Le Marecage

Really good flavors… the and Beef Pastries and the Game Hen were great. Also the tea is quite unique.

#I’m a fan of lamb shanks. They do a good #tender one here. But the sauce was too salty. I love salty and sauce, but this sauce was too #salty. Hoping it was a one time fluke.
#The lady server was really nice. Told some #bro from another table to move so I can squeeze in.

Rude snobby service. My 2 girls arrived before me and were reluctantly seated without reservation. The resto was empty. I arrive and engage the female owner in her own language (I lived in Haiti for many years) trying to be supportive and friendly. But we were ignored and even waving arms couldn’t get there attention. finally if had enough, I got up and walked over to the kitchen where the owners and their awkward inapt waiter were standing and said calmly and matter of factly «you made a mistake with us. We wanted to order food and if everything was good we would have brought a ton of ppl here»
As I walked away the trio laughed loudly behind my back.
But that reaction and my straight forward complaint inspired the other table to leave as well. A beautifully dressed young couple had tried to order several things but where told multiple times «o sorry are out of that»
The whole experience was a rude mess and the whole restaurant walked out,
Our experience; snooty, rude, indifferent, wine starts at $ 16 a glass (pricy for an easy village start up). BUT she gave me a big glass so,
So. Over all we hated it. Too bad.

Authentic place, the oner is always around and willing to come to your table to chat. The food feels very different from anything I’ve had before while also being to die for. Getting a reservation was also super easy!

Husband and wife team Ivrose and Mamadou Bamba are doing great things at Le Marecage. My family came here for Mother’s Day dinner and were not disappointed. The food, a modern take on west African and Haitian, is fresh and flavorful and the atmosphere relaxed. It’s a family run business and they make you feel comfortable. We had perfectly cooked escargot, not the rubbery stuff you get at a knock off French bistros, but the real thing. So perfectly tender that if you’d told someone they were eating mushrooms they would believe it. We had the branzini, which was light and flavorful and delightfully done over a bed of sauteed spinach, and a stew of guinea hen. The flavors were robust and delicious.
I highly recommend Le Marecage. The East Village is full of boring, bland, soul-​less restaurants. Skip them and enjoy a really tasty meal at a family run restaurant. You will be glad you did!

After reading all the reviews about the slow service, I was wary about having dinner with my entourage of 15 ppl. All I can say is that the staff couldn’t have been more friendly and welcoming. They gladly accepted my reservation for 15 without hesitation. To avoid a long wait for our food, I pre-​ordered our food (I highly recommend doing this for large parties). They pride themselves on making fresh, made-​to-​order food, so they didn’t start cooking until we were there, but the pre-​ordering allowed them to do the necessary prep work ahead of time. All in all, service was great, and at a good pace. Time spent in the restaurant: 1 ½ hrs (but we waiting for about 15 min for latecomers in our group). While we were there, they were getting their health inspection… They got an «A»!! Great atmosphere with live music! The only negative is that the restaurant was very noisy… perhaps they should look into installing some noise absorbing material. :)
Ok, onto the food! Where do I begin? I really really really LOVED the food! We ate in groups of 3, sharing 3 appetizers and 2 entrees:
~Marecage’s Crab Beignets — mostly crab, not a lot of «filler», which is always good!
~Escargot Gratines w/​watercress sauce — Mouth watering deliciousness! Hands down, my fav dish of the night. Can’t wait to go back for MORE! :)
~Fried Breadfruit (starchy tree fruit indigenous to the Caribbean) — glad I tried this, but probably my least fav dish of the night. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really stand out.
~Braised Branzini w/​atieke (fermented cassava pulp) — fresh and cooked perfectly!
~Mechoui Lamb (lamb shank slowly braised, then deep fried to seal in juices) — the lamb just literally fell off the bone. My 2^nd fav dish of the night. I would definitely order this again!

The first time I ate at Marecage, I googled whether taste buds could go dormant.
The food is cooked to perfection and eating becomes its own experience. Chew slowly, savour it. Moreover, understand that the food here is made fresh, to order. That takes time, folks. If you don’t have time, this is New York, East Village no less, plenty of faster options around.
But: Come back when you do have time, and bring one of those close friends with whom conversation just flows.
Ivrose and Chef Bamba are generous warm-​hearted hosts, and once you’ve settled in, you might just forget you’re in the city and begin to think you’ve dropped by, and the chef is cooking just for you. That was my feeling on a Tuesday, 5:30 sharp. The décor reinforces that impression. Warm, intimate, woodsy and a great music roundup – I heard Louis Armstrong, Edith Piaf, and the like.
The wine is good. The escargot is a must-​have. The lamb… mmm mmm mmm.
I’ll be coming back, my taste buds have a few more years in them yet.

