Maison Kayser
“i was wandering around the UWS, starting to feel hangry, staring at various restaurant menus thinking like, this shit is pricey af.”
“Don't miss the croissants, pastries and special breads!”
“Most desirable place in upper westside!”
Maison Kayser
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This review is solely on the pastries and desserts. The eclairs are the best, always fresh and they have a great variety of flavor's such as coffee, raspberry, vanilla, chocolate, pistachio; all of them are delicious. The freshly baked bread is definitely worth trying. I always stop by whenever I'm in the mood for something sweet.
i had a really nice brunch here this afternoon. i was wandering around the UWS, starting to feel hangry, staring at various restaurant menus thinking like, this shit is pricey af. i saw a lot of people coming in and out of this patisserie so i figured id give it a shot.
it smelled like brown sugar when i walked in. lovely. i was seated pretty much immediately, which is always a huge plus in the nyc brunch scene. mind you, this place isnt scenester-y at all, its just a very casual place to come get a coffee, some pastries and brunch. they dont even serve booze. and i have to give them props for that. it makes for a calmer, dignified environment, going against the grain that brunch is just an excuse to get wasted before 5 o clock (although, who thought of that time anyways? what the fuck. why cant i get drunk whenever right….) like cute babies in overalls, moms dining with sons, granddaughters and grandmothers, oldies…not really anyone that looks like me quite frankly, a brown kid wearing a hanes white v neck under his uniqlo cardigan from like 6 years ago. lol no, more like tory burch clothes, kate spade bags and all that bougie shit.
i ordered a croque madam, because i remember learning that word in french class in middle closs, "sil vous plait, donne moi un croque madam. merci." hahaha. its also the only thing i recognized on the menu so i was like, lets get it.
it looked pretty on arrival. a really nice balance of ingredients, all of which were quality, perfectly cooked. i love breaking into a yolk and it oozes all over my plate. ohhh yeah, thats my sweet sauce. haha.
it didnt have a lot of salt, which course, is very french. so i resisted asking for salt and pepper, which they dont give off the cuff. but i succumbed to my americanisms and snatched some tabasco sauce. once i put that on the french food, turnnnn up. it was bang bang.
one thing though, they charge extra for tomato, avocado or mixed greens. im like, at 15 bucks, would it kill ya to throw some greens on the side? probably…considering the neighborhood is expensive AF. Like across the street there's a soul cycle next to an equinox next to a serafina. that's the definition of AF.
and i started chatting with the folks sitting next to me about the neighborhood, which really changed my perception of the UWS. i always thought of it as a new money, yuppie, premium brand part of manhattan. and technically that's true, but it doesnt change the fact that the people are friendly, easy to talk to, cool, very down to earth.
unlike some neighborhood were people stick their noses up, get catty or just look like they're full of themselves coughcoughmeatpackingcough haha. so all in all a sucess.
Good coffee and a good breakfast, eggs all ways with extras, and they also have their specialty pots . It's a good place to start the day.. Not the cheapest but the quality is there. Good choices of great quality sandwiches as well as a plethora of top notch baked pastries, cakes and breads. Cheerful staff, but they were busy.
I remember back when I was in Paris, I got kind of lost one time and my iPhone was dead and I just really had to pee. I was pretty disgruntled when I stepped into an Eric Kayser and found outlet, bathroom and free wifi. I got a coffee or whatever as a gesture which was pretty good but this chain will always have a special place in memory. So I was really happy to see this place open literally right downstairs from where I live in New York. I had dinner here yesterday and got the poulet+quinoa salad as recommended by Gael Greene. It was a departure from the boring chicken+quinoa served in health joints these days and most definitely a good dish. But it took an hour to come and was tiny and also $16. The waiter didn't bring me an elderflower lemonade that I ordered until I was done with my food. He gave it to me on the house but UGHHH the experience just kind of ruins the memory.
C. and I had breakfast at Maison Kayser. We were promptly seated in the elegant and bright dining area.
The service was efficient. The complimentary iced water was served immediately as we were seating.
The scrambled eggs with asparagus was delightful. It was served on a large slice of bread. The scrambled eggs had an amazing texture. The asparagus were perfectly cooked. We just wished the size portion would have been bigger for the price.
The $5 basket bread was truly good. It contained five delicious type of bread. It was served with jams and Nutella spread.
C. disliked her pastry.
The tea was fine.
The bathrooms were clean and had a changing table for babies.
Food did not taste fresh here at all. Their pastry section is beautiful but did not taste good.
There isn't much open "late" in the neighborhood (ie, after 8 pm), a lovely place with a prix-fixe option, though it's really more of a daytime venue methinks — they were running out of desserts/options at that hour.
We got the apple tart and toffee financier to snack on. Lovely little treats that taste like they belong in Paris. Can't wait to come back and try some more things.