Upstairs
Categories: American (New), Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Manhattan/TriBeCaBouley Bakery & Market
130 W Broadway
New York, NY 10013 (212) 608-5829
- Nearest Transit:
Chambers St-W Broadway (1, 2, 3)
Chambers-St-Park Pl (2, 3, A, C, E)
City Hall-Broadway (R, W)
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
68 reviews
Neighborhood: Brooklyn/Williamsburg - North Side
"I have not been able to stop talking about eating at Zenkichi since I went. From the unassuming exterior to the dark wonderland that you…" read more »
24 Reviews for Upstairs
i think we got some sort of roll to start off with for the 3 of us... the roll i remember was kind of weak...
- i ordered the burger... HUGE... juicy... cooked bloody like i liked it...
- friend ordered the steak... looked good
- another friend ordered something french with some kinda puree which looked like the best dish of the night!
- i love the bakery especially anything with pistachio or bananas in it...
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
3.5 stars.
Bouley Upstairs is having a bit of an identity crisis. Sushi bar/bistro combo establishments just don't work for me, and if it did work for me, it would have to be executed flawlessly. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
We walked in (that is the only option--no rezzies here!) and they sat us in 5 minutes on a busy Tuesday night. It's VERY cosy inside, as traditional bistros are, and all the outdoor patio seats were taken, so we squeezed into the corner by the window, overlooking West Broadway and Duane Street.
They have a sub par wine list, meaning I wasn't impressed. I had a couple glasses of a not cold enough glass of Pinot Gri and then i had the grilled calamari salad which was spectacular.
The spicy tuna rolls were average, but nothing unique. And the dessert list was so ordinary and uninteresting we didn't partake.
Overall, save your dough and just go to Bouley. Its worth the extra money and a little extra leg room.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
This to me epitomizes a great New York restaurant. It's egalitarian: no reservations; its cosy and bustly: you could jab your neighbor with a fork; you live the kitchen experience: its open in the middle of the room; and the food is honestly perfect.
So this is the light-hearted side of David Bouley. You will not find such an eclectic menu as here - Italian, Japanese, American, and often fusions of the three. As with any great place, the menu changes with the seasons. Don't miss the Soba Manjyu (duck and chicken tsukune sobako dumpling and soba noodle sauce) or the Gindara (grilled black cod cooked and marinated in a sesame sauce) for refined and memorable flavors.
The final highlight - the price. This is a 2 star Michelin chef, yet you can walk out of here for around $50 a head inclusive of drinks.
A personal favorite - oh and great for a first date (with someone who isn't shy :p)
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Delicious and reasonably priced. A very small (but well done) restaurant. I've seen other reviews describe it as the menu as "schizophrenic" which is probably true -- Japanese, American, Italian cuisine all stuck on top of a retail store -- but this is really only a bad thing if you hate delicious food. On the upside, everyone can have something they enjoy from sushi to a burger.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
this was a great neighborhoody restaurant with a very eclectic menu which somehow works. i usually scoff at restaurants which have sushi, burgers, pasta and more on the same menu, but this place really delivered.
the sushi is pretty darn good, but there were bigger fish to fry (har) so we moved on after saba, sake, and toro.
their handmade tofu dish was scrum-diddly-umptous, and sauteed chicken liver rich and satisfying.
sadly, i was kinda foodied out so i am a little forgetful of the rest of the meal, excepting the dayboat scallops with coconut juice, ginger, sweet peas and wild mushrooms. another great combo i didn't think of, and the scallops were perfectly springy.
i would have liked to tried dessert, but again, too much food (what am i saying?!)
i did have a look downstairs at their bakery and was actually going to get a beautiful croissant after dinner, but alas, they were closed :(
I've been here twice for dinner and both times it was fantastic. The space is cramped--try to sit in one of the booths along the wall or your chair will get knocked constantly--but it's fun to be able to see the chefs prepare your meal in the tiny kitchen. The starter salads are all fantastic, as is the halibut. But the burger is absolutely unbelievable. It's a ginormous beef patty on an english muffin with just the right amout of spicy mustard, cucumber, and tomato. It's too juicy to eat without making a huge mess of yourself, but what's wrong with that?
