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Categories: Creperies, French [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Flatiron, Murray HillA fantastic three-course menu for $42 (click here to view: http://tinyurl.com/yjg...) served straight through the day.
28th St-Broadway (R, W)
28th St-Park Ave S (6)
33rd Street (PATH)
Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
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Was taken there by a friend and was duly impressed. Food was amazing... had salmon with lentils and brussel sprouts. Prepared perfectly.
Prices were very reasonable and the service was awesome. Quality food. Could become a regular for me. Give it a try!
I was pleasantly surprised with this place. I live a few blocks away and never really thought to dine here until a friend came to visit and I was just too lazy to think of anywhere else to go for lunch. Since the weather was nice, there were a couple of tables set up outside, though one was teetering on top of one of those basement doors, which kinda freaked me out.
I took advantage of the prix fixe lunch that consisted of a glass of house wine (decent), a choice of two types of sandwiches (I choose the goat cheese and sun-dried tomato galette - delicious) and a nutella crepe (always a winner). All for $16, which is a great deal since my friend ordered a la carte and paid more than double!
The staff is pretty friendly; a man who appeared to be the manager (I hope he was, otherwise he was way too intrusive) came by a few times to make sure we were enjoying our meals. I sat at the bar (the prix fixe is only for bar-seating, sorry booth-lovers) and they have a nice flat-screen to watch TV whilst lunching.
The best part of this place is that their menu highlights which items are gluten-free. A close friend of mine was diagnosed with Celiac (allergy to wheat gluten, which is in ALMOST EVERYTHING) and ever since I've always kept a look-out for restaurants that offer things she can eat. Though she lives in Virginia, she'll be visiting in a few weeks and I've already suggested this place to her; she's super excited.
This place is a refuge from the Midtown lunch crappity crap fest of sameness.
It was solid, if unspectacular the first go round, but it looks promising enough for a return.
I really wanted to like this place... But wanting it and it happening are unfortunately two different things. The bartender was really cool (we ate at the bar) but the place was just so-so.
And immediately opening myself to perhaps justified barbs from Bretonians (?) everywhere, can I say that the galette, at least in its current form at Bar Breton, even if its great, is really not that good? I had the 'house smoked salmon' and being a smoked fish kind of guy, the fish was excellent but the whole thing was just rather plain. Secondly, someone's got to tell them that the thing they served it on was designed expressly for finger foods only - if you cut your food with a fork and knife (as is necessary), it leaves scratch marks on the plate and has the ever-pleasing sound of nails on a chalkboard.
My friend had the croque monsieur and the bartender said, "just so you know, its a little small" giving us the impression that it would be a smaller piece of bread which would make sense for bar food. However... it was a series of crusted pieces of what appeared to be rolled phylo dough with ham on the inside. Very strange - basically not a croque monsieur at all and although innovative, again, kind of boring and not at all described well.
The last strike against them, unfortunately and perhaps not their fault, is that they close really early. I got there at 9:50 and was told the kitchen was closing in 10 minutes. Really? Am I in Wisconsin? That was actually what I said which was kind of rude but I was just surprised, in NYC, to be getting the early closing on a Thursday night. The bartender later noted that it was just that the neighborhood is very 'work' related so they're packed starting at 5p but by 10p it doesn't make sense for them to have the staff around. Shame on us NYers...
Having been a devotee of Fler de Sel, I knew that my first dinner here would be satisfying and delicious. It was. Chef Renaud is cooking and preparing Fleur de Sel meals at bargain basement prices. Interesting menu allows for both light and heavy eating. I loved the galettes. The pork loin was divine with puree of sweet potatos.
Quite frankly, you really can't go wrong with any dish. In these times, the prices are very reasonable for the quality meal. Bravo.
The galette with nutella and powdered sugar is amazing
Nice bistro feel to this Flatiron restaurant, which has a good-sized selection of gluten-free items… Read more »
ICE-CREAM CART ONLY............
Heard about butterscotch ice-cream. This is the summer of the ice-cream cart and ain't we ice-cream lovers lucky, more homemade ice-cream abounds.
This one is pretty cheap- two bucks for a small one with two scoops.
I tried the passionfruit and settled on chocolate and of course butterscotch.
