Les Halles

I’m nobody’s whippen boy, being star struck is not my thing, but I knew if I were staying at the Nomad, I’d have to venture to Brasserie Les Halles.
From the New York Times article:
«Michelin Takes on the City, Giving Some a Bad Taste»
«…but Mr. Bourdain’s restaurant went unstarred. ‘We had no expectation we’d be in Michelin,’ he said. ‘We are a generic French diner.’»
Not anymore, at least not at the old John Street Theatre location on Park Avenue. The mainstay French eatery, once run by Mr. Bourdain as Executive Chef, has shuttered it’s doors.
I was just there ⁰³⁄₁₉.
Walking in the door, it was a bitter cold evening, the place was packed. The bar overflowing upon the host stand, were confusion was the order of the day. The hostess was energetically taking names for the wait list, answering the phone, and managing the chaos deftly.
I had made my reservation for two using Unilocal,but was told they had never received it, ha! We joined the list, and she promised she’d take care of us.
Worming our way to the bar, I snagged a couple of seats that had been recently vacated, half full wine glasses pushed aside (I can be a pushy prick when it comes to taking care of business!), and ordered a Amstel and Old Fashioned. The Barman was cordial and quick, his version of a Old Fashioned was less so. Far to much orange bitters gave it a sugar coated orange slice candy flavor, the Bullet Rye Bourbon a cameo. Unlike some, after my first sip, I looked him in the eye and said, «Come on, no disrespect, but you can do better than that? I ain’t gonna pay twelve for this,» and slide him my glass. There was a moment when all at the bar stood still… and my drink was remixed to my satisfaction (understand, readers, those that are around me know me, and expect this. I don’t pay for crap).
We were called for our table ten minutes later.
A nonchalant Prince look-​a-​like took our order, and brought us water, then became as distant as the artwork adorning the walls. The service was nonplus, which was a remarkable thing to me, as the busboy was the most visible.
I remember the house salad, and seeing it over coated with dressing, and looking like it was from Sam’s Club, at least it was probably organic… probably.
The Coq au Vin was sorely missing in Coq. If you’re gonna advertise it as Rooster (Coq), you better not be putting in pullet, some know the difference.
The Lobster ravioli was a shameful mess of sheet pasta layered on leeks (as this was the most propionate flavor), oysters (small bits), and some lobster (indeterminable).
I was wondering what New Yorkers allowed to pass as grub vis-​a-​via fine dining?
Even the silverware was water spotty.
I drank my wine and paid my bill, took a napkin (souvenir?), and left thinking, «Well, that’ll never happen again.»
Little did I realize, they were in a death roll.
Closing is never easy, it’s as hard as coffin nails.
I am the coffin nail.
Aloha

Les Halles had been on my list for a while now. The experienced was great overall, but rather uneven.
We had the Boudin Noir to start. It was incredible. The seasoning of the blood sausage really makes this dish. It is accompanied by delicious baked apples.
The hangar steak entry was tender and juicy. The frites, while tasty, required additional salt.
The duck confit was well crisped, but not as moist as I have had elsewhere. There were a couple of pockets of unrendered fat. It is possible that Chez Savy in Paris has spoiled me, but I was expecting better.
The chocolate soufflé tarte and caramelized tarte were both great, highly recommended if you have a sweet tooth.
The restaurant was having a few odd problems that night. Their beer taps were not working, and they were out of certain sparkling waters and coffees.
The restaurant is in a pleasant space decorated in the art nouveau style.

We got such great service for amazing French cuisine. I have to admit that I came first and foremost to do some Bourdain-​ing because to me, Anthony Bourdain is foodie divinity. I love his personality but I love his food even more. The fact that this is his home base and he still comes to visit to check and amp up their menu was enough reason for me to make a reservation for a proper Sunday brunch. And dazzled we were by the flavors of the food. For example, the white wine and chorizo mussels Portugaise was definitely comparable to the mussels I had in Chez Leon. It also had a great broth and for me the best part is dipping frites and using mussel shells to sip it. The crêpe Montagnarde was so perfectly cheesy. Even the lettuce in our side greens were fresh, cool, and crisp.
As for the ambiance, a lot of people say that it’s older, well because it is an older restaurant. In my personal opinion though, I’d rather that a restaurant were old and vintage and full of history or completely modern. In between spaces are much more awkward for me. I love the French posters and the dimmed lighting, the ornate bar counters and lighting fixtures, the aged leather seats, and the old school style plates. There’s old and there’s classic and Brasserie Les Halles is the latter.
In the end, I found out Bourdain was in Nashville, but it was a milestone for me to simply be in his home base kitchen. Definitely a dining treat.

