Le Turtle
“Highlights of the night were the signature roast chicken dish (a must order), the wagyu steak and fresh cheese with ramps.”
“The Sasso chicken is as good or better than either of the chickens we've had a Le Coq Rico, and less expensive – 58 versus 96.”
“It is hard to believe that a restaurant can be built around chicken liver mousse.”
Le Turtle
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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One of the best dining experiences I've had this year. The food was fantastic and service was impeccable. I was so taken with the food that I forgot to take pictures, which I completely regret as pictures of my favorite dishes bring me immeasurable pleasure (my guy and dog understand they take a back seat to food pictures in my camera roll). Anyway, enough babbling, let's get to the dishes I've tried:
Fresh Cheese – the second we sat down, my friend started to talk about how we needed to try the fresh cheese, she has heard so many rave reviews about it. Ok, Fresh Cheese it is. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but woah, it definitely lived up to the hype! The cheese itself was like a smooth ricotta cheese, super flavorful, while the addition of leeks provided a chewy texture the dish needed. I wish it came with small pieces of toast to spread the cheese on. But that didn't deter us from scooping up the cheese with our spoons and polished it off in seconds.
Beef Carpaccio – the beef was thinly sliced, but not too thin that it falls apart when you try to pick it up with a fork. It was also well seasoned and tasted extremely fresh, almost like there was a cow in the kitchen (ok that was gross, I've acknowledge it). Weirdly, it came with a giant piece of buttered bread, I think it would've complimented the cheese dish better.
Chicken for Two – another dish that completely lived up to its hype. I think it exceeded the much hyped chicken from Nomad. As restaurants generally do with whole chickens, they present you with the whole chicken before taking it back to slice it up. I love the smokiness of the smell of hay below the chicken. The fact that they decide to leave the chicken claws is a bit weird for me. Chicken feet is a well represented in Asian cuisine, but they are usually cooked differently, the claws here just look burned and sad. Haha, chicken feet aside, the dish is amazingggggggg. The chicken skin is perfectly crisp, while the meat is juicy and flavorful. It is one of the best chicken dishes I've had in awhile. Even the accompanied salad was delicious, I really loved the dressing. Brought the leftover chicken back to my guy, and he gobbled them all up within minutes.
Mint Chocolate sorbet – it was the perfect end for a delicious meal. The sorbet was just light enough as a palate cleanser and the mint flavor was perfectly subtle.
I have to make a special note about how impeccable the service was. I didn't realize the back of the chair was hallow and dropped my purse the second I've sat down. Our waiter was quick to pick it up and put it on an empty chair for me. Small gestures like that made a huge impression on me. Our water glasses never dipped below a quarter full, and when my friend ordered a second glass of wine, our waiter filled my glass as well. As noted by Pete Wells of NYT, it is strange that the waiters are forced to wear a weird jumpsuit, it was pretty ugly. I am glad service was not affected despite the unusual dress code.
I can go on and on about how fantastic the food was and how pleasant the wait stuff was, but I think you should just go experience it yourself. Highly highly recommend this restaurant!!
You can get a five-star chicken at a four-star restaurant. The Sasso chicken is as good or better than either of the chickens we've had a Le Coq Rico, and less expensive – 58 versus 96. The schmaltz salad was a delicious companion. The chicken was buttery to my taste. The intense flavor and distinctive texture of the meat made up for the absence of crispy skin. Service and seating were fair; props on the presentation of the chicken on a now-famous bed of smoldering hay and the subsequent, out of view, carving (06/11/2016 – Sat). Here are the deets:
Raffault, rose, bottle, 48 – lovely
3 meat and cheese, saucisson sec, beato de tabara, Prosciutto, nice baguette, 18
Clams, 18 – excellent, though small
Sasso poulet, 58 – the 5-star chicken
Dufaitre, beaujolais, glass, 15
TOTAL 157
BONUS – you can order a meat and cheese plate, instead of just a meat plate or a cheese plate
TIP – the place starts getting scene-y around 8 PM
Enjoyed a fun group meal here. Highlights of the night were the signature roast chicken dish (a must order), the wagyu steak and fresh cheese with ramps. We started with the bread and butter which is pretty insane. I had to control myself to not eat too much. I have a weakness for warm and soft bread. The roast chicken comes out with so much flavor and it is really moist. Really delicious and definitely one of the best roast chickens in NYC. The wine list is interesting and is driven by natural wines. Service could be friendlier but the timing out of the kitchen was near perfect.
