Cherche Midi
“Two of us went with the Cherche Midi Omlette and my boyfriend got the prime rib burger, which was nothing short of incredible – I was jealous.”
“We finished with the chocolate soufflé which had the right notes of velvety chocolate bitterness and sweetness.”
“Having been to Minetta Tavern eaten the Black Label Burger there my expectations for Cherche Midi were high and they didn't disappoint.”
Cherche Midi
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Fancy burger tour de NYC continues, and this time, it turns to French, Cherche Midi!
Very classic French interior, wine bottles all along the walls, a very cool bar area, and classic red leather booths, as my friend said, "very French".
I came here not having fully inspected the menu beforehand (very unlike me), but knowing that my heart was of course set on the burger. Upon viewing the menu, which included some unique items, namely frogs legs on the appetizers, part of me wish I had a more open mind on what I ate! Not open minded enough to go there!
The wine list was large and expensive, and we settled on a medium-bodied red recommended by our waiter since I don't know French wine to say the least. It was delicious and well received all around. We were also brought over a big basket of fresh sourdough bread which was awesome. We started off with the endive salad and the grilled tartine, both which were good, but the tartine won that contest. Bread over salad any day (sorry not sorry!)
The 3 of us shared 2 burgers, which is typically what we do, both ordered the recommended medium rare, the perfect pink! We also had to get a side of the Brussel sprouts!
The burgers were juicy and flavorful, especially with the bacon marmalade! *drool* The fries were awesome also and between the 3 of us the plates were left essentially empty. Was it the best burger I've ever had? No, but it was pretty damn good. The brussels, were charred perfectly, and actually melted in your mouth. If only every place made Brussel sprouts this good!
We passed on dessert, which could've been solely cheese, as the waiter displayed a tray of dessert cheese. Honestly, I would've preferred to start with cheese, but it wasn't offered then!
I have to mention the weird bathrooms here. They're communal (ish). Let me explain. 2 separate doors, marked men & women, but they both go to the same room, which just seems silly. I got a little laugh out of it, and then opened a second door that said women, which was actually separate. Not sure what the point there is, but if it's to confuse people, it's working.
Everything was spot on here – the service, food, wine, and atmosphere were all spectacular. Since I came with a group of six, we ordered a lot of dishes to try and I have to say that they were all great. Some that stood out in particular:
Clam Chowder (this was a special that day): I usually get very worried about how heavy this appetizer can be, but theirs was perfect. It wasn't creamy at all and maintained the same delicious taste.
Steak Tartare: would highly recommend to share – there was a good amount for all of us to have seconds and it was flavored very well.
Cauliflower: Flavored to perfection!
The wait staff was very attentive to our needs throughout the night. We made reservations and were seated when 4/6 of us got there. All the food came out in a timely manner and no one pushed us to leave towards the end of our meal so we ended up staying there for almost three hours.
I hesitate to give Cherche Midi because it likely deserves at least four stars for food quality and the beautiful French-inspired space. But I can't give it more than three stars based on my one Saturday afternoon brunch experience because it was — and I know no better way of describing it — an hot mess. I will have to say that the situation evolved to the point where we either had to laugh or cry, and we chose to laugh – and still enjoyed the delicious food.
When we arrived with our reservation for 6, we were immediately seated. The mimosas, Bloody Mary and other brunch drinks were quite expensive ($12 for a mimosa), so we opted to share the punch pitcher. It was tasty and fairly strong, so we were satisfied with it. We all chose to experience the famous prime rib burger and fries. There is no disputing it — it was delicious, and the bun was perfect. It is a small but thick burger that would have been made better, in my opinion, if it were charcoal grilled. While the food and drinks are a bit on the expensive side compared to the usual brunch options in NYC, we all agreed it was worth it.
What made the experience so laughable was the service. Our "first" server looked as if he had just arrived from an all night rave. He started to set our tables with the punch glasses, and accidentally placed the two glasses down on the empty table beside us instead of at our plates (which was just amazing to watch). After correcting this mistake, he would go away for long periods and seemed completely disoriented. He also delivered the wrong food to other tables. Enter Server #2 who started coming over to see us (because we are cute ha), and commenced to serve us with excellent service and a fun flirty attitude. We loved him. But unfortunately, Raver #1 still thought that he was our server, so he would come over and ask us ever so often how we were doing, and of course we had already ordered from Cute Flirt #2. I felt kind of bad for #1 because he realized that he had been inattentive, and noticeably was failing. I would love to know the end of this story, and whether Raver Boy still has a job, but Cute Flirt #2 eventually won out at our table and was — well, fabulous.
