Claudette
“Followed by another bottle of champagne, the octopus, chicken tagine, the hanger steak and the market cavatellii vegetarian pasta.”
“We started out with the pains tunisiens with the pistou (the Provencal version of pesto).”
“It's the best creme brûlée I've had outside of Paris and even my friend who's not a fan of anise enjoyed it (the anise flavor isn't overpowering).”
Claudette
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Food, service, and ambiance are top-notch. Our waitress was pleasant and lovely; when the order came out wrong she immediately apologized and said she entered the incorrect info for the kitchen. Loved the beets and eggplant dishes, absolutely adore the bread and spread platter, and the duck was cooked to perfection. If you can get the pork chop, get it; the flavors and meat were amazing.
I was surprised I didn't like my chardonnay, perhaps the origin wasn't as delectable as I hoped for. My friend didn't like the brown butter dip for her Madeleines so she ate them without the sauce, which is completely fine since they were super fluffy and are a delight to finish off the wonderful meal. I personally like the citron tart and wished it was bigger and sans brown butter crisp that encircled the tart…
If I was a lady who lunched (or brunched) frequently, Claudette would be a regular in my "places to see or be seen" rotation. Even with scaffolding blocking the sidewalk tables, it's a charming little restaurant that makes you feel as if you were in a Parisian cottage inside.
First things first: make a reservation. Claudette is always bursting at the seams, no matter what time of day you go. Secondly, if you're there for lunch, order the pre-fixe (for only $25!) so you can try as many of their delicious offerings as possible.
Claudette's food is definitely pricey, but simple and delicious. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's one of my favorites in NYC, but the excellent service and cute ambiance definitely lend to reasons to come back. Again, I would recommend getting the pre-fixe to add a little bulk to your meal, and of course, have dessert. On a recent weekday, I tried:
+ cold sweet pea soup with creme fraiche: I'm not a huge fan of chilled soups, but this was amazing. Really flavorful and refreshing on a warm spring day. It comes with a huge cheese stick which was good, but you definitely didn't need it to complete the meal.
+ chicken paillard: this was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. The chicken was covered in a chipotle gremolata which packed a punch, topped with quinoa and arugula.
+ meringue with vanilla creme anglaise: I forget the actual name of this dessert, but it was definitely my favorite part of the meal. The meringue was so light and fluffy, which was a great contrast to the heavy creme anglaise. It also had these delicious pieces of brittle floating around. Overall, great mixture of textures and flavors.
I also shared a bit of the star anise creme brûlée, which was just OK; the sugar was a little bit too burnt, which destroyed the taste of the star anise for me.
Definitely a place to impress! I'll be back to try brunch next time I'm in the area.
I went to Claudette with one of my friends for a catch up dinner. We made a weekday reservation for 7:30. One of the helpful things about Claudette is that you can make reservations on relatively short notice.
We arrived on time; my friend beat me there and they sat her immediately, which I liked. The restaurant is super cute – perfect for a girls night. It's very open and fairly small without being cramped. The tables are evenly spaced so you don't feel like you're right on top of one another.
We were greeted by our server right away and we ordered appetizers and entrees. Our server was friendly and was able to describe the dishes I asked about.
The food came out quickly. My friend got the mint salad to start with, which was a straightforward bed of arugula with pear and quinoa. It was exactly what you'd expect it to be. I didn't think it was worth $14 but at least it was a reasonable portion.
I started with the young potatoes in truffle vinegarette and shallots. This was good overall although I didn't expect it to be cold. It was a good portion size for $8. The shallots were a little overwhelming.
For the entrees, my friend and I both got the salmon with gnocchi. It was served over mushrooms and fennel (with, again, lots of onions). The mushrooms were great and flavorful. The gnocchi were good but there were literally FOUR tiny pieces of it. I asked for mine without peas but it was still served with a pea purée. The piece of salmon was a nice size with a crunchy skin on top, but the fish itself seemed rather oily. The dish was overall OK, although I was very disappointed at the lack of gnocchi.
