Daniel Boulud has nothing to do with this restaurant and the menu says so by naming the real chef. Suboptimal food at high prices. Don't go!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Thomas McGowan
DB has pulled it off again! I had Saturday brunch which included the pasta with corgettes, which is not to be missed. The room is one of the best in New York…open with great light during the day. Terrific service, although not 100% coordinated among themselves quite yet. This place has the potential to be an East Side “go to” if you don’t want to go all in formal, but something more than some hamburger joint.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Thorsten
We came from Minnesota to eat here on our one night in NY. If you are looking for amazing butter, I’d suggest coming here. If you are looking for great food, go elsewhere. We spent around $500 for under cooked risotto, steak that lacked flavor, a potato loaf that had little to no seasoning, soup that was awful, and waiters with attitudes. Very disappointing for my first dinner in New York. Unfortunately, I highly recommend avoiding this place. We were really looking forward to this, and expected much more from this chef.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Yoram Shakib
Delicious I wish he had a place in Los
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Simone Lindquist
We had one night in NYC. We chose Chef Boulud for our one dinner. We were disappointed. The risotto was under cooked. The duck skin was soggy. The snapper was beautiful on the plate, but it lacked flavor. The waiter was not very attentive. For the cost, not the night we were hoping.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Wynd
Good food but even better service. Came early around 5:30PM on a dinner night and the space was quaint and intimate.
Food: recommend the canard miel-safran (duck breast). Personally did not love the bar en paupiette sauce meurette (black sea bass) it felt flavorless without accompanying sauces and essentially mashed potato.
Dessert: highly recommend the Tarte noix de pecan, it comes with an incredible maple whiskey ice cream
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seared Duck Breast
Paul GRANGE
Excellent restaurant Impeccable welcome Cuisine worthy of a starred restaurant in a pleasant, chic and friendly atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Abdullah
You can see the staff’s passion reflected in their outstanding service and the beautifully designed restaurant interior! The food, while being mostly good, was not super memorable and I personally don’t think it was worth the price point this restaurant operated at. The two friends I went with also agreed. Good flavors, beautiful interior, excellent service overall
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Joseph Freda
Everything was wonderful. The staff is friendly and helpful, the food was amazing. Thanks for a great dining experience.
My recent Cafe Boulud experience (at Maison Barnes, to be exact), to my surprise, left a lot to be desired. It was my first time leaving a Boulud restaurant feeling dissatisfied about the food and service. For one, and I know this sounds trite, but having been to other Boulud restaurants I can say that the portion sizes at Cafe Boulud are generally less than at his other restaurants, and when you essentially only offer 1-3 bites per dish then each and every single bite has to be phenomenal which unfortunately they weren’t.
What was most surprising was the duo of beef. It wasn’t executed well. The dry-aging or infusion or however else they treated the beef before cooking resulted in, nicely put, a lemongrass smell that could also pass for a wet-towel odor that was honestly not appetizing at all and certainly not with beef that was also a tad over-salted. Even more surprising was that, if there were any dry-aging involved, then it should’ve softened the tendons within the NY strip portion such that it’s a smooth experience in the mouth, but each bite was gristly and chewy. For a $20 surcharge on top of the $135 for three dishes, it was a very dissatisfying dish. The chicken, or poulet à l’estragon, was fine but also unnecessarily small in its portion size such that it forced you to focus on each bite in a way that made clear that no bite was really extraordinary.
I should also note that the amuse-bouche of beet tartare was pleasant, but boring, and the additional pina colada bonbons were the same.
On service - while the service wasn’t altogether horrible, there was one big mistake where whoever our server was failed to notice and alert the sommelier that our wine glasses were empty in advance of our entrees arriving, so my dining partner and I were sitting there watching our entrees cool for at least 10 minutes while we waited for the sommelier to arrive and pour us wine to go with our entrees. One of the servers had approached in the interim to ask us if they can get us a glass of wine, but also didn’t have the wine list on hand or could say much about the wine which was a baffling situation to be put in - were we supposed to just say “red” or “white” as if we were ordering from a flight attendant in economy class? Finally, when I made the reservation the hostess had asked and I had answered that we were there celebrating a new job, but there was no mention at all about it and no extra details offered by the waitstaff. All that is fine, and we were perfectly happy with each other’s company, but then don’t ask to begin with.
It is a beautiful space and I may go again to grab a drink for that reason. However, in terms of fine dining and special occasions, I don’t think Cafe Boulud is worth planing for.
