Brasserie Persil
“Couldn't believe I was dining in Oceanside, LI. There were not a lot of young people there, but with food that good, I didn't care at all.”
“I tried the steak tartare which was very good, a coarse mince and chock full of capers and onions which is how I like it.”
“Andrew the maitre d' and his staff always make us feel like family and the chef/owner Julio is a pleasure.”
Brasserie Persil
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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My wife and I went here the other day for lunch. There were a few other people eating lunch, mostly older women. We sat down, they brought bread and butter, and we ordered right away from the lunch special menu. For $14.99 the lunch special comes with soup, (very) small salad, half a sandwich and french fries. Soup was good, she got the French onion soup & I ate the pumpkin with goat cheese, both were very good. Salad was small as was the portion of fries. Sandwiches were both good, she ate the steak sandwich and I ate a ham, cheese and egg sandwich. A little pricey but the food was good.
Perhaps Sunday brunch is not the best time to try Brasserie Persil.
Completely indifferent service and cold food. Items on the menu (steak) unavailable. If the restaurant were crowded perhaps you could excuse the problems. But, there were only nine people dining at four tables. My meal came from the kitchen with burnt bacon and cold banana pancakes. My wife's omelet was also served at room temperature. Is it really asking too much to have your food served warm. Coffee refills were never offered. Not once did anyone stop by to ask how things were. We certainly would have told them.
I started with the French Onion Soup, which was quite good. I had the Filet Mignon as an entree. It was expertly prepared, although I would have appreciated/enjoyed a larger portion. I had the warm apple tart for desert, which was disappointing.
Dinner for two with wine ran us a reasonable $120.
Service was good, although it felt rushed. Both my wife and I noted that our waiter was reciting specials before we even had a chance to take off our coats. There's a difference between fine, attentive, relaxing service and the "hurry-up-we're-trying-to-close-the-restaurant-early-tonight" feel we sensed.
Another aspect that soured our dining experience was our table. We were seated at a table for two adjacent to the front door (not a good location). It was a tight squeeze which made for an uncomfortable dining experience. An additional missed note was that the table rocked back and forth. Annoying.
I would rate the food as 4 stars, however the rest of the experience was 2 stars… so I'm listing 3 stars as a whole. I'll come back and modify this review later if we see improvement. We will try Brasserie Persil again on the basis that the food was generally very well prepared. Compliments to the chef.
Edit: Tried it a second time. Bumping up the review to 4 stars on the food alone. The ambiance isn't that great and the tables are small and the place is cramped. But, the food really is expertly prepared.
Edit 2014: We've been there 10+ times at this point. Food remains consistently excellent. I've sensed some improvement in their service over the last year or so. They're probably reading these reviews and attempting to improve, which I respsect and appreciate. 4 stars remain intact.
Before you start reading…my review is not based on the food what-so-ever.
Long story short – I purchased a groupon for 4 people. I didn't read the fine print. Okay…well I did read it, and so did my brother, but I guess we failed to see the part where it said before friday & saturday you need to be seated before 6.
So here I am with my girlfriend, my brother & his pregnant wife, and ask the server about the groupon to see if there were any restrictions & what not.
(SIDE NOTE : I recently moved to the north shore so it took me 45 min to get there)
The server tells me that the groupon can only be used BEFORE 6. It was 7:45ish. I asked to speak to a manager, hoping that he would still grant the coupon because the restaurant was half empty on a friday night. Plus its not like we are cheapo's…I can guzzle down a bottle of wine alone.
First off, maybe it was my "time of the month" but this manager seemed a tad bit RUDE to me. He kept telling me that the computer system would not allow them to grant the groupon. Let me tell ya, that is a load of bull. I have been in the restaurant business for ages & worked at several places, and ESPECIALLY at a small business, that ain't true. It has NOTHING to do with the computer systems. I was like listen….It took me 45 min to get here, my brothers wife is pregnant & hungry, can you do anything for us? and he said no.
So we walked out =) and went to a delicious italian restaurant down the block. Got 2 bottles of wine & spent our hard earned money else where.
Good luck with your empty restaurant on a friday night buddy!
I purchased a voucher for Brasserie Persil, not realizing that it was in LI. We live in Westchester and it is a bit far from us but I didn't refund and took a chance, regardless of the trip. Glad I did. We made reservations with no issue. It was about an hour drive there but about half the time for the return trip.
Upon entering, Persil was exactly as I expected; intimate seating with humble decor. We were seated and the staff was very attentive. We received water, warm bread and compound butter immediately.