Next time I go I'll try the sushi.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
This place is about 2 things: awesome chocolate croissants and totally sweet side boob. Do not believe anyone who says otherwise. Everything else was mediocre at best - aside from the decor which was pretty awesome (intimate small space, you can see the chef's cook + a flatscreen TV displaying images of food. Nice work).
Back to the things that matter - I ordered the price fixed brunch, which was a big mistake. If I'd know any better, I would have ordered a bakers dozen of chocolate croissants and settled in for a nice day of side-boob gazing.
For those of you unawares, side-boob is a unique sub-set of cleavage which is only displayed when a woman wears some type of shirt that manages to cover her traditional cleavage but bare only the side of the boob - hence side boob. Let me tell you, it's awesome. Seriously.
And our waitress was rocking some kick ass S.B. She was un-bearably slow, the food was mediocre and she ran my friends credit card incorrectly but let's be honest, she had some sweet S.B. She got a good tip.
People thought this was:
Funny (1)
Came here last weekend after a year of procrastination. It was really an interesting combination, yet everything I had was fresh and really well prepared. To start things off, I ordered some Uni from the sushi bar. It was really fresh and yummy. Despite that, I was pretty much set on trying their more typical fare. In that vein, the Wild Mushroom salad was great. Really simple, fresh mushrooms, light vinaigrette, and ample Parmesan resting atop super fresh greens. Nothing crazy but very pleasing. Next I went back to the Japanese style with the Yuba Maki Foie Gras. This was steamed foie gras wrapped in yuba skin with beckoh-an. Really tasty, but perhaps a bit pricey for the amount of foie and the size of the dish in general. For main course, I had the Wellfleet Line Caught Halibut, which came with sweet corn, shitake mushrooms in a coconut-lemon sauce. This was phenomenal, perhaps the most expertly prepared piece of fish I've ever had. The sweet corn and shitakes were also extrememly fresh. The overall tast of the dish was good, but seriously I wanted to take that piece of halibut home with me. Note, the Pan Roasted Portuguese Sardines with fresh parmesan and angel hair pasta was pretty so-so. But still the burgers, lamb chops and veal chops coming out of the open kitchen all looked worth a trip back................
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
I had the pleasure of the man himself, David Bouley cooking all of our meal on the night I went with a group of six. We sat at one of the tables right in front of the custom Molteni stove in fire engine red: nothing like the best! Everything about my experience spoke volumes of the style and flavors produced in the kitchens of Bouley over so many years of continued quality.
The tasting started with some of the sushi and Japanese influenced dishes found on the menu; I have always liked the clean straight forward flavors found in this cuisine. My table of guests from that point just ordered food and we did order almost everything. Bouley handled each of the dishes from start to finish, a rare treat in today's celebrity chef driven properties where a "chef de cuisine" does all of the work and gets very little credit for their effort. Now, don't get me wrong when I say this, but I do admire the showmanship and skill of David for actually doing the work.
Not "cheap eats" but I do consider a good value for the style and quality of food served, in this stylish modern space with big screens and interactive culinary dining experience. The staff is professional, the scene is "cool" and of course, you may have the pleasure of one of the greats preparing each course of a fantastic meal.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
I had brunch here and found it overpriced and snobby.
For $19 my omelette better be downright orgasmic. but it wasn't, and my side order of sausage was wierd and yucky. (sausage? yucky? seems impossible!)
other people seem to like it so maybe I should give it another try. but I'm still feeling resentful about the sausage so I probably won't.
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (2)
Cool (3)
I can't compare this to Bouley, as I've never been. Though this is allegedly great value for high quality ingredients, I didn't leave feeling this way. For a place of this caliber, there were some hamfisted missteps in execution:
* Bluepoint Oysters with 3 Dipping Sauces: (a) Yuzu-Miso Sauce, (b) Horseradish and Tomato Coulis, and (c) Raspberry and Pink Peppercorn Mignonette
First, the oysters were fresh; no complaints there.
(a) The yuzu-miso sauce was truly great. A peppery kind of citrus, yuzu lent the miso sauce the perfect hint of sweetness and bitterness.
(b) Horseradish was undetectable. Tomato coulis was forgettable.
(c) The raspberry mignonette, in terms of flavor melding, was an abysmal failure. The sourness of the raspberry was in no way assisted by the mint or pink peppercorns. It left my mouth feeling abraded and strangely dry. A dipping sauce of mouthwash would have been more pleasing.
