10/22/09

Good food, Good Service

by PussyCat

I really like coming here. I love the steak here with the bernaise sauce...yummy me and the fries. Can't good wrong. Also a great wine selection.

• Pros: Food, Location, Open Late
• Cons: Loud, Often Wait

08/26/09

GOOD LUNCH DEAL

by NYCSibarita

This is by far the closest to a Parisian Bistro in NYC.

The Rillettes du Boucher were surprisingly good .

As for the service, waistress did not know the difference between a Steak Frites (whihc was ok) & a Beef tenderloin. Also she did not know about the wine menu... pretty basic I think ....

Overall is a good place to go for lunch.

• Pros: Price, location (Park Ave) & decor
• Cons: slow service & not knowledgeable waitress

08/10/09

Excellent food. Very noisy

by KhaliKhai

The best Steak Au Poivre I ever had. Awesome experience. All the foods in the table were equally great.

• Pros: Reasonably Priced, Excellent Food
• Cons: Less space and noisy

08/09/09

STILL TERRIFIC FOOD BUT HORRIBLY NOISY

by aaw926

We loved going to Les Halles when it first opened many years ago (hard to believe) though it was small and cramped and gave off incredibly snobby French attitude. Over the years it has doubled in size, and the attitude is now American rather than French snobby. We don't go very often any more because it is incredibly noisy...We tried it again last night---a humid Saturday summer night....the food was still good---the kir we ordered was horrible but the manager took it off our bill---our waiter was very nice...but the place is horribly noisy. All that noise, at least for me, takes away from the enjoyment of the meal, no matter how good the food is...so I've decided never to go back, except perhaps on a weeknight...and maybe not even then. The nearby and terrific Ponty Bistro now has own praise...try it.

• Pros: TERRIFIC STEAKS AND FRIES
• Cons: NOISE NOISE NOISE

03/31/09

Not worth it

by fasaria

We are big fans of super chef Anthony Bourdaine, and were very excited to eat at Les Halles. We had made reservations from the night before, but when we arrived we noticed that there were a few empty tables and yet we still had to wait 15 minutes for ours. We were a party of four and ordered the Escargots, gratin de macaroni,and foie gras for appetizers. The food was served before we each had plates,so we had to stop two waiters for plates. By the time we got plates our food was cold, not to mention that when our diner was served we were still eating our appetizers, and the guy is just standing over us with the food waiting for us to move our plates somewhere. He had to go get another guy to clear our table, our diner was also cold!Just to clarify we had cold steak,duck,sausage and lamb chops. Before we could even decide if we wanted to order dessert we were approached by another waiter who asked us if we could pay the bill because they pool tips and our original waiter had to leave. Not to mention that yet another waiter who took our drink order kept getting the refills wrong! I would never go back.

• Pros: The french fries
• Cons: Service

03/01/09

Rope With Food! Nice!

by lovenewyork1

My friend wanted to try this place, and I had no issues with that. The place inside looks interesting. Spaceous, dark, and cozy. We waited 15 minutes to be seated on a saturday night. I ordered a main dish and an appetizer. The appetizer was a bit cold, and this dish is not served cold. The beer was good, a french make. I ordered the tenderloin beef, well done. When they brought it, it was not well done. As I was trying to finish the steak, I noticed something on it, and I just grabbed and pealed, thinking it may be a french fry or a veggie. It was not. I saw a 3 inch long thing, which when I brough to light, looked hairy. I started to freak out, but my girlfriend stated it was only a rope, and not what I thought it was. Nevertheless, a rope in my steak, As I was eating earlier peices of this steak, I had difficulty cutting it on bottom and had to chew for long time. I guess I ate a bit of that rope. I called the waiter, and he said it is a rope which they use to shape the meat. Ok. things happen. I did not receive an appology, or not even a free coffee. the waiter simply disappeared. I paid my bill, left a small tip, and left. i will not come back here for reasons of rope with my meal, and lack of oppology.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Foreign objects in food, a rope in my meal, 3 inches. Nice!! No oppologies.