I guess this place is the walking dead. Showed up for our reservation and there were no hosts for a few minutes. Finally someone out of breath ran over.
We mistakenly chose to sit in the private area by the front window and half the tables were unbussed from lunch. We got a water request in and that was it. 20 minutes later we left, having no additional service.
Sad … as we used to have a lot of fun here. I guess this place ends up being a bank fairly soon.

Felt a strong desire to eat sum snails — something I thought I would never say.
The bread they served in the beginning was soft but I wish it was warmer. With it, I received a small cup of ice cold butter (to eat with the bread obviously.). I kindly asked my waitress for some warm/​room temp butter and she was glad to switch it out for me.
Alas, the snails! It came out looking like an eviscerated turtle — 6 buttery green snails arranged in this disconnected star-​like configuration. What looked like 6 blobs of spinach were in fact these delicate snails encapsulated in floating lava pools of garlic butter. My first time eating snails — I was surprised. they were absolutely delicious! Even though it’s an appetizer, this was a very indulgent/​filling course. The snails were very clean and you can tell they take their time preparing it and cleaning it. They taste like chicken! No. They had the consistency of a mussel or a clam, just slightly squishier. If you didn’t know, you couldn’t even tell these were snails. The snails are very heavy on the garlic flavor and there is A LOT of butter (use the extra bread to sop it up!). Of course, wine is also recommended to cut the heaviness. I had a lovely glass of Bordeuax (10 Château Pagnac, «Sélection Les Halles» St. Emilion) and it cut the fat nicely. I’ve heard Chardonnay (for buttery snails) and German Resiling (buttery snails w/​lemon) are also great pairings.
I know it’s an intimate restaurant setting but it’s very dark and hard to read the menu — my one complaint. Overall, the front ladies were extremely nice and welcoming, the waiters and waitresses were very friendly and accommodating, food wait time was very minimum, food was excellent, service was excellent, and I had a great experience.
Recommended: Escargot, Steak Au Poivre

Felt a strong desire to eat sum snails — something I thought I would never say.
The bread they serve in the beginning was soft but I wish it was warmer. With it, I received a small cup of ice cold butter (to eat with the bread obviously.). I kindly asked my waitress for some warm/​room temp butter and she was glad to switch it out for me.
Alas, the snails! It came out looking like an eviscerated turtle — 6 buttery green snails arranged in this disconnected star-​like configuration. What looked like 6 balls of packed spinach were in fact these delicate snails encapsulated in floating lava pools of garlic butter. For my first time, I was surprised because they were absolutely delicious. Even though it’s an appetizer, this was a very indulgent course. The snail’s were very clean and you can tell they take their time preparing it and cleaning it. They taste like chicken! No. They had the consistency of a mussel or a clam, just slightly squishier. If you didn’t know, you couldn’t even tell these were snails. The snails are very heavy on the garlic flavor and there is ALOT of butter (use the extra bread to sop it up!). Of course, wine is also recommended to cut the heaviness. I had a lovely glass of Bordeuax (10 Château Pagnac, «Sélection Les Halles» St. Emilion) and cut the fat nicely. I’ve heard Chardonnay (for buttery snails) and German Resiling (buttery snails with lemon) are also great pairings.
I know it’s an intimate restaurant setting but it’s very dark and hard to see especially when reading the menu — my one complaint. Overall, the front lady was extremely nice and welcoming, the waiters and waitresses were very friendly and accommodating, food wait time was very minimum, food was excellent, service was excellent, and will definitely come back!
Recommended: Escargot

I really like Les Halles. I’ve gone a couple of times on my lunch break — never been for dinner but I have nothing but positive things to say. From the burger to the streak to the truffle fries you just can’t go wrong with Les Halles. Everything has always been exceptionally prepared and displayed. I’ve always received exceptional service. One time I got a burger to go that wasn’t exactly made the way I requested so since I was on lunch I walked back and asked for my $$ back. The manage accommodated without the hassle and I really appreciated that.
This was the only time I’ve had an issue with my food and it was my first and last to go order but every time I go and sit to dine I’ve had a great experience!

Breakfast. So amazingly good. My sister found this place and I was a bit meh on the décor– very old school French, at first. THEN, I realized I was a moron and this was where Anthony Bourbain had cooked as a chef and it’s a French American steakhouse.
Then I got the food. Delicious. We got the bread basket — totally worth all the extra carbs. I had the eggs benedict with salmon and it was fantastic. Amazingly good breakfast. The service was also top notch.