* Chatham Day Boat Lobster with Rosemary, Apple, and Parsnip Puree and Red Wine Sauce
Lobster was overcooked, but portions were not insulting. The flavor of rosemary was absent. The apple-parsnip puree gave the sauce a thick and mild sweetness. And though more liquid, the red wine sauce offered the fuller-bodied sweetness of raisins.
* Sushi:
Tasty fish, shoddy craftsmanship. The freshly grated wasabi earns the sushi bonus points. I stole some to doctor up my oysters.
Final Notes:
* The pendant light fixtures were suspended from gauzy, purple scrunchies. A goofy touch to an otherwise elegant space.
* Waiter #1 was earnest, helpful and attentive.
* Host/Waiter #2 was a smug and sweaty self-important prick.
Dinner:
food: 2.5
value: 2
service: 5 for Waiter #1; 1 for Waiter #2 ( ... at least he filled my water glass)
ambience: 3.5
craveability: 1 for food; 5 for yuzu-miso
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
I'm renaming this to Bouley Exchange. Or maybe Bouley Reaction.
It's like a two-story whorehouse. Looks fine when you walk in, but once you climb those stairs, you'd better be weary of what's to come next.
So-so quality and stupidly expensive. If you have to go, go for lunch, and get the burger. It's spiced well.
People thought this was:
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
If you're looking for a casual but still chic dining experience in Tribeca, this is the place to go. After my first dinner here, I instantly fell in love with this little cozy, warm restaurant. Food is fantastic (I had the seafood salad and my dining partner had the scallops both of which were perfection) and our dessert (something terrine) made us speechless. Given the portions, the tab ($18 for the 3 scallops, $15 for the seafood salad and $11 for the dessert) is a bit more than your usual dinner in the neighborhood. But it's still worth it considering the level of service and great ambiance. Not to mention the clean restroom downstairs with individually rolled hand towels!!! (This immediately sold me out.)
The music is soft and contemporary (they were playing some John Mayer and like artists). Very soft-conversation accommodating. A great casual date spot. Definitely not a place to go with a large group. I'd say 4 max.
Ah.. I'm definitely going back soon.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
If you are looking for a good place that isn't too expensive, you could do a lot worse than Bouley Upstairs, but you could do a lot better too.
Pro: The sushi. Wow, really great. I go to sushi places a lot, and I always judge them on the basics, like a spicy tuna roll. My wife and I ordered a couple of rolls here, and it was unbelievable. Best thing of the night.
Con: The service. I knew it from second one when the coatcheck person freaked out on us when we tried to bring out coats upstairs (on principal, I just don't like to fork over money to someone for that stuff), and then the waiter upstairs demanded that we take our coats down and check them, saying that they were not allowed in the restaurant (despite half the people there having them on their chairs, wtf?). It never improved, as our waiter would disappear for long periods of time and seemed oblivious to any problems we had.
The space. So damn small, way smaller than I am used to even in NY. We got placed near the sushi bar, and I had guys chopping pieces all night right next to my head. Also, towards the end of the night, one of the sushi chefs ripped a huge fart that basically cleared out half the room. Disgusting.
The food. Mediocre. Don't think that you are getting food from Bouley or anything close.
The tasty sushi saved this place, but with an incompetent staff and terrible space, I would avoid.
A great little restaurant. Casual, no reservations, crowded , loud, entertaining. You can watch the food being prepared. You can mix great japanese food ( sushi or kaiseki) with great gourmet dishes. Mr. Makami will make you Japanese dishes to amaze you. On the other side of the restaurant you must try the scallops they are my favorite dish. The lambchops are great too, and the fish is fresh and prepared to perfection. David Bouley was the chef there when it opened but he has trained his chefs well in re-creating his dishes. A great spot, but fills up fast.
Yowza. This place is Un-F%^&ing-Believable.
The food is inventive, tasty, and so much fun. If I lived in Tribeca, I'd probably look to make this my neighborhood restaurant.
I shared five dishes with a friend, four of which were absolutely spectacular. Steamed foie gras (yes, steamed, NOT seared) prepared Japanese-style was like butter. Delicious. The asparagus salad with crab was a very interesting mix of flavors, the cheeseburger was insanely good (with a gargantuan beef patty), and the halibut was the best I've had in at least a year. The fifth dish, which was kinda average, was the black cod in miso (flavors were ordinary). Combined with the Danube Cocktail (champagne and elderflower), the mix of dishes was wonderful.