The chocolate was a light one- mildly flavored and butterscotch had a good flavor though there were a few ice chips in the ice-cream. The butterscotch could have had a richer sugary flavor, but all in all, keep the homemade ice-cream churning.
Everything is so cute here from the water glasses with red flowers to the blue bread basket and… Read more »
We had brunch here on a Saturday. One of the better places in the neighborhood.
Have a cup of cider. The cloudy, sharply appley brew served in sturdy china takes me back to trips around the working bars of northern French towns like St. Vaast la Hougue. Blue Gauloises smoke, fog, the smell of wet dogs. Of course, Bar Breton on Fifth Avenue is quite a bit smarter than that, but the cups are a nice touch.
And cider is a suitable preface to a meal based around the savory buckwheat galettes which are a specialty of Brittany, the north-west province of France where chef-owner Cyril Renaud was born. Sipping thoughfully, one can contemplate chef Renaud's career trajectory, which has taken him from the kitchen at La Caravelle - one of the grandes dames of New York French restaurants - by way of his own fairly formal and fairly expensive Fleur de Sel, to the simple bar-dining room of Bar Breton, a pancake house with ambition, which opens at 7am Monday thru Friday and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Bar Breton opened as a casual alternative to Fleur de Sel, but with the latter's shuttering is now Renaud's only kitchen, and there he is in his whites supervising dinner service. There is no schadenfreude in these remarks: how many of us are situated today exactly as we expected to be a few years ago? The good news is that Bar Breton offers far more than pancakes - not that the pancakes are anything but good.In fact, one thing Bar Breton currently offers which should be of interest to all gourmands about town is a $35 prix fixe. So what? Well, it's a four course $35 prix fixe, two choices in each course, and it's almost all excellent. One dish which didn't sparkle was the trout escabeche, the fish a little dry, the slice of potato undercooked, the salad somewhat vinegary. '
No other complaints, though. Suckling pig and foie terrine presented strongly contrasting textures in a neat block, the strong flavor of the pig bits setting it apart from the standard foie torchon. Apple and radish salad on the side was much appreciated too.
Second courses were a juicy piece of grilled dorade, which made up for the uninteresting trout, with a subtle fennel glaze, and a curiosity described as a crab lasagne: thin layers of buckwheat galette substitute for pasta, and the crab was tasty, although the orange foam lapping the dish seemed to be there more for looks than flavor.Braised lamb shank galette was apparently too dark to photograph. Tender but unfatty meat, wrapped in a dark shroud, and dressed with good turnips and carrots. There was a slice of apple in there too, very Breton but I thought a little out of place. The galette is half-sized in the prix fixe, but I was quite stuffed at this point in any case.
And then I really liked the desserts. I even liked the dessert with "Nutella." Here again galettes are used inventively to create slightly chewy little ravioli stuffed with everyone's favorite chocolate-like dessert substance. Dusted with sugar, the dish was - surprisingly - not unduly sweet. (Galettes are also used in one dish as "papardelle" with a beef ragout.) Even better, the custard-in-a-pot which looks like (and essentially is) crème brûlée, but which also recalls a traditional Brittany dessert called, I believe, a far, which includes dried prunes. The prunes here were sublimely re-hydrated with booze. Delicious.
With a $20 bottle of cava, two people can dine copiously here for barely $100. Stray from the prix fixe, and one might be tempted by a tripe gratin or by daily specials like rabbit stuffed with foie, sweetbreads, or the Sunday night veal breast. No steak-frites here (although yes, there's a burger).
Now maybe I ordered the wrong things off of the menu (though the waiter recommended the dishes ordered....) but I didn't love what I had. Had the Green Bean Salad with Phyllo Crusted Shrimp - only 3 little shrimp for $15 and the salad was way overdressed and way under flavored. Also had the Smoked Salmon Gallette which I was excited about because the gallette's are gluten free but I was less than impressed with the flavor. The smoked salmon wasn't very tasty and the filling was just uninspired. My visit to Bar Breton left me uninspired to go back.....
Went back for brunch and had the broadway galette (open face buckwheat crepe with spinach coulis, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes) which was everything I had been hoping for, super tasty, very filling. Much more flavorful and satisfying than the blue cheese and pear galette I had ordered previously. My only complaint is that one side of the crepe was slightly burnt and crispy crunchy as if the crepe batter was spread too thin. Aside from that, very happy with the galette.
