Demarchelier Restaurant

Love this place. Great drinks, apps, lunch dinner. All great! I absolutely love the cous cous Great French onion soup. A wonderful smoked salmon baguette with an avocado spread. Truly a winner.

We have eaten here countless times, but not in the last year. Ate there recently and it was beyond awful. The owner’s daughter was in charge and she was literally the rudest manager I have ever met. The salad tasted like someone had put bitter herbs on it, it was inedible. She said, «it’s organic,» as though that should be ok. The chicken was undercooked, though I asked for well done, and the salmon was well done when asked for rare. She literally threw a napkin down on our table when we mentioned this, and stormed away. The rudest service ever, and we will never eat there again– Sad that it’s a neighborhood place for us that we will be avoiding like the plague. If I hadn’t felt sorry for the waiter (who was also inattentive), I would have tried to walk out entirely without paying the bill.

i have heard a lot about this establishment from friends who live in the neighborhood, and most of the feedback had been positive. I finally decided to stop in and try it out myself. I must say that there were no major surprises here for me – positive or negative. What does surprise me are the number of negative reviews that, on balance, I cannot become comfortable with.
Context is key to any thorough review. This is a well-​established (well over 20 years in business), upscale little French restaurant in a tony neighborhood on the Upper East Side. Of course, the prices, ambiance, and quality of service will likely reflect all that — and they do. My dining experience here fully reaffirmed my expectations.
I ordered the Beef Bouguignon special. Not only was it tasty and well-​balanced, but the meat used in its preparation was of top-​notch quality. This is really important, because a dish like this makes it relatively easy for a restaurant of dubious quality to pass off second-​rate ingredients that are smothered and masked by the dish’s sauce-​heavy, stew-​like consistency. I’ve unfortunately experienced plenty of that… Here, I was not disappointed.
I found the ambiance to be very pleasantly balanced, with just the right mix of coziness and buzz. Definitely good for a quiet conversation with a friend, without feeling a deafening silence, or having to shout over a cacophonous din.
My friend complained somewhat about the mussels being dry and not exactly fresh, and reading through some of the reviews on Unilocal makes me think that this dish may indeed be the establishment’s Achilles Heel, and thus maybe should be avoided. I did not try them, however, so I cannot say…
All in all, a very pleasant dining experience. I’ll be back…

My wife Lisa and I love this place! It is within a block of our flat and has great food. Our experience with Emily has been wonderful so I am not sure why other posters had trouble. We recommend this restaurant highly!

So rude! The people that run this place are completely stuck up and do not know how to conduct themselves as decent human beings. I have never been so offender in my life. I have the highest level of education –PhD in biomed and my boyfriend is a teacher. We stopped in here on our way to see a game at MSG, had some time before the bus was coming… Only to be kicked out because my boyfriend needed to use the restroom?!? I was at the bar trying to order our drinks while he was speaking to Emily (aka the rudest woman ever) about using the restroom and she would not allow him until he had the drink first… I don’t understand this illogical pig

Emily the host was very unkind, I came in to get a few birthday drinks with my girlfriend but she told me I literally had to PURCHASE a drink before I can use the bathroom when my girlfriend was sitting at the bar getting a drink. I wish I Unilocaled this place before taking a step in. Emily was embarrassed to give her name, I kindly asked the bartender her name :). She was cool, didn’t catch her name though. Avoid this place at all costs!

Mediocre at best. Calling this place a French restaurant is insulting to French Cuisine. Food is extremely bland and the service is far from exceptional. If it were not for the exceptional location near the MET I can’t imagine them staying in business. Don’t waste your time or your money when there are so many alternatives in NYC.

Every time my cousin and family come from out of town we go to Demarchelier Restaurant for our family meal. This only happens once per year. I’ve always been pleased with the food. Both the quality and quantity of the food is worth the price. They serve complimentary bread and butter. The variety of food is good. You can have a la carte or prix fix meal.
Our meals were sword fish, steak tartar, organic chicken, steak Pom frites, with sides of creamed spinach, mescaline and warm Gouda, escargot, mixed green salad, and we had three different deserts. The flam, crème brûlée, and my favorite, the cheesecake.
Everyone enjoyed the wine. We enjoyed the atmosphere that allowed us to relax catch up on family and enjoy a memorable night out.
The service was excellent. Our waitress was so nice and the dirty dishes were promptly removed when we were finished. My cousin said if he lived near the restaurant he would be there every night!
No complaints about this lovely French restaurant that is in a convenient location. I ate so much I feel like I won’t need to eat for three days!

My friend and I found this restaurant while on our way to Mt. Sinai hospital. Their cold cucumber soup was outstanding, short rib sandwich with side salad wad ok, my friend liked the quiche of the day. For dessert my friend enjoyed her chocolate mouse and I loved… LOVED my lemon tart with a nice raspberry sauce.
Service was attentive and water glasses were always full. A cute place for lunch. Nice cozy atmosphere.

The restaurant is only a few blocks from the Metropolitan Museum. Went with two friends for dinner and we all enjoyed our meals. I had the beet salad that was sliced beets with crème fraîche and it was good. The entrée was the organic pork with butternut squash gratin and carmelized onions and that was really delicious. Service was good throughout the meal. I’m not sure why there are such negative reviews as our experience was very positive. It is a small restaurant but a nice atmosphere. I’d definitely go again.

Unfortunately I had a terrible experience! The owners daughter was so rude that I could not swallow one bite! Terrible shame for upper east side!

after I found out they don’t deliver, I ordered through postmates.
I ordered one of mussel appetizer dish, and you know what? I couldn’t finish it. It was not fresh, even smelly mussels…
I won’t order from here again.

Walking from the subway to the Met, and this place smelled wonderful. Decided to return for lunch after the museum. Should have read reviews first.
I ordered a turkey and guacamole sandwich. Nowhere near French of course! But from the lovely appearance of the restaurant, I expected carved roasted turkey, not deli meat. My daughter ordered the hamburger, cooked medium. While the meat was nice, it came out rare. Not that we could have told our waiter, because once he took our order, we never saw him again until we flagged him down for the bill. Runners brought our food and drinks. Drinks were never refilled. Dismal service and mediocre food. We fell for the tourist trap.

A very typical UES French bistro, the people — the look and the vibe.
Good if you like that, avoid if you don’t.

I’d give zero stars if I could. I went in to order an espresso on a Saturday afternoon and I went to use the restroom and was asked to leave. This was the owner, allegedly. It’s amazing to think that an owner of a restaurant in NY could treat customers this way and have their business still survive. Another woman was kicked out of the restaurant shortly after I was. The general consensus from other customers that walked out: this lady was insane. I mean this woman is one cold hearted crazy B. I don’t know, this lady just needs to get laid or something.
Avoid at all costs.

Terrible Service. Ghastly food.
Ordered a Grilled Chicken which was fried! The salad was wilted. The hostess was incredibly vulgar — bleached blond hair and poorly dressed. The servers looked unhappy and miserable. The only decent aspect was the reasonably priced wine. Avoid this place.