We dropped by on a Friday night with a group of four and no resi, and the host was quite accommodating. The dining room, so small and cramped, it is more like a nook than a full-blown room, is upstairs from the Bouley bakery and across the street from the more formal Bouley restaurant. That being said, there is a very cool, intimate feel to the place.
And the open kitchen is the best one I have seen. You can actually see the young staff prepare each dish with great flair balanced with care and precision. I found myself spending a lot of time watching the open kitchen. Great experience. Almost like a cooking class.
My few complaints (all minor) are as follows: the upstairs is so tiny, there is actually zero space to wait for your table, so you have to hang out in the bakery or outside, until your table is ready. And the staircase is like a zoo in a phone booth. People constantly coming up and down the stairs, bumping into each other, rubbing up against each other, etc. Also, while most of the menu were pretty decently priced, a few of the items did seem a bit unreasonable.
Still, I highly recommend the Upstairs.
The food was good but overpriced. Presentation was wonderful, portions (at brunch at least) were appropriate. I guess I was expecting more. The desserts all looked incredible and the three we sampled were all good.
Heard about Upstairs from friends and had to check it out on my recent trip to NYC. No reservations, a limited number of tables, and an open kitchen with adjacent sushi bar are an eclectic combination.
At first glance, the menu is confusing. You see a full sushi bar and menu, then there is an Italian/New American section in the menu - kind of a weird combination to have them both in the same room. But it seems to work. We didn't cross the streams, and ordered from the Italian-inspired menu and were extremely pleased.
We ordered the chicken liver crostini and the calamari salad for starters. The chicken liver is cooked to order and arrives in a rustic chopped form along with toast points. Very generous portion but it was delicious. The calamari are seared a la plancha, and tossed with a light and tangy salad - so good!
For our main courses I ordered the bigoli with farm-raised pork sausage (maybe Berkshire?) - that was out of this world. I am not a huge pork sausage fan but the flavors were incredible and yet very simple. My dining partner ordered the seafood salad - both portions extremely generous and incredibly well-priced. Actually couldn't believe how reasonable until we realized they make up for it on the wine list. Their was barely a bottle under $45. We ordered a $60/bottle which was good - not great - in great you were at $100+ at minimum.
Dessert was ok - the coupe Helene was not so special, but our friendly neighbors (the tables are next to each other) shared their chocolate creme brulee and that was to die for.
The kitchen worked like a well-oiled machine and was immaculate. You saw everything being cooked to order - and each copper pot was simmering with goodness.
What a find!
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Great brunch. I shared a bunch of dishes with my friends and everything was delish. We had the bouley bakery basket which had three types of croissants and a chocolate muffin which was the best i've ever had.
Other dishes we had was the bouley burger (excellent), cute little blueberry pancakes, waffles (came with cinnamon butter). I would definitely go back to try other dishes.
The place is small and clean. The open kitchen is really nice and tidy and did not stink up the place at all!
have only been for dinner and I actually prefer Upstairs to the regular Bouley. Unbeatable value, and everything I've had has been totally delicious. I do find wine by the glass to be overpriced, especially in contrast to how reasonably priced the food is, but whatev. The deal is you have to go early -- like really really early. It fills up really fast and can get pretty cramped.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
We took my friend here for her birthday --- big mistake. A pushy, sloppily dressed host told us there would be a 45-60 minute wait so we should go downstairs to have a drink. The waiting area in the bakery was cramped and all the tables were filled. Our other option was to sit in the dank, subterranean market area that reeked of raw fish. Since neither were comfortable, we opted to go to a bar next door.
A half-hour later we returned and checked in with the host who had misjudged our wait time and had passed us over. We were rudely told to go back downstairs to have a drink.
Finally, we were sat upstairs. Our first dishes seemed to come out on schedule; however, the entres were a disaster! The birthday girl never received hers! The server disappeared after dropping two of the dishes off, so my boyfriend had to go find someone to inform about the mix-up. We waited another 10 minutes for her fish to finally come out, while ours were getting cold. Again, we had to leave the table to find a staff member to help. This time, the host was informed. He was very ambivalent but offered to comp dessert. The dessert was nice, but it didn't make up for the fact that the entire dinner was ruined because of the awful service.