Okay, I’m extremely biased because I am a huge Bourdain fan but this place did everything right. I went on a Monday and wine was half off, I couldn’t have been happier.

Before I commence with the review let me add the disclaimer that I’m vegetarian so this restaurant isn’t particularly suited to my palate in any case. With that being said, here is what I thought of Les Halles:
Positives:
The ambiance: Very lovely, beautiful décor, l especially liked how the seating was arranged so that its full without being too crowded.
The service: Wonderful service as you’d expect at such an establishment. We took our time deciding on every course of our meal as we were busy chatting but the servers made sure to be attentive without being pushy. This I really appreciated. All the waitstaff were polite, welcoming and warm.
The frills: I loved how the steak tartare was prepared tableside, it added that little bit extra to the whole dining experience.
The negatives:
The food: Unfortunately, despite all other aspects being rather impressive, the main event — the actual food was a big let down, especially for me. I had the veggie tagine which was a moroccan inspired concoction of couscous and steamed vegetables. It was bland, lacked flavor and rather uninspiring. The «award winning fries» were also not much to write home about other than they were likely made in house. My friend who got the steak tartare liked it so I’ll give them credit for that. For dessert we got the crème brûlée which again, although not bad at all, was not something that left an impression.
Maybe my expectations were too high and that’s why I came away disappointed. there are plenty of other places in the vicinity and the city that will blow your mind for a $ 100 meal, Les Halles unfortunately is not one of them.

This is probably the worst food i ever had at this restaurant. The quality of food ordered was disgusting wont be visiting this place anymore.

I recently came here with family for lunch and had a wonderful time! As soon as you walk into Les Halles you’re transported to Franch. The ambiance is that of a traditional Parisian brasserie, with a combination of wood and brass fixtures. There was no wait when our party of 6 arrived on a Saturday at 1pm.
All of the food I ordered was extremely rich and flavorful. If you’re interested in an appetizer, I’d definitely recommend both the escargot and terrine. The escargots were large and prepared traditionally, doused in garlicy melted butter. The terrine was a wonderful blend of meat and fat and had a nice crumbly consistency that spread easily over bread. As for an entrée recommendation– the steak frites is great value and a classic!
Definitely give this a shot if you’re looking for traditional French cuisine in a laid back, non-​pretentious atmosphere.

This is best known as one of Anthony Bourdain’s first restaurants. (Unlike Wolfgang Puck, the man has integrity — as you might have guessed by reading his book or watching his «wow, this is actually serious» travel-​food-​political shows — and he isn’t going to plaster his name on something just for royalties, so this is why he’s not on the signage.)
The menu’s gone through some changes over the past year, and they now have a slimmed-​down brunch menu, plus lunch and dinner. Between you and me, you can actually order most of the stuff off the lunch menu if you request it, in addition to other «off-​menu French staples» like a cheese plate.
I always get the reliable French onion soup, which I like because it doesn’t taste like a can of sodium’s been dumped into it. You can’t go wrong with the half-​chicken, though it’s not that different from what you’d get at any other French restaurant (but then again, chicken is like Nick Young of the Lakers — not much upside!; my friend Paul won’t even order it at restaurants because he thinks it can’t exceed his own cooking.) More adventurous options are the steak, including a steak tartare if you want to walk on the wild side.
Service at Les Halles has always had a bit of an afterthought quality. But if you’re just chilling at the place for an afternoon and aren’t in a rush to get anywhere, then who cares if you have to spend 5 minutes flagging down somebody to pay your bill.

