Balthazar Restaurant & Bakery – SoHo
PRO: Authentic French brasserie atmosphere, good food, fun vibe
CON: Getting a seat can be tricky!
So after about a gazillion times of swinging by Balthazar hoping to score a seat for weekend lunch or din din (no, we don’t plan far enough ahead to ever reserve), lurking around like desperate beggars and then leaving with our heads hanging low and our tummies grumbling, we gave this place another shot last week, right around 6p. And just like the other J always reminds me that persistence pays off, finally success.
A couple was just leaving their bar seats (yay!) for a table and we swooped in like a couple hawks going after an innocent little field mouse. Score!
The other J goin' after a bar stool!
Seriously, if we hadn’t gotten those two seats, our last resort to dining here may have been a nice, simple Breaking & Entering.
So after doing a couple high fives, we looked around the place. Wait. First we barked out an order for a couple drinks. Then, we looked around to get the lay of the land. I mean, this place is a New York institution, which means it’s gotta impress on all levels. This is a big place that, if ya closed your eyes, and ignored the fact most people are speaking English…actually, not even true, most people in nyc aren’t speaking English…well, they’re not speaking French I guess is the point. Anyhoo, get over that language thing, and open your eyes back up.
For the most part, and take this from Paris veterans, kittens, Balthazar is straight outta Compton. I mean, straight outta Paris. Great atmosphere. From the enormous, open room to the elegant lighting to the cozy seating and hustle and bustle to the raw bar and authentic menu. Bam.The only difference is the servers are rude to you in English, not French. Kidding, kidding. Calm down. Our servers (behind the bar and our food server) were super friendly. Not really chatty, mind you, but friendly. Hey they’re busy people. And I was tryin’ to French my baby most of the time anyway, so they prolly didn’t want to interrupt;)
OK, you get the idea. Let’s move on to the grub. Or should I say ‘aliments’. So as we were about 1/2 way through a stuff-your-face-fest wander around SOHO, we only snacked. But we hit some of the highlights, namely:
Well, before we get into that and although I am sure it’s a highlight for many, we passed on the Hamburger A Cheval (AKA Horse Burger). Doesn’t it sound so much yummier in French? But it still has
to taste heinous. For once, I’d say no horseplay.
We did enjoy though, the Onion Soup Gratinee ($10.50). Please don’t say French Onion Soup. You’ll look like even more of a dumb yank than you are. Wow. They don’t f-around with the fromage, if ya get my drift. Hell, this should maybe be renamed a Fondue. It was served in a nice-sized bowl, with a rich beef base, excellent onions, and an OD of cheese. And I like cheese. So I was slap-happy. Excellent Gruyere and Cheddar, and lots of it, with the obligatory hunk of bread in the bottom. This puppy coulda used a little more broth but the taste? Cé Magnifique!
Next we had the Steak Tartare ($15), which, as with the Soup, is an excellent judge of a Brasserie. And 
just like in Paris, they don’t pull any punches. (Well, let’s call a Frog a Frog and just say the French don’t really punch anyway. Kidding, kidding. Love the French). Seriously. Anyway, this dish, which we ordered a small plate of, was again a great serving of excellent, fresh, tasty and appropriately RAW steak. And that’s what it should be. It had a little mustard (Dijon, bien sur) mixed through it, but very subtle. The texture was amazing, and the taste was excellent. It came with some cute little toast points and capers. We wolfed it.
Note, even though we only snacked, Balthazar serves breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner and good-looking desserts to boot.
We’d come back here again in a flash. This isn’t an everyday hang out spot for us, but a very cool, unique and gigidty-cool spot.
Hours:
Mon-Thus 7:30a-1a
Fri 7:30a-2a
Sat 8a-2a
Sun 8a-12a
Balthazar Restaurant & Bakery
80 Spring St (betw Broadway & Crosby)
New York, NY 10012
(212) 965-1414
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