Service this time was prompt and polite up until we paid our bill. Then we couldn't seem to get the waitress' attention. We were trying to ask her to take a picture, but she just kept walking by us.
Regardless, infinitely better experience this time than last.
I was very disappointed with my experience at Bar Breton. The food was mediocre and the service was… Read more »
The staff is friendly, and I like their food. I eat here fairly regularly and like their burger, the buckwheat crepes and eggs benedict are always good at brunch, and they have a nice happy hour. However, they no longer let me sit with my dog outside, and their version of a bloody mary is a bit bland for those who care.
The food has always been spot on, and it is a great addition to the neighborhood.
We're staying at the Ace Hotel, and found out that the Breslin is still another week from offering dinner service. We were looking for a nice, romantic spot for dinner, pre-Broadway show, and this area is kind of devoid of anything but Korean restaurants and tiny Indian joints. We passed by and stepped into Bar Breton, with low expectations. But the food was quite good and the service was outstanding--esp. for a restaurant that is 2/3 a bar. A great place for a romantic dinner in the neighborhood!
We came here for brunch the morning of my sister's college graduation. I felt slightly overdressed for brunch on a Friday, but it's New York, you can wear whatever you want, right? No one really gives you a second look no matter what you're wearing, it's great!
Anyway, the service was very nice here. It was a hot day and we chose to sit in the window table in an attempt to get a breeze. Little did we know that a paper shredder truck would sit at the curb for about fifteen minutes. That thing was LOUD! Not the restaurant's fault, though they did apologize for it.
Mimosas were delish, the bread and butter very fresh, and my gallette was super tasty! I had one with goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and spinach, and yum! I ate the entire thing, and secretly wanted to get one of the chocolate croissants for dessert, but I resisted.
When Bar Breton accepted my reservation request for 7 during Sunday brunching hours, little did they know they were agreeing to host my Facebook event "Ladies Who Brunch"--a gathering of my sister and I, my mom, my mom's two cousins and their two daughters. It made my mom feel incredibly cool to be invited to her first Facebook event (PS if you, too, have parents on FB, you can join the group Adult Children of Parents on Facebook. They're there to help), and it was an easy way to get in touch with my second cousins. Plus, I love over-planning.
Bar Breton handled the influx of estrogen like pros. One of my second cousins had just gotten engaged, so we kept shooing away our waiter until we had satisfactorily ogled her giant diamond from every angle and heard each minute detail of the proposal. The BB people didn't seem to mind at all, and when we finally did get around to ordering, they dealt with our changes and substitutions without any attitude.
From start to finish, the food was great. We began with a pastry basket--a fresh sampler of croissants (plain, almond and chocolate), scones, muffins and danish, almost all of which we managed to divide in seven and then devour in approximately 90 seconds. Next up, BB's specialty galettes, which are loose buckwheat crepes wrapped around savory or sweet fillings like spinach and mushroom, chorizo and onion confit, or smoked salmon and horseradish creme fraiche, all with delicately cooked eggs on top. Delicious, and a nice change from standard brunch fare.
Now, put seven women together with a menu that includes a Nutella crepe, and there's no use resisting the inevitable. It will be ordered, along with a lemon sugar crepe, and a plate of profiteroles to round things out. And do you know what those nice BB people did? They cut our crepes in seven, without us even having to ask! The profiteroles were left to us to destroy, which we did happily.
I had a great dinner here: cider, smoked salmon galette, creme brulee, and coffee. It was a little expensive, but on the other hand, everything felt amazingly well-constructed and I felt full and happy after the meal. Definitely my favorite restaurant in this immediate area.
wat a friggin awesome location for this new venture for chef cyril! the entire sidewalk to himself... no competitors around... awesome happy hour 4-8pm daily... outdoor seating!
so we ordered a couple of things that i thought we'd be totally full but actually turned out alright!
- fav was the shrimp salad - shrimp was cooked just right! lil mini peas were a nice thing to chew on!