I love French food, I make no excuses if its an option for dinner I am there.
So this past Dec 19, 2015 Hubby surprised me & Mini-​Me with a day in NY and a reservation for 7:30p at Les Halles– and said she could bring her partner in crime «N». So we spent the day in Brooklyn at the Transit Museum and as everyone knows– to get around the city take the Subway I mean really is there any other way?
We actually arrived early at 6pm, considering it was Christmas in the city and packed with tourists, hostess sat us right away in this little alcove in the front, it was perfect it blocks the loud chatter from the main area but was cozy and comfortable with the right temp.
So here is the order–
1– Beef cheek poutine (fries w/​beef cheek & red wine, cheese curds & gravy)
1– (Foie Gras Poele aux pommes (duck liver with apple, walnuts and calvado sauce) is a must 1– Croutons de coulommiers rotis (brie with honey and croutons) is a must
3– Steaks au poivre with frietes (fries). WOW!
Our server was sweet and so helpful because I wanted the rooster Coq au Vin but couldn’t decide with the mussels on the menu and their options of broth, I opted for the mussels with white wine, shallots and garlic– and I didn’t regret it at all. I enjoyed 2 glasses of wine the rest had pop.
My only complaint is the beef cheek poutine, 8 fries, no gravy, no cheek and a lump of melted cheese on top– very unhappy with this, I truly expected better on this dish and this never should have been passed and been brought to our table, disappointed, therefore 4 stars.
Dessert, lets face it the French have this down to a science so what to get? Well if you have seen my FB post video– Mini-​Me and partner in crime decided on the Bananas Flambees tableside –however please note– if you sit where we did, for safety reasons the flambees is done on the opposite side of the window, you can see clearly and enjoy the technique, and does not take away from the experience at all. The girls absolutely devoured this dish with such happiness that– that in itself was priceless. Hubby opted for the chocolate mousse, I passed on dessert as I was full.
Service was delightful, price may be steep for some (define steep? prices are on the website) but it is worth it to try at least once for a romantic evening or just time with friends over drinks and bites. I will be back because good food and service is hard to pass up and this is a wonderful place to have both
KIDS– if you have kids, they should be restaurant ready, this is not the kind of place they can be let down to run around with wild abandon, I know call me rude but be considerate of your fellow diner’s, I had small one’s once, I know the routine.

Perfect place for a romantic dinner .
This place serve my favorite French food .
Stakes, foie gras is pure haven .
I would go there every night if I could.

The French bistro-​brasserie Les Halles was once a New York landmark, but has somewhat fallen out of favor due in large part to the recent surge in popularity of Italian cuisine. But because of head chef Anthony Bourdain’s hit show on the the Travel Channel and CNN, the restaurant has enjoyed renewed success.
We went early on a Sunday evening. At first it was relatively empty, and I thought our reservations had been unnecessary; however, as the night wore on the place filled up considerably, proving that the bistro hasn’t quite lost its prestige just yet. The cozy brown and gold colors and dimmed lighting made for a really enjoyable and intimate setting, quite evocative of dining establishments in France. Also, you can see into the kitchen, which is something I love in a restaurant.
The service was impeccable. The waiter seemed to appear out of nowhere to refill our wine glasses and fold our napkins into scallops, and all three of our attendants stopped by regularly to check on us.
The main courses are hearty and decently sized, with distinct flavors, simple ingredients, and a surprisingly authentic Frenchness. My duck, truffle, and potato hachi was delicious; the hangar steak was perfectly cooked and the accompanying shallot reduction was one of the best sauces I’ve ever had.
The Chocolate Banana Tart was quite tasty, and if you’re a chocoholic, you can’t do much better than the decadently rich house soufflé. Both of these desserts were great, but their greatness was heightened by a snifter of Remy Martin VSOP Cognac. Very highly recommended!
Unfortunately, Les Halles is very pricey, starting at about $ 10 for appetizers and entrées in excess of $ 40, and remember, that’s not including wine, coffee, dessert, or tip. But the good news here is that at least you get what you pay for, which is something quite refreshing in a town where a bottle of beer can cost upwards of $ 10.
If you’re in the mood for a delicious dinner in an intimate and charming atmosphere, you can’t do much better than Les Halles.

I had a great dinner at Les Halles and I want to give an extremely grateful shout out to the chef (s) and service staff here.
I showed up pretty late to dinner and four of my friends had already ordered their food and were well into their drinks. A waiter quickly got me a menu, left me to struggle out of my layers of winter clothes and figure out what I wanted, and was quickly back to take my order. Because my friends had been there for a good 15 minutes or so already, their food came out shortly. But within 5 minutes, mine came out too! The chef came out himself with a piping hot plate of my roasted duck and let me know that the waiter had informed him about our situation. He couldn’t let me sit there and watch my friends eat so they got my dish prepared as soon as they could! I was really touched and loved how thoughtful they were, without me having to say anything at all!
My roast duck was really delicious. The pomegranate sauce is a bit heavy, but that’s what the string beans and potatoes were there for! I also had some of my friend’s mussels and frites; there was a bit of grit in a couple of the mussels but the fries are so good! Everyone at our table commented on the fries and we were munching into them even though our stomachs were bursting with food.
Service was really great all night; we had our hostess drop by to check on us and waiters came by to refresh our waters periodically. Definitely one of the better service experiences I’ve had in the city.

What can I say. I am a big fan of Bourdain and so this place was a must-​see on our visit to NYC. We went for brunch on a Sunday and it did not disappoint.
I had the Eggs Les Halles (basically eggs benedict but with braised beef cheek), it was fantastic, a very nice twist on the traditional version.
My wife had the Crêpe Montagnarde. She is not usually a fan of savory crepes but we enjoyed it thoroughly.
I recommend the coffee as well, it is served table side via french press. Just what one needs on a Sunday morning after a long night out on the city.

