Saturday, October 12, 2013

Cafe D'Alsace

Yorkville spot is pretty popular.

Yelp reviews very favorable with of course a sour apple or two (This one includes one of the kinds that starts " I wanted to like this place very much")


Cafe D'Alsace

4.0 star rating
454 reviews Rating Details
1695 2nd Ave
(between 88th St & 87th St)
New York, NY 10128
Neighborhoods: Yorkville, Upper East Side
(212) 722-5133
Make a Reservation
Nearest Transit Station:
86 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
96 St. (4, 6, 6X)
Hours:
Mon 10:30 am - 11 pm
Tue-Fri 10:30 am - 12 am
Sat 9 am - 12 am
Sun 9 am - 11 pm
Parking:
Street
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Price Range:
$$
Attire:
Casual
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
Yes
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
Yes
Wi-Fi:
No
Good For:
Brunch, Dinner
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Noise Level:
Average
Ambience:
Casual
Has TV:
No
Caters:
No
Wheelchair Accessible:
No

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "I can't wait to go back and see what the steak frites have in store." In 27 reviews
  • "A great little find in the often boring UES." In 49 reviews
  • "Croque Madame and Omelette Maison were both delicious." In 17 reviews
Show more review highlights
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454 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 30 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/26/2013 2 check-ins here
    I've come here for brunch twice, and each time it has been a pleasant experience. The staff is friendly and does their job well. The interior is well decorated and comfortable. There is also outdoor seating which on a nice day may require up to a 30 min wait for brunch.

    The food is good. I had the Belgian waffle with strawberries, whipped cream, and maple syrup. Although it comes with a small amount of berries, they are so ripe and sweet that they make up for the lack in quantity. My friend had the Parisian ham and Comte crepes. They were filled with mushrooms and ham and topped with two sunny-side up eggs. There was also a small salad with the dish. She enjoyed her meal very much. I also spied the strawberry crepes on a neighboring table, they looked yummy. I'll try those next time!
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    10/3/2013 1 check-in here
    I came here with a friend for dinner a few nights ago on an unseasonably warm night in October. We sat outside, which was pleasant and unexpected at this time of year. The service was very good and the menu was fairly extensive, but I was disappointed at what I ordered.

    I decided to go with two apps--the bone marrow and the whole artichoke. I really enjoy bone marrow, but much prefer when the bone is cut long ways. This bone I had to dig deep in to get the marrow out, and was definitely unable to get a lot of it out. It also had a lot of more congealed fat--all in all, it was not quality bone marrow.

    The artichoke was unique--I rarely see this option on a menu. However, I would have preferred if the artichoke was roasted so that I could enjoy more of it. It came with a decent, yet not overly flavorful aioli sauce.

    My friend got the mussels and chocolate profiteroles, both of which I tried and which were pretty good.

    The bread was excellent.

    I don't have a strong desire to return since there are so many other places to try, but I wouldn't be upset if did--I would just definitely make sure to order different items.
  • Review from

    • 4 friends
    • 10 reviews
    Brooklyn, NY
    10/1/2013
    Oi.

    We wanted to like it very badly.  Madame and I each ordered the steak tartar as an entree with fries, and a side of chanterelle mushrooms to share.

    The food took awhile to arrive, but the waiter was friendly and pleasantly verbose.  All was well.

    The tartar was not pleasant.  Even if the waiter hadn't told us about the ketchup, mustard and mayo the chef added to the raw beef concoction, we would have been able to detect the ketchup and mustard by the flavor, and the mayo by the heaviness.  Throw in the too-numerous tougher bites, and it was sadly the worst steak tartar I've had in the city.  The fries, though decent, were uninteresting as fries go.

    The chanterelles were quite good, though be ready for the standard French treatment of butter and more butter.

    We each finished about half of our plate before giving in, and requesting the check.  The waiter nudged us into seeing the desert menu.  We took a glance, but decided against it.

    And then our very nice waiter took ten minutes to come back around to give us our check.

    And then he never returned.  A waitress eventually came by and grabbed our card.  Twenty minutes after we asked for the bill, we were allowed to leave.
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 20 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/31/2013
    Really? Can this many people be wrong?

