Balthazar, New York City

The food is fantastic. There are moments in the life of a food lover which will be remembered forever. This was one of them! Usually, I am an invisible observer in my reports, but this time it is different…

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While the setting, decor and waitstaff's uniform's at Balthazar all scream Paris brasserie, this place is all New York. The place has a semi-frenetic pace, with white coated waiters running across black and white tiled floors, and the people watching is very good. It seems that every time I've been here (normally on business), the tables next to me are filled with attractive 30 and 40 something women enjoying champagne or white wine between a day of shopping. So, if you want to get a peek at the lunchtime habits of New York business people and socialites, Balthazar is a great choice.

Good food in a great setting with some top-notch people watching. One of my favorite lunch spots in the city.

Favorite Dish: Steak Frites.

My family eats here so much walking in with them is like walking in to Cheers with Norm. The food is fantastic, but it’s not really why people go here—really they go for the people-watching, which, even in NYC is above average here. It’s noisy and hard to have a conversation and the wait can be incredible, but still, it’s one of the most popular restaurants in the city. It’s certainly not cheap, but it’s doable if you plan.

Money-saving tip: They have about four different menus including a late afternoon menus that is a little less than the dinner menu and is great if you have theater tickets as it leaves you more than enough time for a leisurely meal and the ride uptown.

Call for reservations!!!

Favorite Dish: Anything!

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Balthazar is a favorite restaurant of my boss' and we usually entertain clients here for either lunch or dinner so naturally he made reservations for us girls (me and my 2 co-workers) as a special thank you for all our hard work throughout the year. Since neither of us had been here for brunch, we decided to schedule it for a Pre-Christmas Sunday Brunch.

I enjoy coming to this restaurant. It is so FRENCH!! It is a typical Parisian restaurant with its large cavernous interior, cramped seating, dark walls and nice booths. The wait staff is always excellent, attentive but not overly bearing. They definitely don't rush you out of your table and only bring you your check when you ask for it.

The food here is always amazing, doesn't matter what you have. I have had their steak frites which I always compare it to ones I've had in Paris..

Reservations are recommended and they will take them as far as 1 month in advance.

We had a wonderful brunch with excellent food and great company, what more can you ask for for the holidays?

Favorite Dish: We each ordered something different from the menu. I ordered the eggs benedict which was fantastic a cafe au lait (yum, miss that about Paris), Cathy and her boyfriend had the scrambled eggs with mushrooms and asparagus in a pastry puff (the pastry puff was so light and fluffy, yum), Vicky had the brioche French toast with bacon (the French toast was lite and airy) and Kristara had the sour cream warm waffles with wild berries (wow). OMG, we each sampled each other's choices and they were all amazing!!

We all decided we wanted some creme brulee which we all shared.

Went for Sunday Brunch. Menu was uninspried as was the Corned Beef Hash I ordered.
Coffee was disappointing as well. Wife thought the waffle was pretty good.
Been looking forward to going for a long time, so it was kindof a let down.

has a bar like "cheers" which was busy on a friday evening when we visited.
good space and a high ceiling gives the place an "airy" feeling.
the menu is broad ebough to please a couple of teenagers also and has a pretty extensive although a bit expensive wine list.

Favorite Dish: steak with garlic butter, this was nicely cooked and the garlic was not too strong.

I have tried Onion Soup many times but this is by far the best I have ever had.I tried a few other things such as beef tartare but the Onion Soup is what I order when I visit NYC.

Favorite Dish: Onion Soup with wonderful flavor and lots of gooey delicious cheese on top.ummmmmmmmmmm

My restaurant ratings were written back in 2001 (too lazy to update):
CAFE HABANA - Relatively cheap restaurant with Cuban sandwiches. The one in Soho was in Lenny Kravitz's 'Again' music video.; Greenwich Village - 11 Abingdon Sq. (8th Ave.) Tel. 212.989.3600; SoHo/Little Italy
17 Prince St. (Elizabeth St.); Tel. 212.625.2001; Relatively Inexpensive;

CANTEEN [SoHo - Little Italy] - The decor is cool in the subterranean restuarant with bright orange seating. The food is decent, 142 Mercer St. (Prince St.) Tel) 212.431.7766, Moderate-Expensive;

L'ORANGE BLEUE
[SoHo - Little Italy] I've only had breakfast at this Moroccan-French restaurant, and it was soooooo good. They only took cash. 430 Broome St. (Crosby St.) Tel) 212.226.4999, Moderate-Expensive;

LOMBARDI'S [SoHo - Little Italy] - Thin crusts with coal-oven flavor.
32 Spring St. (bet. Mott & Mulberry Sts) Tel) 212.941.7994 Cheap-Moderate;

Mercer Kitchen [SoHo - Little Italy] - New American-French flair! I've not been there, but have heard rave reviews.
99 Prince St. (Mercer St.) Tel) 212.966.5454, Quite costly.;

VA TUTTO! [SoHo - Little Italy] - Small, dark, nice Northern Italian restuarant. I always have their fish plate and it's always great! The desserts are ok, just stick with the main dishes!
23 Cleveland Pl. (bet. Kenmare & Spring Sts.) Tel)212.941.0286, Expensive;

AQUAGRILL [SoHo] - Great seafood and raw bar. It's a small tight restaurant, so make reservations in advance. It's Expensive, but give it a shot! 210 Spring St. (6th Ave.) Tel) 212.274.0505;

BALTHAZAR [SoHo - Little Italy] - Huge French brasserie. The decor is cool--extensive raw bar. Breakfast/brunch is great--I always had the hazelnut waffles. If there a few of you, get a basket of their breads, including chocolate bread with Valrhona chocolate! 80 Spring St. (B'way & Crosby St.) Tel) 212.965.1414; 71

Favorite Dish: CLINTON FRESH FOOD[Lower East Side] - Supposed to be a great seafood joint. Most people will not go down to the LES b/c it's not as bougie as other areas, but this restaurant is worth it. 71 Clinton St. (Rivington St.) Tel) 212.614.6960, Expensive.;

Ludlow is a cool strip of bars and hangouts. (bet. Rivington & Stanton Sts.)

EL CID [Chelsea] -The best tapas restaurant in the city. It's tight, so make reservations or else you'll have to wait some time. 322 W. 15th St. (bet. 8th & 9th Aves.) Tel) 212.929.9332, Moderate