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    Le Chêne

    4.1 (27 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 2 months ago

    Le Chêne Photos

    LE CHÊNE ATMOSPHERE

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    Tyler T.

    Great ambiance and vibes, stepping in the place has a cute yet elegant feel to it. Drinks were more on the average side, with neither being that amazing. Food was a bit pricy for what you got, but it was still pretty delicious. The pithiviers were obviously a highlight, though they are a bit pricey. Stuffed pastry with a beautiful gravy sauce on the outside, they kind of remind me of the pate chaud from Ha's Dac Biet. We had the sweet shrimp tartelette (small bite but actually quite delicious), pate en croute (would pass on this in the future, not that good), baked razor clams (delicious, with a nice crunch from the bread crumbs on top), grilled squid (tasty, loved the sauce), and dessert. Overall good food, though a bit pricey.

    vanilla mille-feuille
    Jason M.

    Le Chêne first landed on my rader via my brother - he saw on social media that the restaurant had recently opened, and since we periodically grab dinner we thought it would be a good place to try. That being said, I booked a table and linked up with him after work to check this place out. Located in the West Village, Le Chêne is only about a month old; it's the product of husband-wife team Alexia Duchêne and Ronan Duchêne Le May and (as the name suggests) serves French cuisine. The restaurant is split in two, with the front room dedicated to the bar area and the adjacent room housing the main dining room. The decor is lovely - it's very bright with pops of tasteful color in the bar area and clean lines in the dining room. The white tablecloths play against the darker chairs and the art on the walls add a touch of flair. They really paid attention to the details - even the tableware was tastefully decorated. The menu is separated into bites, apps, mains, and sides. Before diving in though, we got some wine and were served hot bread with compound butter - an awesome start. We then decided to share everything and went with a couple of items from each section. We started with three bites: the sweet shrimp tartelette, uni French Toast, and the corn beignets. These were all very good - my favorite was definitely the shrimp - it was flavorful with contrasting textures that provided a nice mouthfeel. The toast and beignets were also very good - both had great flavor as well. We also got the fatty tuna app - the fish was tender and served in a light broth that (yet again) provided great flavor. For the main we decided to share the pithiviers. Their version contained pork, potato, and eel which was complemented by a beet puree and sat in a small amount of gravy. This was excellent - all the components worked together really well, the puff pastry was tender, and the sauces were delicious. It's definitely pricer than the other menu items but it's really meant to be shared between two (or more) people - either way it's worth it. We also got a side of sautéed spinach which was a good complement to the main. We could not leave without dessert - they had a special one that needed to be preordered but we decided on two off their standard menu: the strawberry and the vanilla mille-feuille. The former was a light-ish dish that contained strawberries, pound cake, and topped with cream and a light cookie. This was really good - very refreshing and summery. The mille-feuille was definitely more of a showstopper; in addition to the vanilla cream in between the layers of pastry, it was topped at the table with chocolate sauce mmm. This was really good - the flavors were mild which was a good thing, and the chocolate sauce wasn't sweet which I definitely appreciated. Service was excellent - honestly some of the best service I've had in a long time. Ronan was greeting diners at the door, and also made a stop at our table to make sure everything was going well (it was). The other members of the team were also super warm and friendly - they provided some background into the restaurant as well as the dishes, and we had some great conversation. While the food was great, the hospitality of the team was the biggest standout for me - keep up the great work. Overall, Le Chêne was a total yes - the food and service are top-drawer, and I wish the team nothing but success as they embark on this new journey. I would definitely return for another meal.

    Pithivier
    Brandon Y.

    Spent New Year's Eve dinner here. The food was spectacular and the service was even better. The Pithivier was easily the best I've ever had. Also the nugget with petrossian caviar was over the top in the best way. Allison the bartender was awesome. Got the champagne and the milk punch. Le Chene definitely makes you feel like you're transported to France from the west village. Would highly recommend

    Stewart L.

    The West Village explodes with restaurants, many of them Italian. I prefer French, and was able to try 2 new places during my last visit. Le Chene was one of them, open less than a month when I visited but bustling nevertheless. It's helmed by the young and photogenic wife-husband team of Alexia Duchene (chef) and Ronan Duchene Le May (front of house). The restaurant has a smallish dining room lined with art and an 8-seat bar where I sat. The menu is also smallish with additional daily specials (which were not mentioned to me). The specialite de la maison is the pithiviers terre et mer, which I knew I wanted to try, so the bartender advised me to start with a lighter appetizer (I was interested in the crab thermidor). I began with shrimp tartlette amuse bouche, creamy and delicious, topped with a shiso leaf. The complimentary bread and butter were great. My appetizer choice was the oeuf mayonnaise, a traditional French dish that Le Chene transforms into a deconstructed tuna sandwich with tuna tartare, jammy eggs with a parsley mayo cream, topped with a thin toast and mimolette cheese. Unique and fabulous. Very different from nearby French restaurant Libertine's (also non-traditional) version that I had last year. The pithivier is a large dome of puff pastry (could feed 2) filled with layers of potato gratin, pork farce, smoked eel and cabbage, with a dollop of beetroot "ketchup" alongside. Also very unique, fabulous and substantial. Of course I still ordered a dessert. The peach and basil tarte fine was half of a small tart topped with in-season peaches served with peach ice cream. Yummy. Overall a fantastic dinner!

