You’re spoilt for choice for dinner in New York City, but of all the places I ate, Balthazar took the cake. Strawberry short cake, to be precise. Keith McNally’s Paris-in-New-York restaurant in SoHo has a brassy, old-world elegance that sets it apart. I seriously love this place, and I recommend it to all of my friends visiting the city – dinner at Balthazar is one of my favourite things to do in New York City.
PS – Check out my SoHo neighbourhood guide for more recommendations
Born in Paris, bred in New York
Balthazar oozes atmosphere without trying too hard. It’s as if pools of golden light, slick red leather banquette seating and walls plastered with antique mirrors are the most natural thing in the world. Balthazar is always busy, so we booked two weeks in advance to get an 8pm seating. Despite being full to the gills, it was never chaotic.
The tables were squeezed in close together, but unlike in Paris, the New Yorker response is to shout above the noise, rather than whispering across the table. Conversations between American travellers can often be heard word-for-word, somewhat ruining an otherwise nice meal in Paris, Venice or wherever you happen to be dining outside the states. In America, it had a very different effect – here, it created a surprisingly convivial atmosphere.
The clientele was well dressed, a handful of which opted to leave their oversized sunglasses on while dining – famous, hungover or post-surgery chic? That was the question of the evening.
Service with a smile
Unlike 99% of my bar & restaurant experiences in New York, the service at Balthazar was outstanding. The wine list was an eclectic mix of unusual varietals, so I asked the waiter for his suggestion for a red wine to match my food. I couldn’t hear over the din which wine he recommended, but whatever it was, he nailed it.
I don’t know whether wait staff at high-end restaurants are paid better (read: fair) wages in order to attract high-quality staff, or whether they’re snagged on the promise that their tip will be a slice of a much bigger pie, with better chances of receiving more generous tips from wealthy customers. From my experience with the U.S., I’d guess the latter, but I’d love to find out – if anyone has any insight, please let me know!
French Food, Manhattan Style
I can’t remember the last time I ate a three course meal at a restaurant. Does anyone eat three courses out anymore? Even in Australia, most serving sizes are too big for me to finish my main, so three courses is out of the question. It’s always dessert that misses out. This time, I was determined to reach the French dessert menu, so I skipped the entree and went straight for the main. Confusingly, in America, mains are called entrees. It seems that no one has a clear answer as to why this is, but most everyone agrees that it defies logic. I found the USA amazing and yet baffling on a daily basis, it keeps you on your toes!
It was lucky I skipped the entree, because I could not resist the bread basket. Unlike the stale, day-old bread they plop in front of you in Europe, which tastes like cardboard and adds to your bill, in America the bread basket was a real temptation.
I ordered my favourite French dish, confit de canard. It’s all the duck fat that makes its delicious, so it’s something I’d never make myself – denial about bad it is for you is way easier this way. It was served with Yukon Gold potatoes, wild mushrooms, and a token French salad. I ate it since I wasn’t going to skip half of my $33 dish, and I was surprised that the chefs at Balthazar didn’t treat it as a token salad, like they tend to in Paris. It was delicious!
Dessert steals the show at Balthazar
I’d ordered a French favourite for dinner, but I refused to believe that a creme brulee could be quite as satisfying outside of France. I was in New York, so I went for an American dessert. The strawberry shortcake, served with chantilly cream, mint and lemon was light, sweet and fruity – the perfect way to end a heavy meal.
My boyfriend ordered the humble warm chocolate cake, served with a simple scoop of white chocolate ice cream and a sprig of mint. It doesn’t look particularly exciting but it had me faking celebrity sightings “over there!” so I could sneak another spoonful. The desserts were really reasonable, all at just $12.
Every time I see desserts for way cheaper than their savoury counterparts, it reminds me how these labour intensive dishes are getting overlooked by diners and how pastry departments are shrinking at even top restaurants. The thought of dessert dying out is depressing, which is one of the best justifications I have for ordering dessert. You’re welcome!
In New York’s version of Paris, the restaurant is warm and ambient but still noisy, the salads are edible and the bread is piping hot, straight out of the oven. Paris in New York is not a bad place to be.
Planning a trip to New York? Check out my NYC Archives.
Psst – Can’t get a reservation at Balthazar? The chocolate doughnuts at Balthazar Bakery, which is next door to Balthazar, are a worthy consolation prize.
Hello! I’m an Australian travel blogger, living in Melbourne, Australia. I grew up in Brisbane, studied in Paris, lived & worked in New York City and now live in Melbourne, Australia.
I love sharing specific and useful recommendations, itineraries and guides for the most beautiful things to see, do, experience & eat wherever I go.
My favourite travel destinations are Australia, New York City & surrounds, France, Greece & Japan, but I’m always excited to explore somewhere new!
The Wanderbug is reader supported. This site may contain links to affiliate websites, which means when you buy through links on this site I may receive a small affiliate commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!
from my experience, high end restaurants in the states are SUPER picky about who they hire as servers and bartenders. It’s not uncommon for people in big cities (NYC/Chicago/Miami) to be able to be career bartender and wait staff, because the money is just that good. But a lot of them have to work their way up to being qualified to work at those high end restaurants (and be worthy of the big paycheck). I’m not surprised your other hospitality experiences where not the best. New Yorkers are brash by nature in nearly everything they do. I’m from the Chicago area and people are MUCH friendlier (mid-western charm), my first couple of times in new york i think i took the rudeness personally. now that i’ve been there a dozen or so times it does even phase me. it truly just is their way of life there. my sister lived in manhattan for about 3 years and i could tell when she came home to visit she was pushier and more rude in certain circumstances. New York will do that to a person after while.
Thanks for sharing that Carrie! I was wondering how it worked, glad to hear they get decent wages. I’ve heard that about the mid-west! I’ve got some friends from there and they some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met haha. It was quite strange at first, but after 2 months I got more used to it. I’d love to live in New York but it was a bit tiring being in such an aggressive environment, going to the south afterwards where everyone is super friendly was a nice change! Just the nature of big cities though I guess, I’m sure it’s like that in lots of big cities!
Mmm, the food at Balthzar looks really good! 😛 For me, I would have to say my favorite restaurant I have been to was Comptoir de la Gastronomie in Paris last year. Although it cost an arm and a leg for its foie gras ravioli, it was heaven on a plate!
In terms of bread, though, I would have to disagree that the bread I had at restaurants in Paris and the rest of France weren’t stale, but rather fresh, from that day. Maybe we had different experiences, but I never came across any cardboard bread in Europe!
I’ve heard of that place, it sounds amazing! Haha I must have been eating at the cheap places in France! Last time I was there I was still a student, so that’s probably why I kept encountering restaurants with stale bread hahah.