01/24/09

WOW! Affordable lunch and FANTASTIC Mac & Cheese!

by Bridget_Jones

I thought BOTH locations were GREAT! The one downtown really surprised me, because you could have a wonderful steak for lunch - and it was REASONABLE! (And delicious) Price is most imporant. The midtown location, I have only been there for dinner. Of course dinner is far more expensive than lunch, but the one thing I can't complain about was the food and the service. My friends and I were seated promptly without a reservation, treated nice by all the staff, (hostess, waiter, runner,). We all had something different and had 1 vegetarian with us. Now, there isn't a lot for vegetarians to choose from, she did order the Mac & cheese and raved about it. She let us try it - and it is without a doubt - one of THE BEST MAC & CHEESE dishes in the city (ties for 1st place with "Tea & Sympathy"). Our steaks, of course, were also very good. Nice wine. We aren't dessert people, so... can't really comment on that. Overall - I'd give it a 8/10. We will be back for certain.

• Pros: Affordable steak lunch!!! Great fries!!! Mac & Cheese to die for!!!!
• Cons: Limited selection for vegetarians.

01/13/09

SIMPLY THE BEST COTE DE BEUF THIS SIDE OF FRANCE

by LINDATT

I just recently was able to visit this restaurant and I was nervous to see if it lived up to all the hype. I knew Anthony Bourdain was the great chef that put this place on the map but wondered if the current chef would be able to compare. I took a friend of mine for his birthday and we were so pleasantly surprised. My friend normally eats his steak well done, I persuaded him to try the cote de beuf for two, medium rare. He absolutely loved it. My grilled octopus salad was amazing. The service was great, it was a memorable night.

• Pros: great food, great service
• Cons: the lighting can be a little brighter

11/23/08

They've really gone downhill. Badly.

by HollandTulipLover

I hadn't been back to Les Halles in years, when they turned out really good brasserie-fare. When I decided to take my spouse a couple of nights ago for a nice steak dinner, I thought we would get a decently prepared meal. Boy, was I so wrong. The endive/arugula/blue cheese/walnut salad had only a few slivers of endive to accompany the handful of merely-okay arugula, barely three walnuts, and only one pathetic and very rindy cube of blue cheese thrown in like an after thought, onto the side of the plate. I've had many great endive/blue cheese/walnut salads in the city, and this one ranks the worst. The escargot we also ordered arrived shriveled and drowning in bland-tasting oil, not at all the expected blast of garlic and parsley which should have perfumed the dish. The spouse ordered the half duck, which had an acceptable but only average preparation of the duck breast. The leg seemed like it had been cooked more than twice because it seem so terribly hard and dry. I had ordered the ribeye steak, medium rare, thinking that they couldn't possible get it wrong- it's Les Halles! They do steak! The steak arrived, and I stared down at my plate. It was unexpectedly thin, and really reminded me of exactly the sort of steak I'd see offered at Gristedes, wrapped in styrofoam and plastic. If I wanted that, I wouldn't pay $110 for dinner. They had overcooked it to medium, and tasted like it had spent too many days in the refrigerator before finally hitting the grill. I finished the fries instead of the steak. And I was the one who had insisted on going out to dinner for a great piece of steak. This should tell you how bad it was. Never again.

• Pros: You'll be seated quickly, but that's because the food is terrible.
• Cons: Everything else.

11/18/08

Needs more wait staff!

by scampy

Ok i know the waiter is a star of all things TV and late night travel shows, buti came here for the food, not the long winded chit chat from table to table, had i wanted that i could of eaten at my mothers house.

Was a slow night and walked in off the street around 9 pm with my husband to get a bit of something to eat. Decent menu and prices, typical French bistro fare.

My steak was very stringy and chewy thought he frites were amazing..i just mostly had those with the little salad. Drinks were reasonable. I can imagine going there on a busy night with 1 waiter taking orders...and several back waiters doing most of the work. My husbands water glass had lipstick on it, which is disgusting because he doesnt wear any.

We were mostly ignored by our star waiter so he could chitter chatter with many other tables and freinds.

Damn you reality TV!!

Would of liked dessert but could hardly get dinner. I'll probably come back for the pomme frites but id sit at the bar and eat there, though i doubt the service would be much better from what i saw. There are many decent places to eat in this city and this one for the price is better then others that are more expensive.

• Pros: Great Fries and sauces
• Cons: dirty water glasses & slow service