Address: | 380 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003, USA |
Phone: | +1 212-533-3000 |
Site: | lafayetteny.com |
Rating: | 4.2 |
Working: | 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–10:30PM 8AM–11PM 8AM–11PM 8AM–11PM 8AM–10PM |
BL
blue sky
Reviewing as a dinner restaurant with a note to self to return for brunch. Lafayette gets five stars for the French country rustic decor and vibe it seemlessly executes. Tile floors and backsplashes, wainscoting, and warm gold/ brown/ white tones soften the metal hardware of the light fixtures, rails and handles peppered throughout the space. The outdoor seating is ample and spacious, though the interior was something we were pleased to experience. Drinks and food are both excellent in portion (almost surprisingly so since its upscale French) and execution. Cocktails run about $13-15, but quality spirits, a generous pour, and service with a single large cube made it seem fair. I savored the Vermouth Amelie with a soft, mildly sweet taste of dark liquor and citrus. The lamb tangine left me awestruck from service (presented in a covered Moroccan patterned dish) through each savory bite. Pieces of lamb simmered slowly in eastern flavors with chunks of carrot and other veggies (seemed like a cousin of zucchini but I couldnt place it) left it soft as butter. The couscous was flavorful, and served with toasted, slivered almonds, and a midly salt and garlicked yogurt. My mom had the wood grilled trout. While my dish was heartier and fit for a chilly day or to serve a hearty appetite, the trout was reminiscent of light Spring flavors. It was the type of meal youd truly enjoy eating, but then feel good inside and out for good clean nourishment. Of course there was dessert to the tune of a salted caramel mille feiulle. The pastry was impossibly thin and flaky, and the caramel was fantastically real - not some melted high fructose corn syrup junk melted just long enough to serve. We shared it and loved every second of it. The only culinary downside for the evening was the bitterness of the coffee. So much good but only 3 stars. Service was obviously figuring out its operation while we were there. Our first waiter dropped off menus, but was quite slow to return for drink or food orders. We had to ask for bread once our meals were served (we had bread plates, so knew it existed), and also for our water glasses to be refilled. Once they got the memo, they were more attentive. Four different waiters helped at some point or other, but they didnt communicate with each other making us have to repeat requests for things a few times. They were wonderfully friendly and patient, but at a restaurant of this caliber I expect service on point. Prices are around $15 for appetizers, $10 for sides, $22-25 for pastas $33-36 for meats & fish, and $15 for dessert. Ill certainly visit again!
FO
Foodlover Girl
I have been wanting to go to Lafayette for some exquisite, upscale French-inspired desserts for a long time. We finally got to make our way over to this sweet heaven. The inside was nice and bright, thanks to the large window that goes all the way up to the ceiling on the wall facing the entrance. Lafayette is consist of bakery and Café, which is more like a restaurant. If you are taking some bread or dessert home instead of eating in, or if you just wanted some sweets and coffee, then you don’t need to go into their Café. The front right section is the bakery, and the rest of the space is the Café. We were only there for the dessert, so we sat at the bakery section. The bakery was filled with all sorts of yummy delight and its smell. We were surrounded with the perfumes of sugar, flour, cream, and every fluffy sweet goodness. We decided on few things to eat right there, and few other things to take home with. For eating in, we chose Petit Choux, Cascara Slice, and Cappuccino. We got the little shiny treats that looked like jewels. Little jewels that taste amazing.... Our Lafayette experience made us say we wish if we could go there every day. We will get a different dessert, croissant, baguette, whatever they have, and every day we will be happy… But we do have to consult with our tummy, and make sure we can continue to fit into our clothes. So, I guess we can’t visit them every day, only in my dreams. Until next time… Read my full review of the restaurant and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.
FA
Fabien
I reserved a table to have a nice diner with my wife (which doesnt happen that often now that we have a baby). We have been seated to our table fairly quickly, our waiter was efficiant and nice all the time but the food was really disappointing. With my wife, we shared an appetizer ( Grilled Octopus) and a glass of white wine. It was good but nothing incredible for a tiny 20$ appetizer. Lets say it was decent, its NYC, so I can expect it will be a little bit costy. alright, alright. And the bread they served us was really delicious. Then we had a ribeye steak for Entree (it was a huge Entree for 2, it was a a special of the day). It was a total failure... Half of the meat was cooked nicely but the other half was over cooked and all the meat was completely over salty... Even the puree (mash potatoes) done in a Robuchons style was a failure : again, over salty. The gravy, I already forget about it. And I am someone who his eating salty. What a shame for a restaurant.... Serving such an average food. I mentioned it to the server while we were half our way with the meat (yes we were starving !!) and he just said nothing and didnt offer us anything. He just vaguely apologized. At the end, to forget the salt we ordered something sweet : Profiterolle. It was ok. I will not come back to this restaurant . They showed to me they are not trying to do quality food but just running a business and serve average or bad dishes for a high price.
SH
Shawn Squire
Came here with my wife for a afternoon lunch. Not too busy and getting seated was fast. However, it took us a while to get offered water, and about 20 minutes after that until we were even offered any other drinks. At this point we ordered a cheese platter, a sandwich, and a salad. After another 20 minutes, we finally received our cheese platter. It was very good cheeses, although nothing that you would be unable to get elsewhere. It has been another 15-20 minutes since we finished our cheese platter when the server asked if we had ordered food, which is a major oversight and very obnoxious since other tables have been served and cleared in the interim. Eventually, another server said he would check on our food, and nobody seemed to know what was taking so long. Our original waiter eventually told us he was waiting for us to finish the cheese, which is negligent at best (since we were done for a while) and a lie at worst. Regardless, our food came out hot and was very good, although maybe not the slightly higher prices. The atmosphere seemed nice, but we spent the whole lunch in the outdoor seating. Overall, I couldnt really recommend Lafayette. Our service was atrocious and confused, and the food is good but abnormally pricey. Its fine if you are in the area and want some French cuisine, but hopefully the service is better than ours.
VA
Vanesa Alejandra
Horrible experiencia! Pedí como entrada scargots. La salsa era tan fuerte que era lo mismo que comer pan con salsa. Cero sabor a scargot. Luego solicité pato "A PUNTO" y me lo trajeron con MUCHA SANGRE. Cuando pedí que lo cocinaran un poco más el mozo me dijo "Ah! Lo quieres a punto?", cuando desde un principio lo pedí así. Me lo trajeron con algo menos de sangre, pero aún estaba horrible. Por último, la salsa de chocolate "caliente" del postre estaba HELADA (el mozo hasta pregonó que estaba caliente cuando la servía) La peor cena de mi vida. Lamentable!