    YES, they can. So this may be the best French restaurant in your part of the UES, or even all of the UES, but if so that's a sad commentary on all the others. Our visit began with dirty silverware, which can happen to anyone I guess. But the steak frites was bland and the fries were anything but French. The duck confit was dry and the accompanying risotto unremarkable. And while service was friendly - very friendly - it was not prompt. Water went un-refilled the entire meal; nobody wants that while dining outside on a hot summer day.

    In short, fellow UES YELPERS, you may not hate this place, but spare your readers the hyperbole; it ain't all that.
  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 59 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/26/2013
    I LOVED this place. We were strolling through UES this weekend and decided to pop in here for some brunch. I know I'm a bit of a nerd, but since I am an Interior Design graduate, I can appreciate the layout of places and this place was well done. It looks like it may have been an old diner... the bar area looked retro vintage cool.

    Service was on point, there wasn't a huge amount of people there but it was busy enough for the outside to be full. No worries, we sat inside at the window and it was just as lovely.

    Food was delish. Croque Madame and Omelette Maison were both delicious. And can I tell you we literally ordered, got our complimentary bread basket and our food was out in 10min tops. Honest, I don't even know if it was that long. It's like magic. Portions were perfect, I think each meal comes with potatoes and mixed greens - I couldn't even finish my omelette.

    We didn't [unfortunately] enjoy any cocktails but would def go back!
  • Review from

    Brooklyn, NY
    8/23/2013 1 check-in here
    I made a reservation for dinner for Restaurant Week. I was the first to arrive and was able to sit. When my mom and sister got there we ordered. For appetizers, we got the cheese puffs or gougeres which really is just cheesey bread or "crispy gruyere cheese puffs. I was slightly upset that they weren't actual cheese puffs and were small rolls of bread. Delicious, light baked goods but still not what I had expected.

    I decided not to go with restaurant week menu so I ordered the steak frites, my sister ordered the 3 sausages (you can order 1 for $10 or 2 for $16 or 3 for $19) and sides. My mom ordered the king crab salad (which is actually under appetizers and not salads). The sausages were delicious and came with a bunch of different dipping sauces - one being a regular mustard and another just being a spicy mustard. We ordered the regular pork, the mix of pork and the beef and the chicken. The pork sausage was the best one while the others were good as well. Steak frites were good but nothing memorable. We finished the fries. I most definitely could not finish it so doggie bagged the rest of it and gave it to my boyfriend. Crab salad was small but it was good. Definitely something to eat if you want to eat light and not care that you're spending  $15 on it.

    For dessert, we ordered the creme brulee and the berry crumble. The blackberries in the crumble were huge! Portions were generous and delicious. This place is basically an upscale french diner. The menu is huge that there's something for everyone. Overall we had a good dining expereince for the exception of the group of loud mouths right next to us who were the loudest in the restaurant and very annoying. Honestly, they were so loud, I was yelling across the table for my sister to hear me.
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 8 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    10/9/2013 Seated via OpenTable
    Best french onion soup in the City! Service was average at best. Other dishes were average to above average...the French onion soup compensated!!!
  • Review from

    Aiea, HI
    8/19/2013 4 photos
    I'm confident that this is probably the best restaurant in the Upper East Side. One of the items on our NYC "to do" list was to meet up with an old friend who I haven't seen in over six years. When we finalized the meet up date and time, I asked her if she suggested any restaurants in the Upper East Side. She recommended Cafe D'Alsace. I checked it out quickly on Yelp and when I saw some of the pictures of their dishes, I enthusiastically told her that I was in.

    When we arrived we checked in with the front desk and we were promptly seated outside. It was a nice cool day and there was a slight breeze so I didn't mind one bit. The restaurant was busy but our server came to us pretty quickly and we started to order.

    Here's what we ate:

    -French onion soup
    -Steak frites
    -Lox and bagel
    -Steak salad

    The French onion soup was amazing. This was most likely the best soup I have ever tried. Hands down. The lox and bagels were fantastic. I would be lying if I said this wasn't the best salmon covered bagel I've ever tried. The steak frites were unsurprisingly, pretty tasty. The fries were perfectly salted and crispy and the steak was cooked incredibly well. I let my friend eat her salad on her own, so I wasn't able to try it. I'm damn sure the salad was delicious.

