Pergola Des Artistes
“After perusing all the comments on several other restaurants in the theater district we decided on trying pergola des artiste.”
“While walking around Times Square trying to find a place to eat before a show, I walked by this place right next to the Les Mis Theatre.”
“We had the duck ragout over pasta and the beef bourguignon, both were rich and had delicious, long-cooked flavor.”
Pergola Des Artistes
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We should have been tipped off when were the only people in the entire restaurant under the age of 50. It's extremely cluttered and the decor is dark, dingy, and kitschy.
The service was definitely sub-par. We had to ask for water 3 times before they brought it to us and the same for bread. I ordered lamb and they brought out beef, but the food was so mediocre and the service so bad that it wasn't worth asking for them to bring out my right food.
I would not recommend this place to anyone who considers them self to be a "foodie." You will be disappointed.
I was at a conference at the Marriott and just couldn't subject myself to the rubber chicken lunch that was provided. I wanted to find something non-touristy and delicious but still fast and nearby. I happened upon Pergola Des Artistes and wandered in.
It was a perfect little French lunch spot. I'm so glad Yelp allows check ins because it's the kind of place I would have wanted to return to, but never could have found again.
I ordered the sole meuniere. Which was excellently flakey and buttery. The traditional green beans and fingerling potatoes came with it. They also served some excellent crispy french bread. I would have loved to have a glass of wine, but passed.
When I came in, I told them I didn't have much time and they were sure to get me fed and out the door with plenty of time to spare.
I used to come here for lunch when I was working around the area. Its really the first French restaurant I've been to with good prices and delicious food. The staff is always friendly and tells you everything you need to know about their Today's Specials! If anyones craving for some French cuisine I'll always recommend this place!!
Oh a French restaurant close to the hustle and bustle of the Theater District. The restaurant is very old school, the place is very straightforward and seems like a very popular pre-theater option. The restaurant is located on a very popular strip on the restaurant row in the district. The place is narrow, but comfy and does have some really good eats. The day I went, I only had appetizers since I had plans afterwards. The clientele is definitely an older crowd, but don't be dissuaded, the charm of the place and the great food should be more than a reason to go.
The food:
Gravlax with black beans and corn- The flavors were really nice, the black beans and corn were a tad tricky to eat since they kept on falling off, but the knife and fork did the trick. The dish is slightly spicy which is a nice counter balance to the salt of the salmon.
Foie gras Torchon with roasted red pepper- this dish was excellent. I am a big fan of foie gras and the one here is perfect. The red pepper added a nice sweetness and the crouton underneath was a nice vehicle to eat the foie, it also added a nice crunch to the dish.
Soft shell crab with garlic, capers and whipped polenta. Soft shell crabs are such a simple but wonderful dish. The ones here are cooked with garlic and capers and work really well. The crab is slightly crunch on the corners and are juicy and meaty in the center. The polenta was solid, but a tad mild in flavor. I think this was a special. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Duck Ragout over pasta- I liked this dish, but wasn't blown away but this dish. The ragout seemed a smidge salty and flavors were a little one note. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Lovely restaurant near the heart of Times Square. We went about an hour prior to closing, so the atmosphere was rather quiet. We really liked the decor: the restaurant was cute and cozy with paintings of the French countryside adorning the walls. The service was exceptional: both the waitstaff and the owner were very attentive, always making sure the food was up to their standards. We ordered a couple glasses of wine, the Steak An Poivre, medium rare, and Filet Mignon Brochette Over Brown Rice, also medium rare. Both dishes came with salad: the salad was very simple with delicious balsamic vinaigrette dressing and perfectly ripe halved cherry tomatoes. We both really enjoyed the salad. The Steak An Poivre was exquisite: the New York Strip was cooked to a perfect, juicy medium rare, and the peppercorn dressing was extremely flavorful without overpowering the steak. The Filet Mignon Brochette was a little more disappointing; the portion of meat was pretty small, and it was more medium than medium rare. We thought the Filet Mignon Brochette could have been priced a little lower given the portion size. However, it was still very tasty, and overall, we enjoyed the dinner very much. Would highly recommend Pergola Des Artistes, especially if you are in the neighborhood.