Why is this one star? The décor… It’s beautiful.
However, this restaurant completely threw off our day.
For a simple brunch when there were two other tables, we waited 105 minutes for any food. The food was cold and not well made (the supposedly French culinary institute trained chef couldn’t make two eggs runny… One was cooked all the way through and scrambled). The portions were a bit small, so we left angry and hungry.
The owner was very very lovely when we first got there. She learned our names and said we were her guests. She then avoided us an hour later when our food hadn’t come (and another hour later when we left).
This restaurant is new and we all wanted it to survive. But it can’t and shouldn’t in its current state.

This was the slowest service I have experienced in my six years in New York. I’ll be honest: I was starving and a little bit grumpy going in, but it took 45 minutes from the time we sat down to get a glass of wine (and had to follow up to get it). Our starters did not arrive for nearly 2 hours (my stomach was eating itself) and our mains about 40 minutes after that. So all in all, we had an 830 reservation and didn’t get out of there until a little bit after 1130, even though we raced through our mains. It kind of blew up the night; not the end of the world, but would not have come if we had known. We considered just leaving a couple of times, but didn’t want to be rude.
I will say that all of the staff was very kind and courteous throughout and the food itself was pretty good. There was a guy playing a harp-​like instrument, which was pleasant. But it just doesn’t work to show up somewhere at 830 (with reservation) and not get a single morsel of food until almost 1030. And it’s not as if we fell through the cracks or something — looking around, barely anyone was being served and there were others who did not get served until after we did. The slow food thing can be alright if they bring out a couple of starters early on, bring out your bottle of wine, etc., but that was not the case.
As for prices, I think «$$$» is right: it’s not super expensive (for New York) but not cheap either.
All of the people who work there are great and I wish them well, but I wouldn’t go here again.

So i met a friend here. Nice quiet restaurant. The owner are husband and wife (haitian and african) and are very nice and attentive. They spoke to each customer providing great customer service! There was live african music playing. The food is freshly made and its was good. I will definitely return and will recommend others to come! The haitian pattie –cod fish was very tasty. I also had the salmon fish stew with black rice which was tasty as well.

All of the reviews I’ve read about the great food at Le Marecage are totally accurate. Our group of five shared most of the menu items and loved each choice (highlights: branzini with atieke, salmon in a stew and Cornish hen stew with red cabbage and apples for entrees; escaragots and cod fish yassa as apps). Everything was fresh and incredibly well-​seasoned with interesting flavors from the Caribbean and West Africa. In fact, several items on the menu were not available because they were not able to get certain items fresh and they refused to substitute frozen or inferior alternatives (e.g. pastels and breadfruit).
The menu was fairly priced for NYC fine cuisine (but not cheap) as was the wine list. Ivrose and Mamadou Bamba make you feel relaxed and the pace of the meal is measured as all meals are prepared fresh. Though the inspiration for the menu are their Haitian and Ivory Coast heritages, the preparation and presentation also reflects Mamadou’s classic French training and experience at the French Culinary Institute.
My one concern for Ivrose and Mamadou is that the restaurant on a Sunday night was empty. This is not right — they deserve a vibrant crowd to enjoy their fine food. The things that I could think of as holding them back are:
(1) They only opened in Oct. ’14 so word is spreading slowly;
(2) Need better signage out front and more inviting «curb appeal». In the vibrant EV neighborhood, you need to poke your head into the windows (thru the staid, lace curtains) to see the interior which is nicely appointed with beautiful burled wood tables, etc. They need more ‘walk in” customers.
(3) Perhaps some people are not familiar with or «put off» by Haitian or West African fare. This is a total shame. The flavors and fresh ingredients are truly fantastic and the presentation seems more like fine dining French cuisine, so you have the best of both. The menu is very simple. Perhaps a bit more description (other than Ivrose’s explanations) would help people get more familiar with the dishes.
Ivrose and Mamadou are serving beautifully prepared and presented food of their home countries. VISIT LE MARECAGE and help make sure that they will be here in NYC doing the same for many years to come…