To make things worse, the server barely apologized for his oversight and never checked in to see how we were doing. When the bill came he tacked on 3 orders of Kobe beef that we never ordered and then had an attitude when we asked him to take it off!
My boyfriend spent most of the evening away from our table trying to get the host or server to fix things...it was so bizarre! For the amount of money we spent, I expected good (or at least decent service) but this place was SUB-PAR!
The food was well-prepared, but it was completely overshadowed by the atrocious service. They turned what was supposed to be a fun birthday celebration into a very stressful & unfulfilling experience. I left feeling bitter and ripped off, I will not be back.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Looking for great sushi in Tribeca without the club atmosphere (and outrageous prices) of Megu? Try David Bouley's casual hidden gem down the block instead. Across the street from his signature formal restaurant, Bouley pairs a lower level French bakery / patisserie / cheese shop with a first rate continental restaurant and sushi bar upstairs. The unusual combination works best if you approach Upstairs as a neighborhood bistro where you can enjoy either an excellent three course continental meal or an impressive, full omakase sushi dinner at the bar. Mixing and matching never quite seems to work - the rich sauces and full flavors of the continental dishes often overwhelm the lighter sushi plates. However, when tried separately on different occasions, both are outstanding. Before coming here, the sushi chefs plied their craft at some of Tokyo's finest sushi restaurants. On one late night visit, the great Bouley himself joined us at the sushi bar with his charming fiancee, and clearly admired the chefs' talent. And if they warm up to you, the chefs will be sure to entertain you with stories from their adventures working together in Japan. So slide into one of the highly sought after seats, order an omakase meal and put yourself in the chefs' good hands. Or, if you're in the mood for a tasty European meal, grab a table and enjoy a nice glass of sauvignon blanc while you watch David prepare one of his delicious fresh fish dishes in the open kitchen. You can't go wrong either way. And if you pick up a fresh baguette or pastry from the bakery on the way out, you'll be set for a delicious breakfast, too.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (2)
the chatham day cod is great. so is the burger. i accidentally ran my mouth about sitting outside when bouley was sitting right there the other night. awesome.
sorry, in case you're reading mr. david bouley. i owe you a margaux for that. ...and i must say, you and your wife are some of the best looking older people i've ever seen.
enjoyable enjoyable place. this was my second time venturing to the upstairs of bouley bakery. again it was my intention of having brunch at bouley but when i saw the prix fixe brunch price of $48, it has a way of staving my hunger. good thing bouley bakery is just across the street.
the menu is very simple. waffles, pancakes, granola...and there's heavier fare for those interested...like steak, various sausages and meats. there was no wait for our party of four. though beware, the upstairs is tiny! (i love the open kitchen!) i'd say just enough room for maybe about 15-20 guests. we sat at the bar overlooking decadent trays of pastry. at times, we wondered if those pastries were for the taking, as a trade off for sitting at the bar. i had the granola with yogurt and fresh berries. the granola was of the low fat variety which was nice...and the berries were, obviously, super fresh. and the granola was nice. it had such a subtle but distinguishable honey flavor. i find in most restaurants the granola is either plain or so subtlely flavored that it is over-powered by the plain yogurt or berries. but i did enjoy bouley's version of the granola/yogurt/berry combo. and for a beverage i had the kiwi/red guava juice which was nice. there was more kiwi than guava but it was refreshing nonetheless. the drink reminds me of the green stuff rene russo drank in the thomas crowne affair.
and what tops this place off is on your way out, stop by the bakery downstairs for more of that good food to go...i didn't because i was full. but you bet i would if i lived near bouley; bouley's prepared foods beat dean & deluca's any day.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (2)
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed...
Related Lists
-
all the way downtown
these places are walkable from my place near the… -
Celebrity Chef…
Some are amazing and some are not! My criteria for… -
Nothing fancy but....
Some of my favorite, tshirt-and-jeans dining… -
Top Restaurants
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Hot and New
- Pierre Loti Wine Bar
10 reviews
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Gramercy-Flatiron
- Death and Company
101 reviews
Neighborhood: Manhattan/East Village
- Burger Joint
223 reviews
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Theater District
- Per Se
71 reviews
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Hell's Kitchen
- White Rabbit Lounge
62 reviews
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Lower East Side