We arrived at Cafe Boulud for a 6:30pm reservation for two. We were seated at one of the only TWO ROUND small bistro-sized tables in the restaurant - all the others were square and larger. The tables were WAY too small, barely big enough for two entrees and wine glasses. We constantly had to shift the flowers, candle and our flatware to accommodate the waitstaff who were serving. Our waiter said “the square tables, to our left and right were “on order”. Upon leaving, we wanted to provide our feedback on the small table, cramped experience and the flatware that was so small and short, it slipped completely into the Brazilian stew dish when paused to drink wine. We had to fish it out and wipe it off. This is something they need to test drive. When we provided feedback to the female waitstaff (in gray suit) about the small table and that the flatware (eating the whole dinner with a salad fork) might be reconsidered, instead of taking it constructively, she was not empathetic and sarcastically replied “We’ll make sure you get a full-sized fork next time”. Totally unnecessary, seemingly unable to understand our experience, which keeps me from giving this reservation 5 stars. It simply made us feel totally dismissed after paying over $500 for a meal. This place is not a diner. A little diplomacy training is necessary for the waitstaff team when serving guests who are “FORKING” out 5 Benjamin’s. Other than this, we liked the former location of Boulud better than this one. The cold floor bistro setting belied the reputation of Boulud’s cuisine. The clientele is also definitely older, even on a Saturday night. The place lacked a liveliness that made you excited to be there and anxious to return. The bar was empty at 8:30pm when we left. You can find high quality food with a warmer atmosphere, more anticipation, and a staff more receptive to feedback elsewhere. Ronan, Sebastian and the male sommelier were knowledgeable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adrianna
Beautiful place, great service but sadly the food was unremarkable and overpriced. Would not come back.
Rahid Zaman
My dining experience at Café Boulud was exceptional. The foie gras terrine was rich and beautifully presented, and the bass was cooked to perfection, with complex and rich flavors for both. The attentive service made me feel completely at ease as a solo diner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Terrine De Foie Gras
Craig Spisak
It's exactly the high level standards of everything that you should expect from a Daniel Boulud restaurant. The Sommelier Simon is fantastic as we're all the wait staff. There wasn't one bite of the 7 dishes we tried that wasn't thoroughly devoured they were all so good. The house made sausage, clams and pasta were the highlights. The wine list is exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon & Hollandaise
John Hintz
Everything Daniel (and his vast team) does is amazing.
Daniel Boulud has nothing to do with this restaurant and the menu says so by naming the real chef. Suboptimal food at high prices. Don't go!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
DB has pulled it off again! I had Saturday brunch which included the pasta with corgettes, which is not to be missed. The room is one of the best in New York…open with great light during the day. Terrific service, although not 100% coordinated among themselves quite yet. This place has the potential to be an East Side “go to” if you don’t want to go all in formal, but something more than some hamburger joint.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came from Minnesota to eat here on our one night in NY. If you are looking for amazing butter, I’d suggest coming here.
If you are looking for great food, go elsewhere.
We spent around $500 for under cooked risotto, steak that lacked flavor, a potato loaf that had little to no seasoning, soup that was awful, and waiters with attitudes. Very disappointing for my first dinner in New York. Unfortunately, I highly recommend avoiding this place. We were really looking forward to this, and expected much more from this chef.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Delicious I wish he had a place in Los
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had one night in NYC. We chose Chef Boulud for our one dinner. We were disappointed. The risotto was under cooked. The duck skin was soggy. The snapper was beautiful on the plate, but it lacked flavor. The waiter was not very attentive. For the cost, not the night we were hoping.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Good food but even better service. Came early around 5:30PM on a dinner night and the space was quaint and intimate.
Food: recommend the canard miel-safran (duck breast). Personally did not love the bar en paupiette sauce meurette (black sea bass) it felt flavorless without accompanying sauces and essentially mashed potato.
Dessert: highly recommend the Tarte noix de pecan, it comes with an incredible maple whiskey ice cream
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seared Duck Breast
Excellent restaurant
Impeccable welcome
Cuisine worthy of a starred restaurant in a pleasant, chic and friendly atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
You can see the staff’s passion reflected in their outstanding service and the beautifully designed restaurant interior! The food, while being mostly good, was not super memorable and I personally don’t think it was worth the price point this restaurant operated at. The two friends I went with also agreed. Good flavors, beautiful interior, excellent service overall
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Everything was wonderful. The staff is friendly and helpful, the food was amazing. Thanks for a great dining experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baguette, Sorbet, Cauliflower Velouté, Madelines, Seared Sea Scallops, Amuse Bouche
My recent Cafe Boulud experience (at Maison Barnes, to be exact), to my surprise, left a lot to be desired. It was my first time leaving a Boulud restaurant feeling dissatisfied about the food and service. For one, and I know this sounds trite, but having been to other Boulud restaurants I can say that the portion sizes at Cafe Boulud are generally less than at his other restaurants, and when you essentially only offer 1-3 bites per dish then each and every single bite has to be phenomenal which unfortunately they weren’t.