I’m a big fan of Anthony Bourdain and I must say that this place did not disappoint. The escargot was nothing short of garlic buttery goodness. The duck confit was super tender and delicious along with the crunchy potatoes, portabello mushroom and frisse’. The service was very pleasant and fast as well. I’ll definitely come back again once i’m in NY.

I loved my first dinner here. A huge fan of Anthony Bourdain and finely got a chance to eat where he use to work for living at. It’s very French but more rustic then fine-​dinning or too up-​scale, the food is very comforting and elegant.
We ordered the east coast oysters and jumbo shrimp for starters and those were the best jumbo shrimp I ever had, along with the cocktail sauce. Didn’t try he oysters, those were my wife’s. Our appetizer, was the one and only being a French restaurant, you have to go for the Foie-​Gras Poele. And could have eaten 4 plates of this Foie-​Gras, it’s so good it’s so wrong if you don’t order this. I got the Pepper Steak w/​Fries, cooked medium rare, and it’s was what I come here for. A real hardy French meal. The fries is a great pairing w/​Steak. My wife got the Duck and I had some and we couldn’t have a better meal the duck was do delicious and moist. Ended with Crème Brûlée.
This was my favorite and best restaurant dinning experience I ever had. I loved it here.
Food ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Price ⁸⁄₁₀. Service ⁹⁄₁₀.

Well I have definitely had better foie gras elsewhere but they get point for it not being so bad and the size. It was not as tender and melt in your math like I expected and I think they may have over seared mine. Considering I paid 19 for this small portion you would think it would be executed perfectly but whatever, it was HORRIBlE. The escargot in garlic butter was really good and it was my first time
Trying. Just toss in a tiny bit of salt and they are absolutely divine!
The cocktails are very strong and when I asked for a glass of wine I was given a huge portion so kudos to them. My bartender was very nice and on top of everything. It gets 3 stars because of the so so foie gras (nothing to write home or rave about).

Wow. So disappointing.
We were so eagerly anticipating having dinner here on a recent trip to NYC. We are both big Anthony Bourdain fans, and that man knows his food, so we assumed it would translate into a memorable dining experience.
We were sadly mistaken.
We had early dinner reservations, but when we got there there were only a handful of tables with patrons. Perhaps because it was a bit early for dinner by NYC standards, but we were eager to experience this restaurant.
The hostess seemed bored, offered no welcoming smile or anything of the sort.
We were asked if we had reservations, and then seated immediately. (frankly looking around the place it appeared we didn’t need reservations as only about 10% of the tables were full)
Our server came over, said «hi», set the menus on the table and walked away. Look, I realize we are not longer in the midwest, but would it kill the employees to offer a smile to the customers?
She then came back, asked if we wanted a drink, and if we were ready to order.
WTF?
No, «Hi, welcome, my name is… or, let me tell you about the specials, or do you have any questions about the menu,» nothing. So I try to engage the server by asking her a few questions. I was met with one and two word answers. Wow.
I realize many of the servers in NYC are aspiring actors, but here’s an idea; why don’t you pretend you’re auditioning for a role as a waitress, and actually play the part of a restaurant employee. Then I’ll pretend I’m tipping you reflected on that performance!
We placed our orders. My husband had the Steak au Poivre and I had the grilled salmon.
As we were waiting for our dinners, I was glancing around the restaurant. I noticed the floor next to our table was dirty. Not only were their various crumbs, but there were two muscle shells on the floor in plain view. Gross. There were plenty of employees standing around in freshly starched aprons, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to details. And again, we were there when it was relatively slow, so it seemed odd that nobody was sweeping the previous diners food remnants off the floor.
Our meals arrived and I was less than impressed. My salmon was blah and my asparagus was lacking. My husbands steak was absolutely delicious, and the highlight of our visit.
Overall we left disappointed.
With dinner and drinks we dropped nearly $ 200. For that price I wouldn’t mind a few smiles, a little bit of pleasant verbal exchange with the server, and a clean dining room floor.
Oh we still love Anthony Bourdain, next time we’ll throw a couple steaks on the grill at home and just watch The Layover or Parts Unkown on TV.

My husband was very excited to go here. I really wanted the lamb I saw in other reviews but it wasn’t on the menu. After I ordered the chicken the waitress told the table next to us the lamb was on special yet our waiter didn’t bother to tell us the specials.
We tried the escargot which we had never had before. It was ok not much to taste other than the garlic.
My husband ordered the peppercorn steak and fries. The peppercorn was insanely overwhelming that you could taste anything else. The fries were good.
I ordered the oven roasted chicken which was good.

