B Cafe East
“Hands down, two of the best brunch meals I've tasted in this city to date – and the service was great, to boot!”
“They have plenty of Belgian favorites: waffles, moules y frites, stews, hearty seafood dishes, and of course some amazing beers on tap.”
“The interior is beautiful and with an intimate atmosphere, without being stuffy as you would imagine places could be on the Upper East Side.”
B Cafe East
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Summary:
Cute little bistro with a neat surprise out back. Fantastic place for a date. Solid place for dinner and drinks.
Atmosphere:
Very warm and cozy. The garden seating out back is a nice surprise. The inside is cozy and a nice place to hang out and kick it.
Food:
The food is merely ok when comparing to other NYC restaurants. The scallop dish was good but the mussel dish was merely ok. The cheese plate was wildly underwhelming.
Service:
Guy lacked a personality or enthusiasm, just kind of going through the motions. However, the rest of the staff was quite helpful. Can't knock this too badly.
Tip:
Ask for garden seating!
B cafe is a Belgian pub which has both outsoor seating and exclusively romantic indoors as well. Drinks are very good. Oysters are ground shattering. Service is excellent.
When I first reviewed this cafe earlier this year I described it as possibly being the most under appreciated restaurant on New York's Upper East Side. I had dined here countless times over the past decade, enjoyed the food, the service, the beverages and the atmosphere. From the moment you walk down the front steps into this warmly lit cafe, you can easily imagine you are somewhere in Europe. There are countless bottles of beer and beers on tap, and Remy, the bartender, is like a ringmaster, on top of everything going on at the bar. The crowd comes here to enjoy their meal and/or drink, and not to be seen in a trendy UES restaurant. Being on a side street, instead of Second or Third Avenues, adds to the sense of being away from it all. It's a great place for a date or to meet with friends.
It's a Belgian restaurant, mainly in terms of the set up and the offerings of the bar. The food is probably more eclectic than specific to any cuisine. The parsnip purée is a must. It should be listed as a controlled substance, It's that addicting! The charred Brussels Sprouts are also totally satisfying. The soups and fish of the day are always good choices. In terms of beer, I recommend La Chouffe, a wonder Belgian ale. Ive posted tons of photos of it on Yelp. In terms of wine, it's the Gruner. The 5-7 happy hour is a good deal–lobster roll, fries and beer for $15. In the warm weather there is outdoor seating in the rear.
Pros:
– Really good, crispy french fries.
Cons:
– Overpriced, in my opinion. $30 for brunch for 1 with no alcohol: $20 smoked salmon omelette, which came with some greens and fries, $4 coffee, and then $6 for tax/tip. I wouldn't recommend the smoked salmon omelette either–there was way too much creme fraiche in it.
– Really slow service
Really loved it! Waffle was crispy and light. At the recommendation of our waitress, we also had the omelette with "carbonnade flamande" (a kind of beef stew). Never had an omelette with beef stew before, but it worked!
Came across this while walking to a different restaurant one late morning, scanned the brunch menu (until 4pm on Sundays!), and walked in on a whim–what a delightful surprise finding the back outdoor seating! Very charming on a nice day, complete with plants and string lights.
Indeed, great food. The brunch menu offers your basic and fancier options–from simple eggs + toast entrees, to topped belgian waffles and croque madame (my pick today).
Croque madame came with a side salad dressed in some type of creamy balsamic. Dressing was right amount of sweetness to tart, and not overly rich or overpowering to the main show. Croque Madame was delicious, but I have none to compare to in my past except homemade. I was relieved that they used just the right amount of butter on the bread–not too greasy, but definitely present to make this that indulgent meal you don't eat every day. The bechamel was seasoned lightly and on-point, the ham of good quality, bread was fresh and slightly chewy and crisp, and the egg was even fried perfectly–no runny whites, a soft yolk. The portion is very filling, as well.
Brunch was slightly more expensive than I was expecting at $18 for 1 entree and water, but given the quality, preparation, and being Upper East Side, I can't complain too much.
I don't usually complain about such, but I dock a star because I felt service could have been a smidge friendlier *at this price point and area*. The bartender/hostess/waitress/owner(??) was nice, but some other waiters were a bit unenthusiastic, which slightly took away from my experience. The vibe isn't very welcoming, which is a shame because the ambience and food beg for such an experience.
Definitely try to make a reservation for weekend brunch – B. Cafe fills up very quickly! I had heard good things about the brunch, and was intrigued by the Belgian beer and mussels + frites on its menu, and I suppose everyone else on the UES got the same message. There was a long line to get in as soon as we finished up, around 12:30.
Granola with hazelnuts and sunflower seeds, Greek yogurt, and berries were delicious, albeit on the tougher side. It felt like my jaw definitely got a vigorous workout. I tried a bit of the carbonnade omelette, which was the undoubted winner at the table – lots of tender beef shreds and melty gruyere.
The one downside is that it can get very loud in the dining room – there's a small sectioned off area near my table for storing dirty dishes, and the crash and din of busboys and waiters dropping off dishes was slightly distracting.
NEXT TIME: Norwegian salad, chop chop salad, omelette with goat cheese and onions
A Belgian pub with great beer choices and good food. My friends and I sat at the bar and tried the mussels and burgers with our beer. They bring you a huge pot of mussels with lots of broth at the bottom. My burger was a bit unseasoned and needed some salt, but otherwise good. The fries are amazing.
Do ask the bartender what part of Belgium he's from, he'll pull out a map from the ceiling over the bar to show you where. Good molten chocolate cake for dessert. Cheery conversation and a good time all around.