Nougatine at Jean-Georges
“I went with the tuna tartare, a slow cooked beef filet and my girl got the fried calamari and roasted cod with sauteed eggplanet.”
“The beautiful & modern restaurant is located in the Trump International Hotel in Columbus Circle (one of my favorite areas in Manhattan!).”
“The prix fixe has nice options and service is the same impeccable JG service no matter the time of day.”
Nougatine at Jean-Georges
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Perfect place to bring your family for weekend brunch! I like it when better than Jean George which is just a few steps away from Nougatine.
Nougatine has the casual but elegant look and feel. I love the sunlight that it gets and the open kitchen.
My favorite dishes were basically everything we had! Their dishes are simple but done really really well. I loved the French toast – it's not too soggy, has a bit of crunch on the outside but the inside is nice and chewy. The fried calamari was also really yummy. Can't wait to be back again soon!
Came here recently with a group of 4 to try their lunch prix fixe menu. We had made reservations and we were immediately seated upon arrival. The restaurant is in the Trump Tower. They don't have a big name sign out in front so you can easily miss it.
I ordered the shrimp salad, crispy black sea bass, and pavlova for dessert. I was able to try the tuna tartare, cheeseburger, roasted hake, and warm chocolate cake.
Overall, my favorite dish was the cheeseburger. The meat was super flavorful. I think they add something to the beef before making it into a patty. The yuzu pickles added a different level of flavor profile that really complemented the other components of the burger. One issue I had was the bun. I thought there were too many sesame seeds and there could have been a better choice in bun used for the dish. Despite that, this is an excellent dish and worth the $38 prix fixe.
I thought the tuna tartare and shrimp salad were good but nothing out of the extra ordinary. Everything was fairly spot on. I thought the shrimps were over cooked. They were dishes that work and they are very consistent at making these dishes excellent every time.
The hake is definitely a meatier fish than the sea bass. Both were great dishes. There wasn't a fishy taste/smell to them. The skin on the sea bass was crispy and not soggy at all. I thought the cauliflower taste wasn't strong enough and overpowered by the other ingredients.
Hats go off to the pastry chef that made the pavlova. It was super soft and light. It was contained in this crispy sugar shell (i don't know the fancy name for it) but everything was in harmony for this dish. The choice of sorbet matched the pavlova and the strawberries were fresh and sweet. To me, I thought this was a more complicated dish to make when compared to the chocolate cake. However, the chocolate cake was amazing as well. The chocolate literally oozed out of the cake once you cut into it. The cake was still warm when they brought it out. The cake was so soft and the chocolate was super rich. I initially the cake would be harder that it looked but boy was I surprised. Both were so delicious.
The decor is really nice. The place is spacious with tons of natural sunlight. Everything is "bright" inside.
Overall, great restaurant, definitely worth coming here for the prix fixe. Both of his restaurants are right next to each other and the food come out from the same kitchen. I just wonder if they have a different chef for the dinner menu. I'll come back here for dinner at Jean Georges to see if it's worth it. My suspicion is that you're getting the same chef that cooks for both restaurants. If that's the case, just go to Nougatine to get excellent food at a lower price point.
We have lived in Manhattan for one year now and I'm happy to say we haven't felt ripped-off yet. Until tonight. Nougatine is just a fair restaurant with big league prices. The wine list is extensive, but only affordable if someone else is buying. Definitely expense account only.
It's interesting that every item we ordered turned out to be foods that other neighborhood restaurants do much better. I had split pea soup that was pretty good vs. the same at Bar Boulud which is outstanding. My wife's pricey hamburger was fair vs. The Smith's which is superb. I'll leave it at that.
I can't think of any reason to eat at Nougatine unless someone else is paying.
You enter both Nougatine at Jean Georges and the regular Jean Georges at the same entrance (located right inside the very hard to miss Trump Towers…), so don't be confused if you think you're accidentally walking into the Michelin 3-star restaurant rather than the more casual one for lunch. Both share the same drinks menu and the same kitchen, so this is a great option if you're looking to experience the world of Jean Georges without breaking the wallet.