Went here for an early 6:00 dinner reservation on a Saturday night and we were probably the third table to have been seated. By the time we left around 8:00, the place was packed.
The complimentary bread is nothing to write home about, but at least they give you a combination of French baguette and some whole grain bread. Simple, but traditional, which is what the place is clearly aiming for.
We started with the blood sausage ($ 12) and French onion soup ($ 10). Both were delicious. The French onion had a nice flavor, almost a red-​wine like flavor that I haven’t experience in other French onion soups. The blood sausage brought back nice memories of my semester abroad in France where I ate this stuff as often as the French snobbishly responded to me in English despite my best efforts to speak their language.
For wine, we ordered a bottle of the ’09 Madiran, Château Peyros ($ 48), but instead our server brought us the ’08 Château Duhart-​Milon, Pauillac ($ 250). Big difference, not only in terms of price, but I’m sure quality as well. One is bin 545 on the menu, the other 575, but the only reason I caught the mistake was because of the year on the label. Thankfully, I didn’t have too many margaritas beforehand at the Dos Caminos next door otherwise I would have gotten a nice surprise when it was time to pay. Still, thankfully I’ve got good vision. They dim the lights pretty low here early on.
After they brought the wine and appetizers, we were clearly forgotten about. Our server came back over to us about 20 minutes after we finished our appetizers to see how everything was, at which time I told her we were ready to order. «Oh,» she said, surprisingly. Yeah, she forgot about us.
For entrees, we got the steak frites with salad ($ 22) and the coq au vin ($ 26). The steak was cooked medium-​rare just as we ordered it. The fries were good and the salad was simple, but tasty. The coq au vin was delicious and surprisingly filling given the relatively small portion.
For dessert, we got espresso and the profiteroles ($ 8.50). No lemon rind with the espresso (tear), and the profiteroles were a total miss. The pasty ball tasted stale and the ice cream filling was freezer burned. Its only redeeming quality was the warm chocolate sauce.
Overall, I left here with mixed feelings. A big fan of Anthony Bourdain, I had been meaning to try this place for quite some time. While ⁴⁄₅ dishes we ordered were good, the service bit. At one point, I asked what appeared to be the manager a question about the coq au vin. He said he would go find out and get back to me, but he never did. Plus our server forgot about us, which is pretty inexcusable in a place like this on a Saturday night.
If you want to go here just to scratch it off the bucket list, get it over with. If not, there are plenty of better places to choose from.

So I ended up going here because I was super hungry, wasn’t too adventurous and didn’t want to spend too much time walking around to find some place to eat, so this place just happened to be there right across the street from the hotel I was staying at. The façade and the red color caught my hungry eye.
Since it was so hot and humid inside, I opted to eat inside just for the air conditioning. It was pretty dead inside (it was about 2pm-​ish when i went in) and the lighting was dim, so good thing i wasn’t too tired or i might have wanted to nap in the restaurant!
I ordered the watermelon gazpacho, which was really good (you could taste the watermelon at the end). I ended up ordering the skirt steak with the side of fries. The fries were SOO good, and although i’m not a huge fan of blue cheese dressing — whatever they did with this blue cheese was pretty amazing.
The food can be pretty pricey, but thank goodness for business trips, and work paying for my food.