- pig and foie gras terrine reminded me of something my mom makes at home... actually was ok with that... flavor was there but just reminded me too much of home to really appreciate it
- complimentary gallette Fourme D'ambert Blue Cheese, Anjou Pear,
Honey Pecans - i actually liked this cuz i like cheese... but it wasn't too cheesy and actually solidified after awhile
dinner - both got gallettes
- i got the salmon one which i just realized i already had at the city harvest tasting and liked it... the texture of the gallette reminds me of the ethiopian bread they serve... i guess maybe its the other way around and thats where ethiopians got their influence!
- friend got the lasagne gallete which he loved... very refreshing tons of veggies...
overall i need to come back again... the burger looked humongous!!! will definitely try other things on the menu!
service is also really friendly too!
I wasn't horribly disappointed not because i came with an extremely high expectation, but was somewhat disappointed that the crepes from a brittany restaurant wasn't as good as it should be.
Having tried the sweet crepes from Fleur De Sel, I couldn't help but wonder why the quality wasn't there for Bar Breton. I used to frequent a Brittany cafe somewhere overseas that was opened by a brittany chef, crepes were made right in the center of the cafe and boy they were fantastic. heavenly. everything was crepes. sweet and savory.
croissant, however, was really good(had 2, took home 2). hot chocolate was not bad. I had chorizo crepe while my friend had the salmon one. don't ever underestimate the flatness of the crepes because it doesn't translate into little. they fill you up! ended off with lemon sugar crepe. you get actual lemon so they're sour. sweet and sour.. kinda nice.
Was fine. Good if you're in the neighborhood.
Did the Restaurant Week options and it was good - Shrimp on Cucumber Salad; Cauliflower Soup and Skate with Lobster Sauce. Dessert was my favorite: Nutella Crapes.
Strange observation: The teeny-tiny pour for wine. Bizarre.
I wanted to like this place. The front door people were lovely, but the bar service was slow and disinterested. Overcharged me on a clearly states menu item and had to argue to get it corrected.
Food was not that interesting. Too bad, hoped for better, but wont be back
Love the burger! Great meat and yummy gruyere on top is the way to go. It's not a small burger so I felt that it was worth it. If you go that is what you should get. I guess the only reason to go would be because it might be close to your work or a meeting place of some kind. The bar was packed by 7pm which we took as a good sign. All in all, the crepes weren't anything I would go back for. And the services was eh.
Try it if you find you need a burger and you are on 5th ave near 28th street
My waitress was all over the place despite it not being busy on a quiet Monday night. Bar Breton reminds me of someone's mismatched but comfortable house, and she, the hostess who couldn't get the party together.
Cold pear cider softened the mood, however, and I was ready to order.
My friend and I decided to share two appetizers: the fish and cheese croquette balls (fab) and the buckwheat galette with suckling pig, purple mustard, and watercress. All I could taste was chewy buckwheat as it smothered its filling ingredients in a blanket of grain. Thoroughly disappointing, but the slate it comes on is nice.
After awhile, our entrees arrived. My friend continued on with the buckwheat theme, getting a galette filled wih ham, swiss cheese, and fried egg. Somehow, the tables turned and we were met with a delicious version of buckwheat, perfectly balancing its innards to create something great.
I, on the other had, went for the wild striped bass, sat atop a bed of grilled endive and drizzled with balsamic. Bacon added to the smokiness, but really all I cared about was the endive.
On to desserts, naturally. Liz E. never strays far from her true love. Pretty stuffed *not sure why* I still went ahead and got the prune armagnac creme brulee which had a delightful filling but a lackluster sugar crust. I could literally lift it off the custard, fold it into a chewy caramel formation, and pop it into my mouth *but I refrained.*
My friend got the better dessert : banana cream profiteroles topped with almond cookie crusts and drizzled with coffee sauce. Each time I pierced the little banana bombs with my fork, a smoosh of cream would flood the plate...but how heavenly it was!
Despite the excellent profiteroles, the endive, and the entree galette, there was just something missing from this place. Atmosphere was cute enough, but our waitress was too scatterbrained and not knowledgable, and there were too many culinary misses to make up for the "right-ons." Oh well.