Stopped by the last night for dinner. First things first — the food is absolutely delicious and unique. 5 stars just for that. We started with the Haitien Pâté and the Crab Beignets. Perfect bites with really nice spicy accompanying sauces. For the main course we had the chicken stew and the codfish yassa. The stew in an amazing aromatic broth was perfect for this chilly winter evening. The fish was perfectly cooked and spiced. Finished up with a fresh pot of coffee and a delicious warm chocolate cake. Definitely a must visit for the great food.
A quick note — all food is prepared fresh and to order. So this is not a place for people who want a quick meal. If you have some time to spare and like to sample some unique, exotic flavors then definitely check this place out

Amazing food.
Started with the crab beignet and escargot which were both delicious. Escargot portion was plentiful and the garlic butter and parm went perfectly over the toasted bread.
For the mains we had the lamb chops and the pork butt. Both wonderfully prepared and perfectly cooked with a creamy onion sauce for the lamb and a scotch bonnet sauce for the pork butt.
The fusion of Haitian and West African cuisine is thoughtful and well executed and the couple that run and own the place are nothing short of delightful.

Just came back from a lovely dinner served by a wonderful hostess and cooked by her wonderful husband. Impeccable service. Had crabmeat beignet as an appetizer, cornish hen with apple and cabbage as an entrée with rice au Djon-​Djon (w/​mushrooms) on the side, and a warm flourless chocolate cake served with a coconut sauce. Everything was impeccably delicious. Can’t recommend this place highly enough.

Stumbled into Le Marecage looking for a good place to kick off ladies night with a friend. We split the lamb and some smaller plates. It was too die for! Highly recommend the lamb and ask for extra sauce, you won’t regret it.

Unfortunatly this is not real authentic haitian food. Haitian Pâté does not look or taste anything like that but it was still tastty. The griot wasnt as fried as its supposed to be and lacked some flavor and the portion was tiny! Where is the Diri Jon Jon? Where is the pickliz? :(Dissapointed

Visited this past Saturday with some girlfriends and what a great find! One of the best service and hospitality I have had in a very very long time. Ivrose made us feel as if we were sitting in her home for a nice dinner party. Definitely a great place to have a nice intimate dinner. It’s chic and cozy and well deserving of the great reviews on Unilocal.
The food was very good (the kind that makes you smile with every bite) and I look forward to trying some more items next time.
Do yourself a favor and try!

Lovely service and hospitality at this new east village restaurant.
Everyone was so nice and the food was very good. I ordered the pork, which was tender and delicious. My wife ordered the soup, which was amazing!
The owners are apparently a husband wife team (she is from Haiti and he is from Cote D’Ivoire) so they definitely know their stuff!
Will definitely come back to this lovely place again!

Hatien/​French Caribbean is a really underappreciated cuisine in New York and it’s surprising given the city’s Haitian population. So it was with great anticipation that I tried this place on a Saturday night.
We actually had a pretty incredible experience — the service here is some of the best I’ve had in years in New York. Really careful presentation, wine tasting, and patient staff elevate this to a really modern fine dining establishment. But I don’t go to such places very often so maybe that’s just me. The place was only about half full on a Saturday night, which while nice because it was quiet, left us feeling a little awkward.
The menu looked very tantalizing — there’s a lot of vegetarian options, which you cannot take for granted with this kind of cuisine. We were very hyped, but by the time food come it was somewhat of a letdown. We ordered two appetizers, one side and a main and it just didn’t seem like there was that much on our table.
Ultimately I know that at in upscale places you’re going to get less food, but I feel this was really on the skimpy side. The soup of the day was really lovely but it was in a really tiny bowl — and for $ 11 it’s just not a good deal.
The vegetarian étouffée, also very enjoyable, was on the small side and $ 17.
While everything was quite good and the service really is something special, I don’t feel the place provides great value. While I would love to find a regular joint with this kind of cuisine I just can’t afford it unless the prices were 25% less. Just know that you’re going to have a kind of slightly fancy experience here and it’s perhaps more of a special occasion place.
I’m still waiting for the day a French Caribbean restaurant opens with the vintage chic environment of Miss Lily’s. That would be killer.

At. Long. Last.
An upscale Haitian restaurant in Lower Manhattan! I thought I was gonna have to be the one to open this, but Le Marécage beat me to it! The decision to blend Haitian cusine with Ivorian dishes is novel yet inherentely logical. And the resultant dishes are so, so flavorful!
Their court-​bouillon is divine as is pretty much everything else.
Pay them a visit! This is a long-​awaited gem!