Oh Brasserie Les Halles. I don’t come here often, but this is easily one of my favorite French restaurants in Manhattan and it’s not [only] because it was established in 1998 by my absolutely favorite chef/​food personality, Anthony Bourdain :).
I’ve been here about 2 or 3 times and it’s where I first got to try escargot (years ago) with an old coworker. Most recently I came here for a fancy lunch with my work team. Gonna sum up my most recent experience here with a Pros and Cons list…
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PROS:
+ Really awesome ambience and rustic décor which makes you feel like you’re traveling back in time and enjoying a meal in France. Lots of dark wooden accents and a very vintage, historical feel, old-​school tables/​chairs/​bright white table cloths, etc.
+ The food here is truly phenomenal. Phe-nom-(om nom nom nom)-inal. If you don’t know what escargots are, they’re snails roasted in garlic butter. I’ve had them at a few places and yet, outside of ones I had the pleasure of munching on in Paris, the ones at Les Halles are my favorite.
+ Most recently for lunch I ordered their Sandwich de Poulet which was described on the menu as being chicken breast with fresh herb mayo it also came with frites which I much appreciated given that this place isn’t inexpensive. This sandwich was unsurprisingly AMAZING. AMAAAAZING. Although the chicken breast wasn’t really a cutlet of mean (as I was expecting) and more like pulled roasted chicken, it was juicy, delicious and perfectly paired with their herb mayo.
+ One thing I really enjoy about French food is their fresh flavors and simple pairings. Not complicated, but almost always consistently memorable… like this sandwich. So good. Their french fries were perfect with a golden, crunchy exterior and a fantastic crispy: potato ratio. They’re apparently also really well known here for having excellent frites.
+ For dessert we ordered their Profiteroles. These are cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and served with chocolate sauce. They were light, fluffy, flavorful and I could easily eat my weight in these EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
CON:
+ Our server were super friendly, welcoming and his delivery of their daily specials was great, but the service itself was really slow. The wait for our food was about 45 minutes. This is especially not great when you only really have an hour for lunch… thankfully I was with my boss and so a 90 minute lunch on like a Tuesday wasn’t the end of the world… but seriously, I would consider coming here more for work lunches if I knew a 60 – 70 minute lunch here were possible. They also messed up on my boss’ order when he was very specific about how he wanted it prepared. On the bright side, our waiter realized how long our wait was and how the kitchen messed up…
PRO:
+ Offered my boss a beer on the house. My boss said «no thank you» and after our server left, remarked that he found it odd that only he was offered a beverage when we also all had to wait a long time to get our meals… but this rapidly turned into a pro when our awesome server brought us all over a round of champagne. Huzzah. Can’t go wrong with complimentary bubbly!
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Overall, I really love this place and I hope to return soon (or more often!) to try them out for brunch and dinner.

No pilgrimage to NYC would be complete without a meal at Les Halles, the restaurant where Anthony Bourdain once worked and described in Kitchen Confidential. We dined here many years ago and had fond memories of the well-​executed French dishes. I was bummed to hear that their executive chef, Carlos Llaguno passed away this year.
The restaurant still excels at meat dishes and the french fries are among the best I’ve had. The Hangar Steak (medium rare) with scallion sauce and fries was the best dish of the night — seared, perfectly tender beef with some sweetness from the sauce. The appetizers were also excellent such as escargot (6 per order) had an interesting green butter sauce that went well with the bread. The special lobster tartare was aslo pretty good — some nice crunch from veggies and not overly dressed with mayo.
Where they fell a bit short was the fish dish — I got the Striped Bass filet that had a nice sear (so crispy skin), and decent seasoning, but not much else. It had some roasted potatoes and red cabbage but otherwise not too exciting — a bit unfair since we had Le Bernardin a couple days ago. Still, my experience suggests we stick to meat next time.
Desserts — Banana Foster cooked tableside. A bit discouraging when you see how much butter and sugar they slather on the banana. Still, they didn’t skimp on the rum so the dessert was great! We hiked a few miles to Times Square and then back to our hotel to burn some of it off…

The lights illuminate outside of Les Halles while time is frozen on the inside. Mahogany finishes, deep candlelight ambiance, and the feel of French Jazz clubs I’ve had the great pleasure of going to. Les Halles is trapped in the ether of a New York minute.
I’ve been anticipating a dinner here for many years not expecting for it to happen so soon but alas, a business trip brought me to New York City. I made the trek here via the 6 train hoping for the best and it did not disappoint. I know to come here everytime I’m in town from here on out.
I had a 1911 Hard Cider, brewed right in New York State. A sweet but rich spin on one of my favorite drinks. The sweet old lady the next table over recommend the Mini Croûtons de Coulommiers rôtis au miel et poivre… Two slices of finely toasted croutons, glazed in sweet honey and almonds, followed by a centimeter-​thick layer of Brie. Personally I’m not a cheese fanatic but this is conversion-​worthy, almost carrying me over into a religious experience even as I write about it. Last, was the Steak (Sirloin) and Frites. Medium rare and generously juicy, what more could I ask? French fries, duh.
Alex, my server this night was sharp, funny, and helpful. He made recommendations through the night and really, if nothing else, Alex’s service alone doubles as this and every great French eatery. For yet a few moments this week I enjoyed every minute of this dinner. With the excellent food and lingering mood of the «old world» around, it was and is nothing short of perfect.

