LA SIRENE
New York, NY 10013
Phone: (212) 925-3061
07/14/2008 Posted by MaureenNY
I have wanted to try this tiny bistro in my neighborhood for a long time after reading Bruni's review and seeing all the great write ups of the food, ambience, and staff here. And I would like to give it another chance, as the food was pretty good. But my experience at La Sirene was not what I hoped for. My friend and I decided to check it out on the 4th of July hoping there wouldn't be a wait as the neighborhood was rather quiet that night. We arrived with our bottle of wine and were delighted to see several empty tables and the great smell of garlic and butter. The staff, it seemed, was less than excited to see us however. I understand that it was a holiday, but why be open if you can't take care of guests properly? We were quizzed as to whether or not we had wine (we did) and cash (we did) before reluctantly led to a table. The food, like i said, was good, but not as memorable as we had hoped. We tried a very buttery hanger steak and a strange pork dish, which I'll admit, was exactly what was described on the menu, but it was still weird. The service was astounding though. Daphne, the "manager" was definitely drunk and spent much of her time outside smoking or sitting at a table of friends, occasionally getting up to serve food when a bell was rung. It was really shocking, because we had read such nice things about her and the rest of the staff. We hoped to meet the famous Didier but he was nowhere in sight, or else I'm sure he would have been surprised. I know it was a holiday, but this seemed unacceptable, even for the fourth of July. We hope to try again but will definitely be a little wary.
Pros: Smells great, Very quaint and cute
Cons: Unreliable staff
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