Le Rivage
“The prix fixe is even cheaper during the theater hours so don't limit yourself.”
“LaRivage along with Becco 's are my go to restaurants in the theater district.”
“For dessert, we ordered chocolate mousse and poire helene (like a pear sundae).”
Le Rivage
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Wonderful pre theater menu. A lot of choice for all palates. I loved my frog legs in garlic butter sauce, onion soup and cheesecake. The prix fixe is even cheaper during the theater hours so don't limit yourself. Old style French. Sauces.
Overall, we were satisfied with the dishes and service. I especially like Peach Melba. It was pretty awesome!
This is a hard review to write. For $25 you get a lot of food, 3-course meal and coffee or tea. The food itself is nothing extraordinary. It's good but it's not great, fantastic or anything worth coming back for. I am French and I know good French food, this was alright, but not to the standard I had hoped for.
First of all, this place has to be redone. It looks awful! It's called "rivage" which means the shore or has a connotation with the sea side, from the outside you can see it, the facade is white and blue, but then you walk in and you are in a mountain cabin themed restaurant, it is so weird and so outdated. The host and the waitress were very nice though, and the fresh roses on the tables were a nice addition to the overall tern and sad look of this place.
Our first course consisted of frisee salad with bacon and hard boiled eggs, I like it but I am not sure about the authenticity of the dressing. We also had the pork pate which was good. I asked the waitress if it was made in the house, she confessed that it wasn't. I was a little upset to hear, pate isn't hard to make and admitting that you bought it elsewhere and selling back to me is lame.
Main course was boeuf bourguignon, it was edible but honestly not very good at all. I had the trout amandine, again it was good but there was no kick to the dish, it cruelly lacked depth and flavors. –UGH–
Deserts were a super duper yellow creme brulee to which I believe the vanilla was forgotten and the cracking caramel super thin and a poire belle helene from which the pear was from a can.
Oh well, for $25 you get a lot of food, and again it's totally decent, but it's not the best French food you will ever eat.
All good. They take reservations and seem genuinely happy to see you. Service was excellent, waitress was friendly, hostesses felt as if you were a guest in their own home.
Their menu is all 3 course price fixe. We had the French onion soup and the seafood crepe. The crepe was amazingly rich and yummy. For the mains we had Trout Almondine and Chicken Cordanbleu. Both were excellent. Dessert was chocolate mousse and a bread pudding in a wine sauce. The bread pudding was decent, but in my opinion the only thing less than stellar. The menu selection is very large so you could mix and max for eternity.
Really great experience for pre-theater dinner. Took a group of 8, and our table was ready as requested and service was all setup to get us out ahead of the seating time for our show.
Everyone's meal was exactly as they expected. We especially enjoyed the escargot (an add-on to the prix fixe menu), mussels, coq au vin and shrimp gambas. The dessert offerings included in the prix fixe menu are all excellent, and well deserving to enjoy prior to leaving.
The wine list was average sized, but decently priced. And our service was excellent. Both our server and the chef were polite and engaged in good conversation with our party, while being respectful of our time.
Highly recommended for restaurant row when you need somewhere ahead of your show!
Such an adorable French place! I just had a little reunion with some of the girls I studied abroad with in France and we all had an amazing time at Le Rivage!
Note before 7:30pm they only have the prefix menu – so if you're not looking for that come after 7:30pm but honestly the $39 for the prefix is well with it as their food was quite good!
I had the baked mushroom risotto, sirloin steak ($13 supplement) and a peach tart for dessert oh and we went through 3 bottles of delicious red wine from Bordeaux region. All in all cost us about $78 each inclusive of tax and tip.. Not bad at all, considering the food was delicious the staff was nice (even got a visit from the chef) and e ambiance was intimate.
All in all I think I'll be back! I love a good French place in Manhattan! Makes me remember my days on Paris.
I've been loathe to write a review about this place because I really think this is one of the best kept little secrets on Restaurant Row. I don't want some other folks getting in here, making it hard for me to get a table. But then again, I also want this place to get business so here we go!
I've been coming here for the past couple of years and always been extremely happy with the food. More importantly I absolutely LOVE the $25 prix fixe special menu (this is after 7:30pm). You get an appetizer, entree, dessert and coffee. If that's not a great deal in the middle of the theater district, I honestly don't know what is. One thing is for sure, I live on this block, walk past it everyday and have dined in literally all the restaurants on this street. LR still remains a personal favorite b/c of the reasonable prices, quaint and cozy atmosphere, very friendly hosts and servers and decent food for the money.
As for appetizers, I'm definitely a fan of the garlic mussels. The sauce is tasty and I often find myself smearing my bread on it. I also like the french onion soup here, though I wish they used just a bit more cheese. However, I do like the taste of the broth and how it is not so offensively salty as in other places. As for the entrees, they do a good job with the fish there. The tilapia and salmon are all well made but personally I'm a big fan of the flounder. It feels quite light, but the savory sauce gives it a nice flavor. As for the meats, the beef bourgignon was excellent. The wine sauce was tasty and the meat was deliciously tender. Again, the sauce here is perfect for slurping up with bread.
The dessert menu is also surprisingly huge for a prix fixe menu. There are a ton of choices, but I really enjoyed the napoleon. Throw in some coffee and you have the makings of a nice meal.
Note – this is not Jean Georges and people shouldn't come in expecting some kind of flashy high-end French experience. But if you want a good simple meal and plenty of bang for your buck, this is definitely a great place to consider if you're in the area.
Le Rivage is one of those places on Restaurant Row (46th street) that people typically enjoy their pre-theater dinners before a Broadway show. But I decided to try them out for their $25 lunch prix fixe, which includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert with tea or coffee.
The escargot appetizer was delicious, with a playful presentation in the shell. Who could not like garlic and butter?
The venison steak came out simultaneously rare and well-done. It also tasted as if someone marinated it in cognac for two days. The meat's chewiness actually made the sad lumps of sides (pureed potatoes and spinach boiled into oblivion) welcome additions on my plate.
The dessert was New York Cheesecake — who doesn't like cheesecake?
Service was helpful but clumsy; there were many missteps. I waited several minutes at the hostess's station looking for someone who would seat me until the coat check lady checked me in. The waitress handed me the wrong menu and did not realize it until I was about to order my food. Lastly, I was confronted on the way out the door because of a mistake with the receipts.
All in all, food is passable, service is clumsy, and the decor seems like a frumpy living room your grandmother may have decorated. There are many other places you can go for a quick pre-theater meal in this neighborhood.