Bertrand Duperrin

Review of Balthazar Restaurant

If you like the big Parisian breweries you will no...

If you like the big Parisian breweries you will not be out of place. Same great room, same hustle and bustle that is part of the charm of the place, even map made of traditional dishes and an excellent seafood bench.

The advantage of Balthazar is that the more time passes he stays true to himself: the service very effective (sometimes too much ...), the noisy atmosphere, a card that we would sometimes like a little more inventive and which had to accommodate only a few changes in 10 years. But it is this traditional side that makes it one of the inevitable "French" restaurants in New York.

By cons rates are sometimes a little (much) high for dishes certainly very well done but very traditional. The "bar steak" at $ 29 is a bit limited anyway.

But it is perhaps this classicism that makes us come back regularly

My last meal:

- seafood ceviche: no complaints, fresh and varied
- duck confit: classic but effective, nothing wrong
- Caramelized Banana Ricotta Tart: the only really inventive part of this lunch, very good.

Fast and attentive service, as usual. Sometimes too much: if we take care we can finish a meal of 3 dishes in 40 minutes ...

Oh last point: their bread and their breakfasts are excellent ... they have their own bakery ....