I'm going to give 1 star for ambience and 3 stars to the food because although it's a tourist trap the food was actually good. The only reason we entered this restaurant was because after a long day of tours we were extremely tired to go any where far and this place was conveniently located next to our hotel.
The inside on the restaurant needs some renovation, immediately! It's a pre-fix menu and there is no way to order items out of this deal, there is no a-la-carte menu and the prices range from $17 to $33+ for a combo composed of an entree and an appetizer.
I would not go back unless I am forced again by the traveling group I'm here with, sometimes you just have to compromise.
Don't let Pergola des Artistes' tourist-centric location mislead you; it's quite the diamond in the rough in the hub of mediocre Theater District restaurants. Nearly half a century ago, the restaurant was started by Marie and Jacques Ponsolle, first-generation immigrants from Cominac, a small town near the southern border of France. After years of hard work, the couple managed to see their dream come to fruition, and today, Pergola des Artistes is managed by their son, Christian.
I would not have stumbled across Pergola without a strong recommendation from one of my colleagues, who lived in NYC many years back. We came for dinner one weekday evening, and after starting off with a bottle of wine for the table, started off with a seemingly endless array of plates. The introductory bites included a Spicy Lox over sourdough toast accompanied with black beans and corn, an unconventional pairing of ingredients that I nonetheless enjoyed, despite my aversion to salmon. The use of capers and lemon olive oil was a sharp, tart contrast, a welcomed addition to the plate. It was followed by Foie Gras Torchon, a silky, rich bite highlighted by the cornichon and the roasted red pepper.
We were then presented with the Soft Shell Crab, accompanied by a whipped polenta. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the crab, packed with flavor and aroma thanks to the plethora of garlic and onions, and with a crunchy, neatly fried exterior. The whipped polenta was the disappointment on the plate, as the texture was too gritty and reminiscent of mashed potatoes, and could have used a touch more seasoning. The Duck Ragout over Linguine that followed was a heartier plate, consisting of a rich ragout with diced carrots, celery, and onion complementing the generous portion of duck. While on the saltier side, I did enjoy the hints of white wine and thyme present in the dish.
An exemplary French Onion Gratinée was the next course, my lone request of the night. The onions were caramelized to a browned, lightly sweetened state, the requisite red wine and Worcestershire were present, adding some much needed acidity, and the melted Gruyère on top was the final touch. We almost didn't have room for the final savory course, a perfectly-seared Steak au Poivre. Cooked to a medium and coated with a rich Bordelaise sauce, it was a testament to the principles of French cuisine: quality ingredients, simply, but well-prepared.
Perhaps this is what makes Pergola des Artistes stand out so clearly in my memory. There's a certain rustic quality to the dishes that I can't compare to any other French restaurant I've been to; it's not entirely as though they've come out of a relative's kitchen as the dishes are elevated beyond that level, but it doesn't have the pomp and circumstance that's paraded around most French restaurants in the city. Regardless, Pergola is an outlier amongst the eateries in the area, a welcome respite in a neighborhood typically categorized by its lack of dining options.
You know how memory can distort reality. The emotional content is often far more suggestive than the food on the plate.
In any event, while in New York a few weeks ago, I walked down past the Marriott Marquis and saw the red canopy for Pergola Des Artistes. I couldn't control my instant travelback to about 25 years ago. Then, I was staying at the Marquis with someone very important to me at the time. We had a quiet dinner at Pergola that was among the most romantic of my life. The food and wine were just background music for everything else that was flowing that night.
5 Stars for the memories alone.
The magic was the moment. Pergola, the stage upon which we danced.