YELP PEOPLE: Stop rating venues as being wheelchair accessible or not if you have no clue what that means. Seriously, that's what the "Not sure" radio button is for. This restaurant has a big step out front and another even bigger one inside if you want to get to the back room. Also, all of the tables (or almost all from what I can remember), were booths with another step up to get to the table, so even if someone props you up the front step you can't really sit at the table unless you go up the bigger step in the back. Clearly the redesign didn't take the ADA into account, but a portable ramp would fix the bulk of the problem.
Major props to the bus boys for getting me and my scooter into the place so I could join my friends for happy hour but we would've chosen to go elsewhere had we known it'd be such a hassle.
I can't comment on the food as we were only there for drinks but the drinks were good and the service was good as well.
I love galettes and crepes of all types. My family made crepes at home frequently since my parents lived in Normandy and Brittany for several years. I also was exposed to the wonderful hard ciders from that region as well. So I always love to try crepes or galettes when ever I see an opportunity to try a new place. I was excited when I heard of Bar Breton and the pedigree of the owners. As a result of my high expectations, Bar Breton was a bit of a let let down. I still recommend it friends as there are not many places to find this style in NY however the savory galettes were not as flavorful as I had hoped. They do have their ciders however and that is a very positive thing.
Bar Breton, a brasserie featuring Breton galettes (savory crepes), is Chef Cyril Renaud's newest contemporary French concept. The restaurant's "T-shaped" front room evokes the feeling of being inside of a narrow railroad car until you make your way towards the larger space in back. Two and four-top booth-seating is reserved for smaller parties, while mismatched tables and chairs are available for groups. The restaurant's space is comfortable and casual, and the sexy French background music is both transporting and charming.
In hopes for a leisurely Sunday brunch, Di and I met at Bar Breton at 11:30am and were promptly seated in a cozy 2-person booth. From the two hostesses to our waitress, everyone was friendly, patient and accommodating.
On the premise of saving both money and calories, I chose to forego my usual 2 glasses of Bellini's and drank water instead. For my entrée, I ordered a bowl of granola with fresh berries, honey and Greek yogurt; something so simple, yet it always tastes much better at a restaurant than at home. Thick, unflavored yogurt was topped with stewed berries (blueberries are what I remembered seeing most of), perfectly toasted plain granola and a drizzle of honey. The texture of the crunchy granola blended with the juicy fruit and creamy yogurt was playful.
I wish Bar Breton much success and hope to return for a more substantial meal sometime in the future. I can't stop fantasizing about what their Mont St. Michel galette (savory buckwheat crepe filled with sunny-side-up eggs, black forest ham and gruyere cheese) and Brioche French Toast (stuffed with caramel ganache...are you kidding me!?) would taste like!
We went on a Sunday night and had a lovely time and a delicious dinner. The savory galettes that people seem to find so-so we didn't try until desert and we enjoyed the buckwheat flavor with honey and whipped cream.
The sardine app was very tasty, a hint of perfection.
The marinated pork chop was tasty with a nice sauce but it didn't seem marinated so much as nicely cooked and "sauced" - a small and perhaps unimportant distinction.
The Rabbit with orange foam and pineapple was excellent, with the pineapple being a great foil to the rabbit. it sounds odd but it totally works and the carrot foam was very witty.
Many other dishes sounded great but will have to wait until a return visit. Brunch sounds amazing and i want to try the bloody mary with the sardine on top!
Desserts were all very tasty.
The vibe was terrific, calm, and friendly and mostly tourist free. The decor and lighting was soft and warm.
What really struck us - and note that we live close by but a tad farther west in the restaurant wasteland of 7th ave and the high 20's - is that this place is totally legit, pro's in the kitchen, with a great ambiance.
If you live in the area, and you don't want a tourist joint or a 6th avenue singles place that's next to those newish (already so old) high rises then consider this place away from the stress of NYC - a little bit of France.
Also note they have a 4 course tasting menu for $35!
(See Edit below) My personal peeve and if i mention it in other reviews i must mention it here. I am totally against televisions in restaurants that want to be known as restaurants - I don't know why the trend seems to be to have flat screened TV's over bars, but its a bad idea and i encourage Bar Breton to ditch it. [EDIT] The TV is now not always on except at Happy Hour, and anyone can request it to be turned off and they happily comply.
[UPDATE]
On our most recent trip the TV got turned off and we had some new dishes which were great. The leek soup with green apple and crab ravioli with parsley oil was bursting with flavor and reminds be of Fleur de Sel, Bar Breton's high end predecessor.