The ambiance was great. We were seated in the outdoor patio area, which could not have been more perfect for a 80-degree sunny Sunday. The tables are spacious, and the space between each table was ample. At no point did I feel overcrowded.
Our group of 4 all chose to do the 3-course prie fixe for $38. After listening to the waiter's enthusiastic recommendations, I decided to go with the shrimp and avocado appetizer, the seared sea bass with tomato sauce for my main, and the strawberry pavlova for my dessert.
Albeit a bit simple (so simple that I think I could whip this up at home), I thought the shrimp and avocado salad appetizer and the sea bass entree were both delicious. The dishes were light and refreshing, and the ingredients were very fresh. My sea bass was the perfect level of tenderness. If you like heavy flavors, these are probably not the right dishes to order, but if you like ingredients that speak for themselves without needing to hide behind a ton of spice, this is great.
On the other hand, I completely regretted ordering the strawberry pavlova. It was far too sweet for my taste. I happily ate the strawberry and sorbet on the side but almost cringed at the taste of cream. Though the pavlova was disappointing, I luckily did get bites of the warm chocolate lava cake, which is by far the much better option, so definitely order that for your dessert!
Because of the simple nature of the food here, I don't really see this as a place I would die to go back to. However, if I am ever looking for a place to bring parents or older folks to for a wholesome lunch with a nice ambiance, Nougatine would definitely be on the list.
My boyfriend and I ordered the tasting menu for my birthday and it was awesome. The portions were quite generous and we left felling very satisfied.
The highlights of my meal were the tuna tartare and chocolate lava cake. If you order off the regular menu, I would highly recommend those two dishes!! The tuna tartare was severed over avocado with a ginger sauce. I don't even like avocado and I was pleasantly surprised with this dish. The flavors complemented each other so well, I couldn't complain.
The chocolate lava cake was also really good!! It was definitely superior to the other two desserts we sampled. It's so moist and the chocolate is so rich. I'm craving it as I write this review.
Overall, five stars for a great birthday dinner. The staff even wrote a happy birthday note on my dessert!
I would say probably closer to 4.5 stars. Some of the dishes are out of this world. The sweat pea soup with croutons is amazing! What bright, fresh, verdant flavor. Yes…you can literally taste the green. Shrimp salad is also solid, but a little over dressed. Shrimp was cooked perfectly, delicate and warm.
For mains, the slow cooked salmon is off the hook good. It must have been sous-vide, it literally dissolves in your mouth. It's amazing and maybe the best salmon i've ever had. The pork chop though was a bit of a disappointment. Surprisingly it was bland and really nothing special about it at all and for a $38 pork chop with some mustard greens and BBQ sauce, I expected something pretty outrageously good. BBQ sauce was nicely flavored, but even the mustard greens had some very woody stems that i couldn't chew. So definitely get the salmon, i wished I did.
For dessert, the signature warm chocolate cake definitely does not disappoint. The warm peach pie was fantastic as well. A very light crust, served warm all the way through with a little ice cream. The fruit was also fresh, light and sweet. Perfectly cooked.
Service is also top notch as you would expect. They do a real nice job of taking care of you and making a show of it. A really great option especially before a show up in Lincoln Center.
This place met all my expectations. Love the location and the vibe. Food was terrific. Not a bad deal at all for lunch and the three course prix fixe menu is just enough to get full. Service was also great.
The veal milanese was superb. The tuna tartare is a must-do.
They offered $38 pp weekend brunch menu of great value.
The location is great, in the Columbus Circle, inside the Trump Tower. "Location, location and location" I still remembered what Trump said, in his Apprentice show.
The food was good, I remembered. The lobby was high-end and their coat check service was terrific. Lots of people, remember to make reservation before you go.