La Mirabelle
“The duck with plums is wonderful, along with the soft shell crab, and the sweetbreads.”
“Don't come here if you want experimental or fusion-y food, but do come here if you like the classics done right.”
“Roasted Duckling and Beef Wellington were superb.”
La Mirabelle
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Service: Friendly, helpful, but not funny. The occasional French words thrown into conversation … kind of tacky and strange.
Atmosphere: Comfortable, fitting, nice paintings on the walls. Although our table had two almost broken chairs. Like the UWS, this has many people in the upper-age group… not that there's anything wrong with that. (See what I did there?)
Food: Dry and cold. Yes. You read that right. Although, my dish was probably left sitting out for a while due to being crowded, I can understand it. If I had a choice, I'd go during off peak hours.
Overall, I enjoyed the restaurant, but I wouldn't make a trip here unless I lived in the neighborhood.
Authentic French cuisine and atmosphere. Small and personal is the setting of this restaurant. Coat check and clean bathrooms. Greeted and seated quickly. Busy place so make a ressie, even for just 2.
Apps- French onion soup and my ceaser salad with fishes. Pepercorn steak was very peppery, had to wipe some off but cooked as desired and he had the duck which was fatty as duck is, but delish! The creme brûlée was bland- flat. Next time I'll try the fresh fruit tart our server was attentive and could sing!! See pics! I'll be back.
One step inside La Mirabelle tells you that despite being on the UWS, you're far from the dimly lit swank of Manhattan dining rooms. Instead, ruffled draperies, beige walls and a hodgepodge of paintings and floral arrangements seem fit for Grandma's house. But my Grandma was the best cook I knew. And the food at La Mirabelle is good. Really good.
The menu is French. Not delicately-plated-small-portioned French like many trendy restaurants claim. This is butter-laden-full-plate French. Take the Bouillabaisse, which consists of copious amounts of seafood swimming in a rich broth. I was put off at first when the waitress tied a bib around my neck (it didn't help that even in my 20s, I was probably half the age of the next oldest diner). But realistically, that fish stew probably required a bib. And I won't say no to delicious, hearty, messy, wonderful French comfort food – bib or not.
This is a small and completely unpretentious neighborhood French restaurant on the upper east side. Not touristy at all, this is just a family-run restaurant that takes a lot of pride in their food and service.
We came here at the suggestion of some locals and had a great meal. The prix fixe menu was $60 and had some great choices, and included a glass of wine. You can't do any better than that for quality food and service in Manhattan.
We definitely hope to be back again next time we are in NYC.
La Mirabelle is an old-timey, family-run French restaurant that has solid food and very friendly and warm service. The decor is a little bit stuffy, but I believe our 20-something selves cast a temporary glow on the slightly poorly-lit dining area.
The food was really good though. There was a good selection of very authentic French dishes – liver was an oft-featured item. The portion sizes are decidedly American, though.
To start, I had a cod au gratin, which is a mashed potato with cod, and topped off with an oven-baked bread crumbed crust. It was very creamy and tasted pleasantly of cod, albeit a bit too rich. Then I ordered a chicken liver with shallots and raspberry vinegar, and boy, was it a large portion! I had enough for a meal the next day. The portion sizes justify the prices a little bit.
I enjoyed my wine – I can't remember what it is now – and as I understand their wines by the glass list changes occasionally because the owner likes to switch things up.
Went here with 6 others for a special occasional, excellent French food though some dishes were definitely better than others.
Wonderful service, the older French woman was very good.
Drinks: French cider 11 dollars for a very full glass. Excellent, recommended, a bit sweeter than others I have had (a Doux perhaps.) I rarely add a part of the review for a drink but this cider deserves a special mention, 4.2
There was otherwise a 2010 e Guigal Cote Du Rhone (double price) and a 20111 Hugel & Fils Riesling (a bit more than double at 44.) Wine prices are high but this is a fancier French place on the Upper West. The wines themselves were delicious, the white being better.
Started with some free bread, good crunch to them, good selection.
Appetizers:
I had a special which was a mini Quail stuffed with cheese topped with bacon ($12?). The dish was fine. It reminded me of the devils on horseback dish from other places but more savory and more elegant. Large bones made it a bit difficult to eat also. The salad with it was good as well with a good dressing. 3.4
I also tried their famous Coquilles St. Jacques (14 or 12$?) from another which was delicious, preferred it. 4.3
I also tried some of the Herbed Goat Cheese (11?$) salad which was solid. 3.7
Other people got French Onion soup and a melange of other dishes.
Mains:
Special: King Crab with herb butter: 38$
This was probably one of my favorite seafood dishes I have had in recent memories. Ridiculously sweet crabs cooked to a point where a knife was barely necessary. There were three of them for the price (so each were around 13 not including the vegetables, rather huge portion and excellent. Good sauce. 4.7
3 people had the famous duck. The plum sauce was excellent and the duck was on point. 4.1
One person had a fish dish, I believe monk-fish. I remember it being well cooked but not much else. I won't review.
2 people had the two pasta dishes. Neither of them were that good. One in particular looked more like a dish you'd expect at a small Italian joint. But at 16 and 18 dollars, there wasn't much to complain about. The pesto pasta was better looking and more consumed of the two. 3.1/3.3
Desserts:
Perre sainte helene crepe (me): 10.50$?) Solid if not slightly boring, good crepe though, I think a darker chocolate sauce would be better. 3.8
Strawberry/raspberry/mango tart: Excellent, excellent crust, tasted homemade. 4.3
Chocolate lava cake, solid, good texture, but nothing out of the ordinary: 3.7
Coupe aux marrones was excellent, very big portion, 4.4
Totals and overall thoughts: Food here was excellent if not a bit pricy. The seafood dishes in general were much better outside of the duck.
42.9/55
7.8/10=3.9/5
Good classic and authentic french food that's reasonably priced
Bring on those rollators, walking canes, crutches or a little Parkinsonian shuffle when you enter this place, because it is all part of the 'dress code' here. As long as you have lots of gray hair, are over 70 years old, and have some liver spots on the hands, you will fit right in here. You will be greeted and served in French, whether the waiters are originally from there or not: They want to give this joint a French tone. The scary little curtains in front of the window should have given all of the above away already, but the fact that Zagat gives these guys 22 points for the food drew me in. Anyhoo…. I got myself the 'Omelette Ecosaisse' and asked for a fresh orange juice. I figured that at 4 dollars for a juice that should be a given, right? Well: It came out of a carton. Then the bread basket they served: I was served half of a -very tasty- croissant, and some toasted slices of French bread and the end part of what felt like a relatively old baguette. All I ate was the croissant with yummy strawberry compote and butter. The rest of the bread basket did not look interesting at all. The omelet was tasty, and came with a little salad on the side, as well as -again- HALF a slice of toasted bread. They have a little theme going on here, I swear. Again, the bread that came on the plate alongside of the omelette looked unappealing to me. Nevertheless: It was all served with a smile, and I didn't have to wait too long for my food. I am not sure if I will be back. Well: Maybe if I am super hungry, because they are next door to me.