The crepe wrapped salmon with fennel and a beet reduction sauce was a great and unexpected combination of flavors that totally worked.
The beef bourguignon, lovingly presented captured a traditional dish at its best while infusing it with a perfect twist, skinless green grapes which added a hint of sweetness and a foil to the traditional use of pearl onions, one along side the other - a juxtaposition of sweet and savory.
For dessert a pot de lait topped with a chicory gelee: sublime, not overly sweet, creamy and the chicory gelee a seductive topping for what I would describe as a dessert for discriminating palettes. We scarfed it.
The profiteroles with a puree of banana (instead of custard or creme) topped with a chocolate sauce is another example of a chef who's thinking ahead and re-imagining classics in ways that are outside the box and yet satisfying.
Bottom line: we love it even more and will be back again and again. Bar Breton is a neighborhood gem: authentic, flavor filled food, very reasonable prices and an overall ambiance that takes you out of NYC and transports you to someplace sublime.
I completely agree with Madison M.'s review.
My friends and I all got galettes, and none of us were terribly impressed. Buckwheat is kind of an acquired taste.
We, too, shared a nutella crepe for dessert. I've definitely had better.
Our waiter was also one of the most awkward individuals I have ever encountered in my life. Though he tried to be helpful by moving my coat from the back of my chair to the empty seat next to my friend. He also awkwardly decided to move my other friend's coat even though hers wasn't touching the floor. Then, he came back about five minutes later to move her scarf. Why was this necessary? No idea.
What a strange dining experience. On the upside, the decor was really cute!
Bar Breton is the next phase for chef Cyril Renaud , who's Fleur de Sel closed earlier in the year .
The chef's talent has never been in question , his resume is filled with Michelin stars , and his food is always great .
This down-market bistro is more in line with New York's economic climate , and Renaud's timing is quite good . The menu is a bit sparse as he finds his bistro style , so it is a bit unnerving to say the least.
The bistro is a bit tight and small , and while I enjoyed my food , the space and service need an upgrade
I recently tried their prix-fixe lunch. It's good value. My corn soup was delicately delicious. The fish had some amonia taste in some parts - must have been the fish. The crepes were great. I wish I had another. I'm keeping this restaurant in mind to bring friends to because it's good food and relatively well priced.
I seem to rarely set foot on Fifth Avenue but a friend told me about Bar Breton so we decided to check it out for brunch. Turns out to be a new venture from Cyril Renaud of Fleur de Sel. We both had a cocktail and the Breton galettes, but with different fillings. Can't say I was blown away, but the ingredients were good quality and fresh and there's really not too much you can do to make a galette impressive; it's French comfort food. The homemade croissants were good. The presentation was nice and it's a cute place with nice lighting. The service was slow but friendly. They were busy, but they either need to add more staff or hire some with more experience. Overall, a solid find and I will definitely come back to check out the dinner menu.
decor: cute & cozy - loved some of the lights and the space in the back. love love loooved the water glasses with the red designs. *i want one*
food: buckwheat crepes (galletes) are their thing with about 6-7 different varieties to choose from. i had the chorizo, egg, and onion one -- very tasty. my friend had a very vegetarian one (spinach, cheese, egg) which personally tasted a tad bland to me, but mebe thats bc i cant live without meat. *nom nom nom* o~ but they had delicious thinly sliced applewood smoked bacon -- MMMM~!!! so good. and the pom frites were seasoned and so tasty. I heard that their croissants were super delicious so I one but they were more buttery than crispy.
overall: cute place that wasnt part of the usual 'brunch neighborhood'. prices could get a tad expensive, but I appreciated the diversity
I had the lamb with winter vegetables galette. It was fine. The shrimp with phyllo dough and cucumber salad appetizer was excellent. The service was so-so, but they do have cider in a ceramic cup
Don't be fooled by the creperie label. This place is more than just galettes, but the crab galette app was phenomenal. The duck, cod and pork dishes were well flavored, but not over-flavored, and the nutella galette dessert was just ridonk. Fairly tasty cocktails as well. For you ambiance types, this place does remind you of a French bistro.