    Check
    Andrew L.

    For a Tues night we walked in for our 6 pm rez to find the place almost 4/5 fulled already. The atmosphere was quite busy, hectic, and just loud. Definitely the new place on the block and all want to try it scene. There are some decent artwork on loan here (eg, Jean-Michel Basquiat). The menu was more limited but the wine menu was pretty expansive. There were only two mains (halibut; lamb) and a house special. We ordered a bottle of Pierre Paillard, the shrimp amuse bouche (yes, ordered not comp), a fennel salad and the house special. To provide a sense of just how loud the dining room was, while I was reading the menu, the wait staff was next to me describing the special--not until my wife signal to me did I realize someone was talking... I'm old but not dead. Additionally, since my wife was situated against the wall, thus farther away from hearing shot of the waiter -- she couldn't hear at all the description. This is the main challenge for the restaurant. If one expects to talk to their dinner companions here, you would have to not only shout but repeat yourself. The champagne came NOT chilled, but the staff did a very light pour "for a toast." -- as they said. Shrimp tartelette was excellent but the fennel salad was a bit too astringent. The service was excellent with the refilling of water and a slow short pour of the wine. We would've preferred for the wine to be fully chilled before service. As such it was not until about 30 minutes in that the wine was adequately chilled. By then 1/2 of the bottle was gone. We went with their special -- pastry wrapped concoction with chopped protein baked inside. Overall, food was good but the question is whether if one wants to tolerate the hectic sound with rather tight seating. It's a balancing act for each diner. Since the west village is not exactly short of French places, I await to see how inventive they are with their menu after their newness wears off...

    Tartare
    Mike Z.

    Came here with my eating group of four and had one (or 2-4 from the amuse) of everything on the regular menu. The restaurant definitely does a great job with the food, as everything tasted great, with some standouts. The pithivier with eel and pork was a very strong dish and quite large, and the shrimp tart in the first section of the menu was scrumptious. However, I will note that the menu pricing is a tad high, especially considering the portion sizes. We ended up spending $200/person with only one person getting a single $14 drink. This is more of a splurge place. Given that it is a new restaurant and our server was on her second day of work, I will not fault the establishment for service and believe that it will improve!

    Frank A.

    Le Chene is a charming little restaurant on Carmine Street that has great potential. The food is excellent and creative. The wine list is fabulous and the wine service is impeccable. The room is beautiful with superb art on the walls. Overall a good experience, but not yet five stars. The service, while professional, is wholly impersonal. The noise level is very high, in large part because they have too many tables in a relatively small space. Also, the desserts do not match the mouth-watering quality of the savory dishes. This is a great addition to the neighborhood and I'm looking forward to them tweaking the details so that it becomes one of our regular spots.

    beneighs
    Annika K.

    came with my family for a friday night dinner and made a reservation at 8:45pm. we arrived early and they kindly were able to seat us early we ordered pretty immediately upon being seated and drinks came out quick. the food not so much but the restaurant had mentioned they had a chef call out and therefore the kitchen was taking longer than usual highlights food wise are the melon cucumber salad and octopus for sure -- flavors here were excellent. texture was great too. the other foods were great - lots of dishes reminded us of indian flavors funny enough. servers were kind and the ambiance and overall vibe was pretty good. totally recommend but just order the octopus and melon salad tbh

    Pithiviers
    Shawn H.

    This was excellent. The bread/butter, shrimp tartlets, uni french toast, and French fries were all perfect. The green been beignets and fennel salad were both great but not a must reorder. I thought the crab thermidor was incredible, but my wife didn't love one of the spices in it. I also loved the pithiviers but she was also less sold on that. We both loved the chocolate tart.

    Excellent white wine suggested by the Somm
    Mark G.

    What a lovely and elegant addition to the WV. From the moment you arrive the Husband and co-owner who runs the front of the house greets your personably and makes you feel welcomed. The wine selection was second to none in the neighborhood, and the food was very good. Some unique items I usually don't see on menus. Overall we had a wonderful evening, but good luck getting out of there for under $200pp with drinks

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    3 months ago

    Good cooking, pleasant professional service. The aggressive marketing of LVMH products was the only sour note.

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    Rake Wine Bar

    4.8(29 reviews)
    0.9 miEast Village

    Wow East Village! You have yourself a gem with Rake Wine Bar! We were waiting for our dinner…read morereservations and decided to stop in here for a pre-dinner drink and bite. I am SO glad we did. The vibe drew us in, they had great music bumpin from the outside, it looked lively and welcoming. Let me tell you- I would have skipped dinner and just stayed here all evening if it was my choice! But alas, my husband wanted a bit more to eat. But let me tell you- their knowledge of wine is PRISTINE! I can't tell you what white wine we had but they captured our tastes perfectly. We also shared a bruschetta and it was deliciouso! I love how friendly the staff was here and how unpretentious it all was. Next time we are in NYC- we will definitely make a point to come visit Rake!

