The view sweeps over a usually well-attended lounge with a long zinc bar to a dining room for about 100 guests with comfortable red leather benches and wood paneling.
The menu is always up to date and sometimes radical. Deviates now and then from the classic French bistro standard. At Frenchette, grilled puffer fish tails are served, garnished with chili butter. Creamy scrambled eggs with a tiny mound of sauteed escargot, Duck Frites as a crispy duck breast with a mountain of fries: super simple. Super delicious! Ditto the Gnocchi Parisienne with sweet rotisserie lobster, tossed in curry butter. And for a sweet finish, pastry chef Michelle Palazzo whips up delicate strawberry pavlova and serves fragrant Parisian bread – filled with rich pistachio cream. The predominantly French wine list is expertly put together by sommelier Jorge Riera (previously at Wildair) and focuses on selected organic wines. As I said, some things are just different …
Don’t miss:
Poulet Roti with mashed potatoes and maitake mushroom, tagine with artichokes and couscous, braised rabbit with fennel, olives and cavatelli pasta. And taste the biodynamic natural wines!
Atmosphere:
Someone described it as a restaurant with a “Mad Men” flair.
Special Features:
Chic and the flair of the cosmopolitan city of NY and the inimitable lifestyle and culture of the French.
Reservations:
Reserve in time! Can take a long time to get a table at events like NY Fashion Week.
Another tip:
In New York, of course, at Jean-Marc Houmard’s restaurant ACME (9 Great Jones St) in NoHo (North of Houston Street). There you can discover a new inspiring look on every corner, the cafés, studios and classy shops alternate between crazy and chic. From the very beginning, ACME has been one of the top addresses of New York’s creative scene. On one of our appointments, we sit down at the table with boutique owner and designer Jen Mankins, along with Cecilia Dean, publisher and editor-in-chief of ‘Visionaire’, the unique style and art magazine, and Oliver Strand, “coffee critic” – that only exists in New York – of the New York Times. He explains to me where to get your coffee: BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE (450 West 15th St). It’s freshly brewed and, you guessed it, probably the best in the world.
Tips from the GoSixt editorial team:
If you still want to see something stunning, visit the Frick Collection (1 East 70th St), my current favorite museum in the former private home of Henry Clay Frick. There are probably hipper places by now, but in the afternoon I like to head to Navy (137 Sullivan St) for its exquisite selection of fresh oysters.
In New York there is a particularly large selection of stations of the Sixt car rental and associated with this, of course, also an extensive fleet. But surely the chauffeur service would mostly be the right thing.