Really in love with this place – the decor, the service, the food. Everything is top-notch and sleek. A wonderful addition to the Lower East Side dining scene. It's modern French cuisine but has a varied enough menu to stick out.
I highly recommend the Wagyu beef – delectable. We also had the Tilefish (white fish) with some of the best mushrooms I've had in the city. Out of this world. Top that off with some sorbet for desert and we left incredibly happy!
A wondeful spot for date night.
I really enjoyed Le Turtle, it is stylish (sexy vibe), has great food, and the price is reasonable for the quality of ingredients/inventiveness of the food.
We had the scallops, chicken liver mouse, the crudo, and the chicken for 2. The chicken for two was beautifully presented and tasted great. It is less rich and a bit less flavorful than the NoMad's chicken, but it is also easier to eat and in a way more refined (due to its simplicity).
Overall, I think Le Turtle is a great restaurant, especially to go on a date where you are trying to impress. Highly recommend.
Came here for a group dinner for 6, and we just shared the majority of the menu, as well as a couple bottles of wine. Gotta love it when it turns out like that. The place has an upscale feel, but even has a section that needs renovation, so it's a strange mix between casual and elevated. Also, the hosts were dressed neatly in suits, but the waitstaff was dressed in strange gray jumpsuits, similar to the outfit of an auto mechanic. I'm really not sure why that's a thing, but to each their own.
What we got:
– Fresh cheese with pickled ramps and spring onion
– Chicken Liver Mousse
– Dry-aged Beef Carpaccio with grilled batard, black lime, fennel pollen, and lovage
– Heirloom Tomato salad with buttermilk & spelt crumble
– Romaine Caesar salad with anchovy breadcrumb
– King Crab with avocado mash and radish
– Grilled Wagyu with cubanelle pepper, and kunik and peach mostarda
– Scallops with nectarine, corn pudding and blue cheese
– Green Vegetables (Fiddlehead ferns, broccolini, celctuce)
– Sasso Chicken for Two
– Mint and Chocolate sorbets
My favorites were the carpaccio, green vegetables, scallops, and of course, the famous sasso chicken. The carpaccio was nicely sliced, and the grilled buttered crostini was perfect. The green vegetables came on a bed of aioli, which gave a nice layer of fattiness to the dish. If only all green vegetables came with that aioli. The scallops were huge and nicely seared, and the corn pudding and nectarine provided a nice amount of contrast to the rich scallops. The sasso chicken was delicious, and presentation was pretty great. Most people assume that it would just be like getting a rotisserie chicken at your local supermarket, but the chicken at Le Turtle is leaps and bounds better. The fattiness is just really well distributed, and there isn't a dry bite throughout the chicken. Sorbets were a great palate cleanser at the end of the meal.
Service was for the most part, quick and efficient, although a little bit on the apathetic side, and again, I don't really get the whole jumpsuit thing, but the actual dishes just really put everything over the top.
I really enjoyed my time at Le Turtle, and am really excited to try it again, with a revamped seasonal menu.
Food looked good but was poorly executed. Best part was the dessert. Service was decent.
Food:
Radish with king crab and avocado – radish didn't really compliment the king crab; dish was ok. The king crab was also a little overcooked.
Bread – wouldn't recommend this one
Chicken liver mousse – decent
Wagyu beef – decent
Scallops – way too salty
Lemon verbena custard with tapioca – very good
Hazelnut cake with sorbet – delicious
A restaurant of the future! I say this because all the waiters are dressed like they're on the set of hunger games in district 12. The decor is modern chic and while the space is small, the restaurant doesn't feel cramped.
We started out with the bread – it comes out looking like it was ripped off of another larger loaf. No matter how ridiculous it looks – it's actually really good. There was some really good black pepper butter on the side that I couldn't get enough of.
Next we had some of the home made cheese. It had the consistency of ricotta but it's less sour. The cheese was a nice way to cleanse the palate in prep for the main course.
Our main was the Sasso Chicken which is probably the most popular dish at Le Turtle. The waiters bring out the whole cooked chicken so you can have a looksie and smell the burning chicory. They'll also let you take some snaps as well before they tuck it back into the kitchen for carving. The chicken has great flavor and I like how they serve the leg with the feet and toe nails intact. It's like something you'd find in a Chinese restaurant. Except the flavor is pure French. The skin is probably the best part of the chicken – so be sure to eat it all!
Le Turtle is a trendy modern restaurant that serves up pretty good food. I'm sure I'll return some day soon!