For dessert, we split the chocolate valhrona cake. This was served with "charred cinnamon marshmallow, sweet harissa coulis chestnut honey sherbet, hazelnut allepo crumble", while this dessert was reasonably sized and pretty good, it was essentially a good chocolate cake with relatively mild tasting gelato, crushed hazelnuts, and some melted marshmallow. We enjoyed this but didn't necessarily feel like it fit the description.
The bill came to ~$100 and we didn't even get drinks. I felt like that was a bit expensive for what we consumed. $56 for some potatoes, a piece of salmon, and half a piece of chocolate cake is a lot. The food was good but it certainly wasn't one of my favorite places or anything. I left satisfied but not super full.
In conclusion, Claudette was alright. It's a good place to have in your back pocket for a girls night. It likely won't disappoint although it won't blow you away either. I would consider coming back.
New favorite brunch place. And I don't even like brunch.
My personal philosophy is that Sunday is a day of rest and thus I shall not be roused to entertain company of any kind. However, my Manchild Lover's father happened to be in town, and being a true lady I arranged brunch for a party of three in spite of my personal inclinations.
I showed up at Claudette on the dot and the Manchild and his father were nowhere to be found (of course). I took a seat at the bar, where a very nice gentleman immediately saw through the situation and pushed a glass of water toward me. Bless his soul.
At last, the dynamic duo arrived and we were seated at a round table in the middle of the dinning room. I was momentarily transported to a roadside restaurant in Provence. Oh, how I miss the sunny French countryside, with rows and rows of olive trees and idyllic blooms dancing in the mistral wind. If only the scaffolding at the entrance wasn't there, because Claudette had to be one of the nicest settings I have found myself in for brunch. Speaking of food…
– Truffle hummus: came with pita bread, served hot. One of the best hummus I've had
– Wild mushroom omelette: garlic and herb sautèed mushrooms, goat cheese. Mushrooms were juicy and very flavorful.
– Lamb sandwich: special on the menu that day. Toasted bread with stewed lamb. Very yummy.
For whatever reason I envision Claudette as a beautiful French maiden in a printed frock wearing a braided chignon. She is smiling, a bit shy, and has a wonderfully light touch. I'll have to come back to visit her again, I think, this fair maiden Claudette.
Had their dinner special today, which was risotto with prawns and scallops and squid and octopus. It was delicious. The portion was also much larger than it appeared, so it was very filling. For dessert, definitely get their Vahlrona chocolate cake — it is rich without being too sweet. The ice cream has a refreshing berry flavor to balance out the chocolate as well. My friend got the chicken tajine; the chicken was so tender and flavorful.
Fantastic! I loved the whole French style of the decor and food. It was great. We ordered aperitifs which were delicious and strong. I got the eggs and cured salmon which was really good but I should have gotten the eggs Benedict which looked amazing! The service was really good and loved the overall vibe.
Lovely little spot on 5th Ave.
We did not have reservations but we're still seated right away. We ordered a bottle of cab – prices are reasonable and the wine menu is extensive.
I'm no French food expert but my octopus plate was pretty average – not the most amazing I've ever had. It was pretty dry and a very small portion – too small. It was on a bed of spicy chick peas – that was damn good.
My fireman ordered the steak – that was phenomenal – cooked medium with all aspects of "medium" respected. I had a couple of slivers and wished I had ordered a steak myself.
No dessert was had but overall great experience. A must try.
I came here with a group of friends on a Thursday night. We made reservations since we were a party of 6. Details down below.
Ambiance
Claudette has a very charming decor. I felt like I walked into a local restaurant located somewhere in the countryside of Paris. It is a nice dining ambiance especially if you want to get away from the daily New York City bustle.
Food
Our table ordered about 10 dishes but the three that really stood out were the steak, skate, and the grilled octopus. The octopus was served on a bed of chickpea puree and the steak was cooked exactly how we requested. The best dish we had was the skate. The waitress informed us that it is seasonal but if you see it on the menu, don't hesitate to order it!
Desert was decent but limited and cocktails were strong.
Service
Everyone here was very welcoming and attentive although it seemed as though they were understaffed that day.
*We paid about $100 pp.