    My partner and I were looking for a great double date spot, so we decided to give Rake a try due to…read moreits relaxing vibe and multitude of bites we could share. First I'll start with the wine - we ended up trying all three happy hour wines (HH until 7), which the tables favorites were the white and we ended up getting a bottle to split once HH ended (but I really enjoyed the other vino verde option). It was incredibly refreshing and paired well with the many tinned fish options. As you'd expect - it's a pretty massive selection and there is bound to be a varietal and glass for any palate. It's also attached to a wine store - so it's fine to see all the bottles when peaking over. Food-wise - this is where it was hit or miss, they have a pretty extensive menu (with a whole tinned fish section!) and we ended up ordering the buratta on focaccia (buratta was excellent, focaccia was too dense for my tastes), mushroom truffle crostini (way too salty), the flatbread with sliced kielbasa (was fine), halloume (table favorite ), tinned sardines in lemon oil (delicious), tinned smoked trout (my favorite). Overall the four of us were very full at the end of the meal! The space itself felt very relaxing and rustic, and definitely got busier as the night went on (we got there at 6:50 and left around 9). The service was also fast and attentive - even for the amount of tables they were serving. Overall - I'd definitely go back again, and maybe just focus on the wine and another tinned fish selection!

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    Lei - Sweet and sour beef short rib

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    4.2(20 reviews)
    1.1 miChinatown, Civic Center

    Quite impressive. A small, charming restaurant that seats maybe 28. I arrived when they opened at 5…read morePM on a Thursday, I was the first one there; by the time I left 45 min later it was full. I started with the chilled celtuce with kombu jelly (the celtuce stem was sliced into bamboo shoot-sized strips, as was the kombu jelly) with toasted shallots in a red vinegar sauce. It stole the show. I've never had celtuce, loved it paired with the jelly, the texture and flavor were both amazing. It was the most interesting and prettiest dish I've had in a long time. For my entree, I had the bobo chicken, which is a poached chicken with a hint of spice and a nice broth. I ordered a side of rice to soak up the broth; the rice had something starchy tucked in it (maybe taro)? I liked it. There were slices of raw celtuce stems (I think, similar to celery) on top that offered some nice texture to the dish. Wine: I tried a merlot by the glass from Xiaopu winery in China. I thought it had nice body and flavor. I'm no expert but for the first western style wine I've tried from China, it was very good. The service was excellent. They are great with wine advice, which I noticed as my server helped an adjacent table select a bottle. I am excited to come back to try more dishes. Great date place. Bad group place. Four or less.

    TLDR: I recommend coming here with your bestie/boo not too hungry, get a bottle of wine, the cat…read moreear hand pulled noodles & the sticky rice toffee pudding dessert. Walked in at 8pm on a Wednesday and was able to sit right away for a limited time (1.5hrs), which was plenty for us. It's small, as most places in NYC are, and dark & intimate. They also have shared tables, so we sat with another couple. Huge wine selection. Everything we ate was delicious. To me, the Celtuce is more of a novelty - cool, yummy, fresh but small. The crudo was the same thing. So in my opinion, I don't think it's worth the money. The noodles were so good we got 2 orders of it - you cannot skip!! The dessert was also unlike anything I've had before. If you love sticky rice and caramel/toffee, you have to try it. Overall, I do think it was very expensive but the ambiance + some of the dishes were well worth it. I'd definitely come back.

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    Sunn’s - Banchan. Potato salad with pear and the roasted eggplant were favorites.

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    4.1(43 reviews)
    1.3 miLower East Side, Chinatown

    Played the Opentable notification game and got a Friday night counter spot. My boyfriend and I…read moreshared: + Banchan of the day + added gochujang candied squid + Sunn's salad with chicories, sweet potato, sesame jang + Spicy tomato Tteokbokki + Ssam (beef brisket) + Sesame Crusted Mochi Cake Ssam was my favorite dish. Also loved the kimchi, cucumbers and potato salad from the banchan. Tteokbokki was a standout as well. It was more than enough food, and we even took home leftovers. Service was very friendly, and coat check was a nice touch!

    I wanted to love Sunn's but overall it felt overrated…read more We ordered the banchan, chigae, bossam and tteokbokki. Starting with the positives -the banchan was solid across the board and really flavorful. That said, charging for banchan feels strange to me. Traditionally, it's complimentary, like bread at an Italian restaurant so that part didn't sit right but it was flavorful. The chigae was interesting and probably the standout dish. It had a unique flavor that reminded me of a mix between soondubu and dwenjang chigae which worked well. Unfortunately, the rest was a miss. The bossam was overly salty and didn't feel true to the dish. The tteokbokki was another disappointment -it came with cheese (which wasn't expected) and just fell flat overall. For the hype, I expected much more especially because I've eaten Korean food my whole life. The venue is small and the seats in the back are uncomfortable.

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    Sunn’s - Vibes + wine bottle + cute water dispenser

    Vibes + wine bottle + cute water dispenser

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    Cozy sitting corner by the window

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    The counter by the kitchen

    Le Chêne - french - Updated May 2026

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