning wasn't the best but the outside area is wonderful so we didn't mind. There's also a retractable roof which is a plus for when it's hot or raining/etc. The male server we had was friendly and helpful. To drink, I had a Trois Toits, 2020 Melon de Bourgogne Muscadet which was $16 which was pleasant. There was no bread or otherwise for the table as you have to order separately but it did look excellent on other tables. Speaking of dishes that looked excellent, a lot of people appear to be ordering the very good looking Moules with and without frites.
We started with a bunch of small plates from the first, extra, and petits section. My favorite of the bunch and possibly my favorite bite of the night outside of the steak (more on that later) was the Leeks Vinaigrette for $14 with crispy jammy egg and bottarga. The partially sour leeks was nice with the slightly salty bottarga with the egg adding a soft texture and some richness and creaminess. This was outstanding.
Also tasty were the Fried Artichokes for $14 with za'atar and lemon tahini. The portion even though it was a side dish was quite large and the batter was light. The spices and tahini added some sourness as well as a bit of richness. This was very good also.
There was also the Salade Verte for $16 with radish, salted cucumber, pickled shallot, tirokafteri, and olive oil breadcrumbs. We ordered this after the server said this was his preference of the two and it was nice. The salad was quite large with my favorite part being the salted cucumber and the crunch from the breadcrumbs. This was refreshing and worked quite nice with the other small plates.
Also fried were the Anchovy Frites with crispy lemons & aioli for $12. The other person expected there to be fries with anchovies which I would have liked as the only place I've had this was at Bar B as a special which was outstanding but instead, it was much simpler which was a bit disappointing. This dish consisted of a bunch of lightly fried anchovies along with some fried lemon, some crispy leaves, and said aioli. This was fine but my least favorite of the bunch possibly just because of expectations.
My main was the Bavette (or flap steak) for $42 with an 8oz bistro cut, petite salade, maitre d'hotel butter, and house-made steak sauce. The steak as per the description was a bit small but it was cooked perfectly medium rare with a nice sear on the outside. The frites were outstanding as well being the perfect size and texture being just as good if not better than the ones at Minetta Tavern and other bistros. The petite salade was interesting with some crunch and some sourness with I believe olives in there which was a nice touch and different than the usual generic salads you get with steaks. Said steak sauce which I used for the fires only was pretty similar to Worcestershire with a stronger sweetness and tang and it was appreciated. Instead of being on top of the steak, the other sauce was said maître d'hôtel butter which was whipped with a bit of herbal flavor which was tasty but not necessary.
I tried a bit of the $36 Roasted Hake with gigante beans, charred cabbage, piparras, and fennel aioli which was plainer but tasty. I also tried the $39 Paccheri with corn, gold bar squash, cherry tomato, ricotta salata, and espelette pepper which is one of the few vegetarian mains on menu and was probably the only dish which needed a little bit of salt but the pasta was cooked properly. A lot of other people were having the Moules/Mussels which looked excellent which are $21 without fries or $30 with a gigantic mound on them on the side. Along with my steak, there's also a 28 day 14 oz NY strip for $68 instead which I might try next time.
Our dessert were two orders of the Bananas Foster Profiteroles for $14 with banana ice cream, crème fraîche, and banana rum caramel. This was a very nice spin on profiteroles with the sauce being the highlight. The ice cream had a bit of a banana flavor but not too much and the dish overall had a good crunch and wasn't overly sweet as expected which was nice. This was a good dessert overall.
I overall liked this place a lot. They do spins on bistro food but not too overboard and all the dishes were properly cooked with a good balance. There were minor faults in some dishes but only minor ones and for the number of dishes we ordered, only having minor faults is rare especially at this price point. Would go back as said multiple times. read more