Les Halles

09/19/2008 Posted by waseem

Having gone for lunch at Les Halles downtown many times i finally decided to goto the Park Avenue location last night with a visiting friend for dinner. Started off with a couple of Kronenberg 1664 drafts, a nice French Pale Lager. We shared an order of the Esargot and Pate. Escargot was solid..classic garlic buttery sauce..gotta love em. Pate was very rich and flavorful as well. For our entree we decided to get the Planche de Grillades (for two)$56.00 (lamb chop, hanger steak, merguez, steak, thick cut bacon, french fries, roasted tomatoes, Provençal dressing). I HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting this if truly want to sample all the meats. The thick cut bacon so good it will make you cry...in fact all the meat will...so cooked to perfection. The merguez was nice an spicy. Oh man you will not be sure which one you like the best. We didn't go to crazy with our wine choice a reasonable 05 Bordeaux Supérieur,Ch Ribebon $36. It did compliment most of our meats, but i think if I go again i might spend an extra $10-$20 and get a bordeax with alittle more substance to it..ours was kinda weak and light..then again it was the least expensive. For dessert my friend had a craving for Crepes. On the menu they only have Crepe Suzette. We asked if the kithchen could just get us some Crepes with chocolate and banana. I will say this...they were most acommodating..the pastry chef had some fun with this and it came to our table like a piece of art. DELICIOUS!! Service was great all night (they were busy), but we were greeted warmly , our drink orders were taken and brougt to us promptly. Between our waiter, another server working a nearby section, and the bus boys...someone was always there to make sure you received what you needed. There is no doubt in my mind why Les Halles consistenly gets such respect...its ROCK SOLID...and i can't wait to go back and try that thick cut bacon again (mmmm..bacon)

Pros: Flavorful Meat Dishes, Thick Cut Bacon, Excellent Service

Cons: Anthony Bourdain ...i'm kidding

09/02/2008 Posted by missy2silly

Les Halles is one my favorite restaurants! I always order the steak au poivre and it is cooked perfectly everytime and comes with to die for fries! My boyfriend had the grilled platter which is nice if you want a little bit of everything. The atmosphere is nice and relaxing and the service always friendly. Highly recommneded

Pros: Generous portions, unpretentious atmosphere

08/24/2008 Posted by tapsilog

Yes, my man & I are total Anthony Bourdain fans, but it wasn't the reason why we made a last minute trip to his homebase. We were just hungry. In fact, other than the many other fans packing the place and chatting about his last NO RESERVATIONS episode, there is no real "celebrity chef" ambiance at all--just really good, really hearty bistro fare. We were tucked into a tight corner between the sidewalk and inside (perfect-still feels like being outside but protected from the Park Ave foot traffic) and did have to elbow for room, but once we settled in the feast began. Classically buttery & garlicky, tender escargot fought for space on my plate with my man's luscious mushroom vol-au-vent. His steak au poivre was spicy and perfectly cooked, my scallops in champagne sauce had me licking the plate. Our server was completely slammed but kept her composure as she served us dessert...chocolate souffle was appropriately dark & chocolatey, but take my advice & PLEASE save room for the baba au rhum, a sweet yellow cake doused in rum and whipped cream. Luscious, light and decadent! The wine list was alright, tho we detect a bit of cork taste in our 1st course rose... some nice Long Island wines too. All in all, it was a classic New York French restaurant: crowded but elegant, with reliably delicious food.

Pros: great food, buzzing atmosphere

Cons: sidewalk seating is sketchy... the garbage trucks & construction sounds not romantic.

08/09/2008 Posted by drink_club1

It's a slightly hoity toity place, but cool enough to let our refugee party from PS 450 take an ever expanding table in the back. The high ceilings and hard walls make the place a bit noisy, but it's NYC people noise, not the communication killing noise of PS 450 across the Avenue. The food was good, if on the expensive side. The place does, after all, have French pretensions. The waiters were slightly fertummelt, and Tomoko's drink never came. The escargot was great, especially the butter sauce just made for soaking up with bread. The mixed meat appetizer was a good choice to share, everything on the plate was excellent. Pricey, but not KILLER pricey. It's a comfortable place, and considering out jolt out of nowhere, very accommodating. --Drink Club NYC is a roving group of NYC drinkers

Pros: accommodating of big groups, good appetizers,

Cons: slightly pricey, somewhat not-with-it wait-staff

07/22/2008 Posted by 2001

I went here for some drinks last saturday, there was no air conditioning, I waited a half of a hour for my waiter to acknowledge my presence, I orderd a double gray goose, I recieved a glass of Ice for 20.00, Philippe you should be ashamed of your self and your staff. Maybee you can beat the tourists that come in anticipating a glimps of Anthony bourdaine (who has not worked there in over 11 years, and is not affiliated with this place in any capacity) Fix your AC and train your staff to do the right thing!