What was most surprising was the duo of beef. It wasn’t executed well. The dry-aging or infusion or however else they treated the beef before cooking resulted in, nicely put, a lemongrass smell that could also pass for a wet-towel odor that was honestly not appetizing at all and certainly not with beef that was also a tad over-salted. Even more surprising was that, if there were any dry-aging involved, then it should’ve softened the tendons within the NY strip portion such that it’s a smooth experience in the mouth, but each bite was gristly and chewy. For a $20 surcharge on top of the $135 for three dishes, it was a very dissatisfying dish. The chicken, or poulet à l’estragon, was fine but also unnecessarily small in its portion size such that it forced you to focus on each bite in a way that made clear that no bite was really extraordinary.
I should also note that the amuse-bouche of beet tartare was pleasant, but boring, and the additional pina colada bonbons were the same.
On service - while the service wasn’t altogether horrible, there was one big mistake where whoever our server was failed to notice and alert the sommelier that our wine glasses were empty in advance of our entrees arriving, so my dining partner and I were sitting there watching our entrees cool for at least 10 minutes while we waited for the sommelier to arrive and pour us wine to go with our entrees. One of the servers had approached in the interim to ask us if they can get us a glass of wine, but also didn’t have the wine list on hand or could say much about the wine which was a baffling situation to be put in - were we supposed to just say “red” or “white” as if we were ordering from a flight attendant in economy class? Finally, when I made the reservation the hostess had asked and I had answered that we were there celebrating a new job, but there was no mention at all about it and no extra details offered by the waitstaff. All that is fine, and we were perfectly happy with each other’s company, but then don’t ask to begin with.
It is a beautiful space and I may go again to grab a drink for that reason. However, in terms of fine dining and special occasions, I don’t think Cafe Boulud is worth planing for.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
We arrived at Cafe Boulud for a 6:30pm reservation for two. We were seated at one of the only TWO ROUND small bistro-sized tables in the restaurant - all the others were square and larger. The tables were WAY too small, barely big enough for two entrees and wine glasses. We constantly had to shift the flowers, candle and our flatware to accommodate the waitstaff who were serving. Our waiter said “the square tables, to our left and right were “on order”. Upon leaving, we wanted to provide our feedback on the small table, cramped experience and the flatware that was so small and short, it slipped completely into the Brazilian stew dish when paused to drink wine. We had to fish it out and wipe it off. This is something they need to test drive. When we provided feedback to the female waitstaff (in gray suit) about the small table and that the flatware (eating the whole dinner with a salad fork) might be reconsidered, instead of taking it constructively, she was not empathetic and sarcastically replied “We’ll make sure you get a full-sized fork next time”. Totally unnecessary, seemingly unable to understand our experience, which keeps me from giving this reservation 5 stars. It simply made us feel totally dismissed after paying over $500 for a meal. This place is not a diner. A little diplomacy training is necessary for the waitstaff team when serving guests who are “FORKING” out 5 Benjamin’s. Other than this, we liked the former location of Boulud better than this one. The cold floor bistro setting belied the reputation of Boulud’s cuisine. The clientele is also definitely older, even on a Saturday night. The place lacked a liveliness that made you excited to be there and anxious to return. The bar was empty at 8:30pm when we left. You can find high quality food with a warmer atmosphere, more anticipation, and a staff more receptive to feedback elsewhere. Ronan, Sebastian and the male sommelier were knowledgeable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beautiful place, great service but sadly the food was unremarkable and overpriced. Would not come back.
My dining experience at Café Boulud was exceptional. The foie gras terrine was rich and beautifully presented, and the bass was cooked to perfection, with complex and rich flavors for both. The attentive service made me feel completely at ease as a solo diner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Terrine De Foie Gras
It's exactly the high level standards of everything that you should expect from a Daniel Boulud restaurant. The Sommelier Simon is fantastic as we're all the wait staff. There wasn't one bite of the 7 dishes we tried that wasn't thoroughly devoured they were all so good. The house made sausage, clams and pasta were the highlights. The wine list is exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Smoked Salmon & Hollandaise
Everything Daniel (and his vast team) does is amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baguette, Seared Duck Breast, Seared Sea Scallops
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