This is a hidden jewel in a neighborhood that is more a less a culinary wasteland. had lunch here and everything was great. the crepes were terrific, as was the orange and endive salad. skate main course also gets very high marks. a nice space and very professionally run. highly recommend!
My wife and I were regulars at Fleur de Sel - Chef Renaud's original venture - and were distraught that the Chef decided to close shop due to the recession. We had been to Bar Breton once, just after it had opened, and while we thought it was pretty good, it really didn't have the chef's full attention. Cyril is now in the restaurant every day and it shows.
I think Chef Renaud may make the best sauces in the city - intense, balanced, aromatic. I have been coming for lunch and have yet to get past the braised short rib galette on the prix fixe. which comes with one of these soul-satisfying reductions. My wife has ventured further into the menu, usually choosing fish, which Bar Breton prepares admirably to the perfect level of doneness, usually with one of these delicious sauces. I also LOVE the soups - the leek and the squash soups are excellent.
I have begged Chef Renaud to add the goat cheese ravioli and apple crepes from Fleur de Sel to the the Bar Breton menu - so far, no dice, but I'll keep trying.
Went to Cafe Breton last night with a friend and found it to be a totally comfortable charming place. I tried 2 gallettes (like a crepe) and a squid appetizer, which was amazing! The cider was terrific served in these cute little red and white mugs. I want my kitchen to look like this place. I think even frenchies would love it!! The only regret I had was that I was too full for dessert, b/c I saw a chocolate one float by me that looked delicious!
Very good crepes, a little on the pricey side for what looks like a small serving though they are deceptively filling (~$14-15 per crepe, one should be enough for a brunch entree). The chorizo filled crepe was not what I was expecting, but was still tasty. The chorizo was cut into matchsticks, I guess to keep the "flatness" of the crepe. It also had an over easy egg. Very hearty, very good. The smoked salmon crepe was also very simple but nice strong clean flavors. Restaurant is cute, typical french country meets Manhattan yuppie (would guess that regulars at Friend of a Farmer would be very comfortable here). Service was terrible, though I think it was specifically our waitress who was seriously miserable. Hostess and busboys were nice and efficient. But our waitress was seriously the worst, slamming down glasses, the menus, the check. Nasty attitude too. Which is sad, because otherwise it was quite pleasant.
I went to Bar Breton for dinner with my husband and two friends. I wouldn't say that it was "great", but I would rate it a "good with potential". The food was hearty and rustic and none of us walked away dissatisfied. I had a galette filled with gruyere, black forest ham and egg, which was okay. Everyone else had burgers, which were better. We shared a nutella filled crepe for dessert.
We weren't dissatisfied, but we also weren't jumping for joy and the new find. The waitress placed the food menus at the table, forgot the drink menus and then hovered until we made our selections. Throughout the entire meal wait staff were on top of us, which was annoying. The line was crossed between attentive, fast-paced service and waitstaff becoming a nuisance.
I think the service problems will work themselves out and the food was good enough to bring me back, but mainly because I live nearby.
I went to try NYC Reataurant week for lunch/brunch there since it is a sister restaurant of Fluer de sel which I love but $$$. I tried the special menu and it had some decent choices. Not fantastic as all others say but the place is pretty casual but wouldn't say over-attentive wait staffs. I had sardine appetizer, lamb shank galette and sugar crepe. I found the sardine and lamb shank pretty tasty and reminds me of Fleur de sel in some sense about the richness in tastes. The crepe was just ordinary, a bit dry. The deco of the place definitely reminds me of petit creparies in Paris where something like a whole block is filled with crepe places in different theme one next to another. My friend got a free glass of beer for some reason from the house so I am not complaining. If you want to try more casual without spending over the top Fleur de sel (you easily spend $100 per person without wine and sometimes leave hungry) and have a love for crepes, I recommend Bar breton.
friend had the crab gallette which she sent back (it tasted off)
i had the chicken which was fine (uninteresting though)
overpriced, not horrible food, but ordinary.
i know this area is a desert for good food, but this place isn't an oasis.
Live Music and Drink Specials!
Brooklyn, NY
Happy Hour !
Neighborhood: Long Island City
Neighborhood: TriBeCa
Category: Restaurants
Brooklyn, NY
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Category: Greek
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Category: American (New)