    We owe Maxine a big thank you for choosing a restaurant of such quality. If I ever return to the UWS, I definitely know where to eat.
    • Lox and bagel
    • Steak frites
    • French onion soup
  • Review from

    Los Angeles, CA
    9/23/2013 1 check-in here
    Charming Upper East side restaurant with cheerful service, a golden interior and well-priced food and cocktail menu. I enjoyed it so much I snuck in a second visit on my last short trip to New York. Loved the steak tartare, duck confit (a special) and the apple tart was one of the best I'd ever had. Will return on my next NYC trip for sure.
  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 55 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/24/2013
    I really dont understand the reviews...this place is so cliche and with such bad food i dont get it...we ate brunch there and were extremely disappointed.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    New Albany, OH
    9/26/2013
    We went here for lunch on the advice of a friend. We had steak tartar and a sausage casserole . Everything was wonderful. Our new favorite bistro.
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    7/20/2013
    I know restaurant staffs hate brunch on principle, but now I hate it too.

    Poached eggs over ratatouille ("eggs nicoise") was inedible: overcooked eggs on watery, tasteless vegetables. My husband's "German apple pancakes" were regular pancakes with some barely cooked apple slices on top.

    I sent my eggs back and asked for a croissant instead. Things could have been salvaged, even at this point, but the pastry was nothing special and our server seemed annoyed at my audacity.

    On the plus side, the interior is attractive in an exaggerated faux-French kind of way.
  • Review from

    • 21 friends
    • 72 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    9/21/2013 1 check-in here
    I came here for dinner a few days ago, especially since I was in the mood for French Onion soup and wanted a decent menu for those I was with.  We shared a Mac & Cheese appetizer that was being featured as a special with gruyere and truffle oil, garnished with scallion shavings.  It was delicious!  The French Onion soup was nice too, though I would have preferred a little less crouton and a little more broth.
    The service was decent.  However, the staff had trouble finding the wine we ordered and took a while before telling us.  Eventually, the waiter brought over the wine menu for us to choose another bottle, but by that point the Sommelier came in and found the wine in time for when our appetizers arrived.  This was a good 15-20 minutes of elapsed time before we received the bottle.  As a service for our inconvenience, it looks like we were comped the wine.  So this place seems to be very customer-centric...trying to make the experience as pleasant as possible, which is a beautiful and sometimes forgotten principal in such a competitive NYC restaurant industry.  Overall, I would consider dining here again.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 4 reviews
    New York, NY
    10/4/2013
    One suggestion- get the goat cheese app!! SO good. I have dreams about it.
  • Review from

    • 8 friends
    • 40 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/29/2013 1 check-in here
    My steak salad was really tasty but I think my favorite part was the sauerkraut from my husband's dish. Solid spot for Yorkville, good service, I would comeback.
  • Review from

    Ann Arbor, MI
    7/15/2013 1 check-in here
    Simple, perfect, fresh. I was here for brunch with six friends and had a wonderful morning meal. The menu doesn't take too many unpredictable turns, but all of it is divinely prepared.

    I highly recommend the smoked trout and soft eggs if you're by for brunch!

    *Brunch tips:
    1. I'd recommend getting one "starter" to share with your table-mates!
    2. It gets crowded on the weekends (not surprising, considering how tasty everything is!) so plan accordingly! I had a party of six and we waited around 15-20 minutes, so wait times won't be appalling but they're to be expected.
  • Review from

    • 14 friends
    • 38 reviews
    Upper East Side, Manhattan, NY
    7/25/2013 1 photo
    Had a nice Sunday brunch here. No brunch lines which is always good, and plenty of outdoor seating.
    The quiche Lorraine was really tasty along with its small side salad, it was the perfect brunch size.
    Service was friendly and attentive.
    Want to come to try their dinner menu.
    • Quiche Lorraine.
  • Review from

    • 8 friends
    • 14 reviews
    New York, NY
    6/17/2013 1 check-in here
    Great brunch place :)
    Love to come back all the time!
    Must get the Crepe with eggs on top

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