Despite the craziness of the situation and what seemed like some bad choices in staffing, we actually did love our food, and we had a memorable experience — unfortunately a bit at their expense. Lots of possibilities here, and I hope our experience was circumstantial.
Had a enjoyable dinner here. Started with the steak tartare – good not great. Went with the cheeseburger for my main. A solid burger for sure. The French fries are excellent. Perfectly crispy and seasoned. Service was attentive and well timed. Liked the atmosphere and bathroom.
Cherche Midi saved the day in a big way this Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, giving us a wonderful meal on very short notice and being incredibly hospitable and accomodating, to the point of finding the correct charger for my boyfriend's grandfather's phone, since he was on his way to the airport after our meal and his battery was low. We called around 12:15 looking for a 1:30 reservation and given how popular Keith McNally's other spots are, I was surprise that they were able to fit us in. Once we arrived we were warmly welcomed and seated at one of the booths. Food-wise, everything was great – I felt like I needed to be vaguely healthy and went with the kale salad (to go with my Sancerre), which was delicious and came with enough nuts, Stilton and cranberries that it was still filling. Two of us went with the Cherche Midi Omlette and my boyfriend got the prime rib burger, which was nothing short of incredible – I was jealous. It was cooked "as the chef recommends" which a textbook example of medium rare. The one small quibble I have was that the coffee tasted slightly burnt/bitter-tasting but honestly we had such a good meal that I barely noticed.
Weird way to start a review but you really have to check out the bathroom here. It's down a flight of stairs that makes you feel like you are descending into a subway station due to the wall tiling. Then there are two doors, one marked Men and one marked Women. Make sure to push not pull like I did at first. Both doors lead into the same community sink room anyway. Then there are two more doors marked Men and Women and those lead into separate bathrooms. I like quirky.
Service is great here. Kendra was extremely attentive and helpful. Her assistants were great at bringing things out, clearing things away, and refilling our water glasses.
We started with the Octopus Plancha which was extremely tasty with fennel, leeks, and pesto sauce. We also had the Baby Gems Lettuces. Small portion for $13 but very fresh and a nice light dressing.
My wife and daughter had the Steak Frite. My wife said the steak was so good that she didn't need to use the provided butter or béarnaise sauce. I had the Prime Rib Burger and it was excellent.
For sides we had the brussel spouts and spinach with mushrooms. The latter dish needed more spinach.
It is a very visually pleasing place too. Coming in from Jersey, it is close to the Holland Tunnel and there is street parking on the nearby streets
Highly recommend! This place definitely lives up to its hype. My fiance and I came here last year and we each had the filet mignon au poivre. It was excellent and I ended up cleaning my entire plate along with my fiance's. I forget which wine we had, but they have an excellent selection which went well with the filet. Also had pommes frites on the side. I really want to come back here to try the burger, but if you're in the mood for filet mignon au poivre, then definitely try this place!
Heads up: this review is solely for my experience at the bar. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to try the food, though I'm eager to return for their famous prime rib burger.
My experience starts on a Friday night, when the entire area is teeming with people ready to celebrate the weekend. We had a friend in from out of town and wanted to show him what he's missing by not living in NYC. But it was hard to do when every single bar we went to sent us away or asked us to wait hours for a table. Just for drinks!
We were wandering by Cherche Midi, frustrated, when we noticed the warm and welcoming glow coming from the windows. We walked in to give it a try and because most people were there for dinner at the tables, the bar area was completely empty. There was a great bartender who happily whipped up a magical shot for us that included about 10 ingredients including Mezcal and Aperol. We had a grand old time hanging out by the bar and chatting with the bartender, and because the place was at a decently buzzing noise level from the diners, no one looked over at us annoyed for becoming increasingly boisterous.
It's a beautiful space, clean and chic and French-inspired all at once, and as I mentioned it has some of the best lighting I've ever seen in a restaurant. So hopefully my 5-star rating will remain once I return for a full meal, but for now I couldn't love it more!