This may sound odd, but the lighting in this restaurant is awfully dim. This made it challenging for middle aged people to read the menu. That colors my review. Just add candles to the table, or up the lights. Really. It’s not hard!
My friend’s French friend felt this place was an authentic French bistro where she could get all the greasy, wierd, authentic cassoulet that she relished but which American kitchens don’t get right.
Seating five was not a problem, so kudos for NOT making us wait.
Everyone got steak (medium rare) and french fries, except me, I got the salmon. Our waitress was loopy. One friend ordered a bottle of wine, but she returned with the bottle and presented it at the opposite end of the table to the other man. It was quite funny and odd!
My salmon was done quite nicely, however not outstanding. It might have tasted better if I could have seen it properly.
Everyone else seemed to relish their fries and steak. For a bistro/​casual dining restaurant the food was brought out fast, it was fairly on point, and served with style!
The waitress disappeared otherwise I would have asked for salt and pepper which was missing on the table.
Later, we ordered chocolate tarts and deserts. One of our group ordered the Crepes Suzette (made at the table). Same loopy waitress, who by now, was providing entertainment in addition to service, declared she would make it herself. And proceeded to demonstrate how to scoop an entire cup of butter into a single serving of dessert. Our (fit and lean) friend who ordered the crepes started to look like a man being dragged to execution, onward marching but pulling back with every step. At this point, the table discussion turned to health issues, exercise, and other topics relevant to this cholesterol he was about to get hit with. I almost felt sorry for him.
I would advise the restaurant to just hide the butter part and just come out with the pretty flame on the crepes to save everyone heart ache (if not heart attacks).
All in all, an enjoyable, but strangely not outstanding meal. Solid food, too light on fresh, zingy, crunchy vegetables for my preference, fast plating, spotty service, and generally «pas mal». Not bad.

So, I’ve been going to Les Halles since 1999, the year after Anthony Bourdain started in 1998, and it’s always been a go-​to spot for me for very good casual French country cuisine. Unfortunately though, it seems that the average rating is lower now (3.5), mainly because of the Bourdain «followers» who have unusually high expectations for this place.
I think they come here with the expectation to be blown away by a 5-​star restaurant because this is Anthony Bourdain’s first Executive Chef role, and where he remains as a «Chef-​at-​Large», but they have to remember that this is after all, a Brasserie (meaning casual with hearty food with beer/​wine) serving simple, comfort dishes all-​day, at a fair, maybe even low, price, in my opinion.
The place is meant to be casual, with French country food from Gascony (the «Breadbasket of France») such as Duck Confit, Cassoulet, SaucIsse, Rabbit, Foie Gras, Roquefort cheese, Coq Au Vin, Steak Au Poivre, Pâté, Escargot, etc. Along with an excellent list of wines from almost every region in France — Burgundy, Northern Rhone, Loire Valley, etc… Monday nights are the best as ALL bottles are 50% off!
This is one of my favorite casual go-​to restaurants, when I don’t know what I want to eat, and where I don’t want to spend a ton of money, but I do want some good wine & ambiance, and when I don’t want to have to deal with a reservation (I’ve always been seated immediately or within 10 minutes). If this sounds like you, then this is your spot.
And, I do prefer this location to the John Street location.
ps…for those «followers’ who knock this place, if you really know Bourdain, you’d know he’s much more a fan of simple, accessible, and reasonably priced food like this than anything else.

Sinceramente acho que esperei muito desse restaurante por ser de um chef tão renomado. Escolha outro, mas não perca o seu tempo e dinheiro nesse. Estávamos em 6 pessoas e nenhum dos pratos da mesa estava satisfatório. Estavam sem sabor ou mal preparados. Sou dono de restaurante e choperia, portanto entendo muito de comida. O meu prato foi o Steak Tartar e confesso que foi um dos piores que já comi. A carne não era cortada na ponta da faca, como deveria, e sim moída o que estragou totalmente o prato e, além de tudo, o acompanhamento era batata frita! Como assim? Deixa muito, mas muito a desejar. Não recomendo!

Croissant, fresh-​squeezed O.J., and gruyère omelet — all excellent.

Der kleine aber sehr sehr feine Franzose von nebenan! Hatte Calamari Salat als Starter und Muscheln portuguise mit pommes Frites, danach mousse Au chocolat. Wahrscheinlich die besten Muscheln die ich je gegessen habe, unglaublich guter Sut! Sehr zu empfehlen

Wir hatten das Glück, Anthony Bourdain zu sehen!
Ansonsten coolness a la New York. Man kann sie mögen, oder nicht.
Ansichten sind nun mal subjektiv.

Ich war mit meinen besten Freund christian dort, naja außer die homemade Pommes war es ganz okey.
Wir hatten nach Anthony Bourdain gefragt (dem Gründer) und bekamen vom kellner nur ein Achselzucken obwohl im Regal viele Bücher vom «Besitzer» zum Verkauf standen.