Balthazar

Snagged a reservation for 1pm brunch indoors at Balthazar and it was a good first time experience. Despite the lines outside the restaurant we were quickly seated after speaking to the host.

The restaurant really feels like a historic place with the big red booths and the worn glass on the inner walls. It definitely gives off fancy vibes despite the paper table coverings and kitchen cleaning napkins.

Service was quick and efficient, we were offered water and cocktail orders were taken almost immediately.

I had to get the onion soup and it was cheesy and flavorful, while also being quite filling. The eggs in purgatory made me think of shakshuka and didn't really have any standout flavors. The croque madam my partner had was more enjoyable with the melted cheese and fried egg on top.

Overall it was a nice experience for a Sunday brunch but if I returned I would want a more substantial entree than the eggs.

Service is great, and this place is warm and beautiful, something to behold as you dine in front of giant mirrors that make the large, high-ceiling space feel grand. I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner by a client, who had made 6 pm reservations--no waiting. The place filled to the brim, with a line out the front, within the hour.

I couldn't decide what to order, so I asked the waitress, and she pointed me to the duck confit, which turned out to be disappointing that night--chewy with a flavorless sauce and a soggy skin. I wish I'd ordered the halibut or another simpler dish, maybe next time. The starters were good.

We are on a trip from LA and staying around the corner. We walked in at just before midnight and they welcomed us as if it were 9 pm. We ordered a fantastic glass of sparkling rose and salmon gravlax which was superb -- very fresh, perfect!

The next day we came back after Wicked with our NYer friends and ordered the burger, mussels, lobster pasta, and salmon. Again, they hit the mark and it was so much fun! Great atmosphere, service, open late, and the food is delicious as always! This place is just as I remembered it back in the 2000s.

I wanted to find a place where I could dine outside downtown because it was so nice out today, and I felt like having a really good meal while just relaxing and people watching. So I had a solo brunch here today, well, not really solo if you count dining with your dog. But I had some of the friendliest servers I've experienced in the city. They were all very attentive and kind. They even offered me a champagne on the house that is given to solo diners, which I thought is very cute. All of the food that I got, the onion soup, the bread, and the king salmon were all delicious. The atmosphere is very lively and nice for people watching. When I was finished, I tied my dog up to a post so I can use the restroom and the servers offered to watch my dog for me, however they're very dog friendly there and even said I could take the dog inside if I really wanted to. Great place!

Balthazar is a trendy NY restaurant that celebrities go to. In the popular 90s show "Sex and the City" they modeled a restaurant after Balthazar in one of their episodes but called it Balzac instead. It's hard to get a reservation here which was featured in the episode. I had to make my reservation a month in advance, and I was able to snag a 5pm table. A-list celebs like the Kardashians, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Anna Wintour etc. have all dined here. They also supposedly banned James Conden from the restaurant haha.

Service was excellent from the moment we walked through the door. Their host and servers were all nice and friendly. They serve bread and butter upon seating. I ordered Steak Frites and a glass of wine and both were perfection. My cousin ordered the Porcini Risotto, and he liked his food as well. It was such an enjoyable meal and definitely lived up to the hype. I'm so glad we got to dine here, when we were planning our NY trip Balthazar was at the top of our list of places to visit. If you get the chance, try them out when you're in NYC.

Good was great, and service was impeccable, but the market up on the drinks $21 for a Bloody Mary that's bloody expensive. That wasn't even with call liquor! Look $80 for two OK, but $117 before tip... really! It was good not that good.

I came here with a friend recently on a rainy weekend for lunch. We were told it would be an hour+ wait to get inside seating, so we opted for the much more available outdoor seating. There are tents and some heaters, but definitely still some draft cause the tent flaps are left open. Not super ideal.

We got the steak tartar as an appetizer, and it was ok. Definitely over-seasoned with mustard and horseradish, to the point where the actual beef flavor itself was mostly hidden away.

I got the chicken paillard. Again, it was just ok. The sauce didn't bind well to the chicken, so the chicken felt under-seasoned. The chicken was cooked well overall and was quite juicy and tender, but at times, it almost felt a bit on the rarey side, with a snap and crunch to it that I don't expect from my chicken. The best part of this dish was honestly the caramelized tomatoes. Provided a super sweet juicy pop.

Service was fairly average; it took us quite a while to get served + to get our check. Given that it's certainly not cheap, probably won't be back again!

We came for our 3:30 reservation and the place was packed, but we were seated right away. I would have hated to have an outdoor reservation, the throes of people walking past on the street would have been so annoying. The kitchen closes at 4 so we put in our full order. We started off with escargot and the onion soup. The onion soup was good, but very salty, which I guess is normal for onion soup. The escargot was good and super buttery and hot. We saved our bread for the mussels, which again, seemed to have a lot of butter. The omelette, again, had a lot of butter, so much you could actually taste it, which I've never experienced when eating an omelette. The food was all good, but maybe I'm just not used to having so much butter, because my stomach was feeling pain afterwards.

Balthazar is a soho scene for many many years, and I've been coming here for many years.
First things first - the bar is always full. There will be a wait, but I like sitting at the bar. There's always someone interesting to meet and it's a higher caliber of people, random celebs here and there etc. The bartenders are nice and remember people that dine there.
I was upset they took the bone marrow off the menu a few years ago, so I usually come for the French onion soup, which I love, but last nights soup wasn't good. The cheese melt wasn't the same and it was a little oddly clumpy and stretchy at the same time (if that makes sense) I haven't been here in a few months so I remember how it used to taste, and what I received last night wasn't the same.
Maybe it was just an off night, or maybe the restaurant quality of food is on a decline? I won't know until I try again.
I've had other dishes here, but I mainly come for the soup.

5 stars for atmosphere, 4 for price/value. Niçoise salad and French onion soup were really good - just not worth the inflated cost, but to be expected here