04/29/2008 Posted by Mmmmmfood84

This is definately my favorite spot in town. Besides being a huge Bourdain junky to begin with, it truely is the best in french food I've found this side of the Atlantic. I must admit the service is not what it used to be, ( I sense Bourdain's presence is surely lacking ) but taking a tip from the chef's own Kitchen Confidential, as long as you don't show up on the rediculously crowded weekends, ( the fish really IS the best tues-thurs ) I have never waited longer than 10 mins to be seated walking in on a weekday, and service is much speedier and attentive. But I don't go here for the service. The food is mind-blowing and right up there with any other kind of blowing you can think of. You can't go wrong with the steak frites, or any steak for that matter here. The cote de boeuf is at least enough for two and if you share it with the right person, like s e x on a plate. The mignon du porc is a must for pork lovers and the Coq au Vin takes me back to France everytime. The Moules Marinieres are a great start if you are looking for a classically simple french dish, or a great confit de canard. Everything is prepared to that belief that great ingredients cooked right is all you need for a great meal. Nothing is froo froo on a plate at Les Halles. Also the wine list. Amazing!!! Best Cote du Rhone. So... hop a flight to Paris? or hop a ride on the 6? For me... same thing.

Pros: Best French food in NY

Cons: service can be iffy on weekends

03/08/2008 Posted by nobodysbusiness

My Wife and I recently visited NY from England and with us both being fans of Anthony Bourdain's TV shows (he's the owner of Les Halles in case you didn't know) we felt we should pay his place a visit. I'm happy to say that I can only say good things about it, the service was excellent and the food out of this world. The Fillet steak (rare) I had was the best I've ever had, it just melted in the mouth and my wife's Moules Marinere was just as good she said. The desserts of Profiteroles and the chocolate Souffle were equally excellent. What I've always liked about Anthony Bordain is the passion he shows for a food, he can enjoy the finest food available as well as a cheap and cheerful Burger or similar, this restaurant offers the finest food in my opinion and I didn't think it was expensive at all for this standard of food. I can't praise it enough, if you're visiting NY then check this Park Ave restaurant out, I think you'll like it.

Pros: Everything was superb

Cons: nothing springs to mind

02/15/2008 Posted by albyatlarge

Recommended, but not strongly. This is a French eatery done the way Anthony Bourdain likes it -- simple, humble, stripped of pretense. You wouldn't be out of line for mistaking it for a countryside diner when you step in, what with the ultradim lighting, short wooden chairs, and bric-a-brac everywhere. The menu has some hits and its fair share of misses. (Don't miss the boudin aux pommes or the fries, which are rightly praised.) Who should go? Those who want to try French but are squeamish about it, or those who read and love Bourdain. (And trust me, the latter demographic is big enough to keep this place in business for years to come.)

Pros: Unpretentious, straightforward

Cons: Uneven menu

12/24/2007 Posted by bklyndc

I love quality and well prepared dishes. I am a chef's daughter, and work for a company that is known for reviewing food amongst other things- and i believe i have fallen for this place. Appetizer - My group of four, ordered the escargots for an appetizer. The sauce was excellent (we sopped up the extra with table bread), but together i thought the escargot lost a bit of it's own flavor- otherwise, it was a good dish, but not a must have. The frites were outstanding - we tended to our main dishes and went back to the frites and expected them to be cold and soggy - but were surprised by how well they stood up to the test of time. given that we waited awhile to eat them and they were still crisp. Next time i'll give them a try when they're hot. Main dish - Our table ordered mussels accompanied with frites, the lamb dish, the steak poivre (wonderfully tender, juicy and flavorful), coq au vin (my dish) with a side of mashed potatoes (recommended by Tim the attentive and fun waiter). The coq au vin - the rooster was tender and flavorful. the sauce was delicious (and i used those mashed potatoes to make the most of that sauce). I am a huge fan of red wine sauce, but this one was rich yet did not mask the unique flavor of the rooster. I am a believer of not having sauces steal the show from the main ingredient, and this dish was great. Anyway ,how many coq au vin places can you find in the city? on another note, the mashed potatoes were forgettable, but did the job of not wasting that sauce. Dessert - my friend had the apple tart (it was her birthday) and Tim was a darling and had a candle on it along with a birthday song). I shared a creme brulee with my other friend. Both desserts were not great, but were passable as dessert. Overall - i loved my entree and the service here. If the dishes weren't outstanding, at least they were decent. Tim - you are awesome! thank you for making my first experience at Les Halles a great one!

Pros: Service, Entree/Specialties

Cons: dessert

12/10/2007 Posted by mjkanas

So you make us wait more than an hour past our reservation. So you seat the walkins in front of us. So you pretend you couldn't find us at the bar. So you comp us your house wine. Thanks. And then you pretend we're not there. No water. No asking if we want more drinks (we did). No asking if we want desert (we did). How about clearing our plates? Luckily around 1:15 am we manage to get someone's attention and get a check and escape this nightmare. Hope you liked your 10% tip, because we were being generous.

Pros: awful awful service

Cons: good fries