Monday, July 29, 2013

Parisian Themed Restaurants- Les Halles

Every time it is nice out and I go past this place on Park Avenue South it is always very busy and the people seem to be enjoying themselves immensely...I wonder if this is reflected in any reviews...

Says here it is owned by someone named Anthony Bourdain if I got that right (one person complains that since he owns it it should be better, but that is a minority report, definitely)..

Despite the minor sour apples in these reviews as I glanced at them,  on the whole it seems to be "thumbs up."

Les Halles

3.5 star rating
1173 reviews Rating Details
Categories: French, Steakhouses
411 Park Ave S
(between 28th St & 29th St)
New York, NY 10016
Neighborhood: Flatiron
(212) 679-4111
Make a Reservation

Nearest Transit Station:
28 St (4, 6, 6X)
33 St (4, 6, 6X)
28 St (N, R)
Hours:
Mon-Sun 7 am - 12 am
Good for Groups:
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Attire:
Casual
Price Range:
$$$
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
No
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
Yes
Wi-Fi:
Free
Good For:
Dinner
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Noise Level:
Average
Ambience:
Casual
Has TV:
No
Caters:
No
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes
Dogs Allowed:
No

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "yummy yummy croque monsieur and perfectly crispy frites." In 363 reviews
  • "This place get its fame from The one and only Anthony Bourdain." In 207 reviews
  • "a burger topped with foie gras and black truffles." In 87 reviews
Show more review highlights
Rating Distribution | Trend
Sort by: Yelp Sort | Date | Rating | Useful | Funny | Cool | Total Votes | Friends' | Elites'

1172 reviews in English

  • Review from

    6/27/2013 1 check-in here
    yes, i'm a fan!

    i have a thing for lovely french brasseries and good french food. call me obsessed?

    the service is excellent, as expected. the space is large and inviting, without all the pizzazz and pretention that some other brasseries have. it's fairly easy to get a table, even last minute on a saturday night.

    les halles makes a great hangar steak, and i loved the special of the day, the lamb shank. yum-a-licious!! the truffle fries take the cake though. a lot of restaurants skimp on the truffle oil/shavings used, but not here. the taste was distinctly present, but not overwhelming to the point of overpowering the taste and crisp texture of the french fries.

    the desserts are nothing special, so i would skip those and focus more on the appetizers and entrees. the menu is also very affordable as far as french restaurants go.

    there are so many other things on the menu i'd love to try. i'll be back for sure!
  • Review from

    • 6 friends
    • 9 reviews
    7/19/2013
    Did not impress..

    Anthony Bourdain is a well-known food critic/lover/chef and he could probably do better for this restaurant of his. We were excited to visit and when we arrived, was a bit let down by the ambiance. Worst was we were sweating the entire dinner due to a failure of their air-con system. Service was not attentive despite us asking for water refill for multiple times. We went during non peak hour - 5.30pm on a weekday. It was not fully booked nor full house that evening too. I had their Hamburger Rossini just with tiny little serving of fois gras on the burger, taste was ok. Very let down by the Terrine de langue et foie gras as well. Overall, I wouldn't expect this to be Anthony's restaurant if it wasn't written on their company registration certificate..

  • Review from


    7/3/2013 1 check-in here
    The food at Les Halles did not impress.  I mean, they did not disappoint, but certainly did not wow me.  Service was spotty and it took a long time to get our dishes (we ended up sitting a total of 2 hours) and the prices are expensive.

    We started with the Soft Shell Crab for appetizer and then I ordered the Lobster Roll for my main entree.  The lobster roll alone was ~$26 bucks, but It was probably one of the worst I've ever had, lacking taste and freshness.   The bread they used to serve the lobster roll was far too thick and overwhelming.  Soft shell crab was decent, but not amazing.

    It is very unlikely that I will be coming back here again.  Just doesn't seem worth it to pay a lot of $$ for low-mediocrity.
  • Review from

    7/27/2013
    Great food and great service! Wine was delicious too.
    We ordered the Apple Tart and got the smallest scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side of it. We jokingly told our waiter and he gladly gave us another bigger scoop.
  • Review from

    • 2 friends
    • 53 reviews
    7/26/2013
    Always crowded.  Love the hanger steak here.  Please order rare.  Awesome!!
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 19 reviews
    7/26/2013
    Been coming here for yrs and yrs and the food has never, ever once been sub-par.  The steak is always PERFECT and the frites are the best in the city IMO.  The mac and cheese dish totally rocks, the salad is yummy and the other dishes must be good bcuz this place is always packed.  However, as extensive as the wine list is, I've never really been impressed with the wines.  But I stopped drinking so who cares now? lol.  The desserts are all good, namely the creme brulee and chocolate mousse.  The service can be very warm and friendly or downright cold and rushed, depends on who it is I guess.  I don't let the ruder servers spoil my time there.  Also, the bistro setting is great.  The tables are awfully close together but I spose this is Manhattan.  The option to sit outside is nice too.
  • Review from

    7/22/2013
    I came here for breakfast this past weekend and was very satisfied. I absolutely loved the New York vs Paris theme of the menu. The sugared crepes and the chocolate croissants, although small, were both very yummy. It looks like it's definitely a place I'll have to return to for lunch and/or dinner as well.
  • Review from

    • 46 friends
    • 51 reviews
    6/19/2013
    5 stars for what it is, and what Bourdain has said it is: "a steak frites type place".

    Go here if you want your mind blown with some great meat. (also ironically, my personal tagline, hmm)

    And it was, not being hyperbolic, one of the best I have had. WOW. The hanger steak with the red wine sauce was a mind blower on a cold spring NY night. Paired with the frites and some great Bordeaux after a tiring, cold day of walking around the city was perfect. Warm, comforting, inviting.

    The frisee salad was perfectly done as well.

    The real showstopper, which I did not get but my cousin did was the steak tartare...OMG, such finely ground steak, none of the nasty large bits of raw meat...the mustard blend created this creamy amazingness that has converted me- this is what I would get when I go back.
  • Review from

    6/18/2013 1 check-in here
    Fantastic food - Les Halles offers happy hour $1 oysters which were very nice & cold - tastes exactly how it should taste. I had the lobster rolls, terrine, and baby neck clams. All very amazing.

    The place is rather too dark but is bearable. Don't be fooled by the unconvincing waiter that will try to sell you a bottle of wine for $90 and then described the taste of the wine with one word as "beautiful"?  What the heck does that mean?!

    Anyhow, this was my 1st stop after leaving JFK and checking into my room, it really hit the spot.
 

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