The server came over and explained the specials and despite being out of the Monkfish I had my heart set on, they delivered on the alternative. We started off our meal with the Steak Tartar. It was nice; minced steak with capers and toast points. I talked hubby into trying the Duck Breast (he's had his heart broken with poor excuses for duck dishes so many times before) and I went with Braised Lamb Shank. He was thrilled that he ordered the duck. It was tender with a complimentary reduction, the confit spring roll was an awesome touch and even the brussel sprouts had a ton of flavor. My lamb was delicately braised and plated, while it's meat fell right off the bone with only a fork. The one thing I didn't care for was the au jus. It was thickened and was more of a gravy than au jus, where I was expecting a lamb-flavored consomme…lol
We rounded out dinner with a shared Warm Apple Bread Pudding dessert, of which I devoured it in its entirety 🙂
I can definitely see myself returning. I very much enjoyed my meal and the ride wasn't that bad either.
I went with my wife to brassiere persil last night for dinner.using a Groupon coupon We ordered a french onion soup a bread with mushrooms a beef stew and a pork chop. All of the dishes were very good and were very flavorfful.Service was very good to excellent and was very responsive. My only negative comment was that I felt the food was somewhat pricey. Based on this the price to value ratio is below average for this type of restaurant.All in all this was a very good experience and I look forward to returning when discounts are made available.
I will start by saying that I love French food and when it's in my area, you can be sure that I will be there to check it out ASAP. It doesn't have to be uppity, the food just has to be delicious to keep me coming back.
In that case, first I'll discuss the food. I'm a huge bronzini fan so yes, I have frequented this spot on Mondays (it's the special). While I can say that the fish is prepared quite well, on many accounts I've been surprised at how small it is! After 1 or 2 times I thought that it was just a fluke, but they have the smallest bronzini every time hands down!
So on to the rest of the meal and regular menu:
-The wine selection is quite impressive here in both white and red.
-The escargot is prepared well (I love it) and it's welcome because it's hard to find anywhere in the area and the tuna tartar is decent.
-The scallops appetizer wasn't memorable on two accounts and I would skip it.
-Mussels: very skinny and small, I wouldn't order again
-On salads, I've really only enjoyed the baby spinach with goat cheese…it's REALLY good. You can't miss with any of the salads
-Entrees: Nothing is really too memorable
-Dessert: Hands down, profiteroles.
The ambiance is very french bistro – dark, romantic, intimate and no space. I love it, others can't stand it because it can get really loud and tables are on top of each other
The service is friendly and efficient – nothing spectacular but nothing bad.
Bottom line: they always have a groupon, use that to eat here for the first time then form your own opinion. There is nothing bad to say here but nothing that keeps me loyal…though I love the desserts, wines, apps, salads…I'm not sure why this place isn't my go to or doesn't excite me. It's just very hit or miss.
Food – 1/5
The meal started off well. My girlfriend and I were each given a small warm loaf of white bread and butter. Unfortunately that was the last good thing we ate that night. I had the Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese Tart and the Sole Meuniere. The Tart was not great. The olives that were cooked into it gave the it an overwhelming olive taste. Even without the olives the tart was dry and boring. The Sole was served in a lemon caper sauce. Both the fish and the sauce were bland and the capers they used were too bitter for my liking. The Sole came with two sides, boiled potatoes and julienne vegetables. The boiled potatoes were undercooked and boring. The julienne vegetables were the only part of the dish I enjoyed. My girlfriend had the French Onion Soup and the ravioli of the day (butternut squash). She said that the soup was decent, but thought the cheese had a sour taste. She hated the ravioli. She said that the butternut squash filling was not sweet and the brown sauce that was used was terrible. She only ate a bite of the ravioli before the waiter took the dish away. The only good thing about the dish was that the waiter took it off the bill because my girlfriend told him that she didn't like it (this was after being asked if there was something wrong with it once he noticed she didn't eat it).
Decor – 2/5
Very ordinary looking, nothing special. Tables are very close to each other, which resulted in our observance of the three most miserable women having a conversation about a cheating husband and their favorite child.
Service – 5/5
As I mentioned earlier, the waiter insisted on taking the ravioli off the bill once my girlfriend told him that she didn't like it. In addition to that, the food came out fast, our waters were refilled frequently, and our waiter noticed as soon as we finished each drink (I had 3 sodas… so crazy!).
Cost – 2/5
The appetizers were in the $10 range and entrees were all around $20. Not too pricey, but not cheap. Given that we disliked our food I would say it is overpriced.