From sequel restaurants to legacy hotels, NYC’s trends always keep us on our toes – and recently, it has been experiencing a French restaurant revival. The city has always welcomed classic brasseries and fine dining establishments, but until now, many of the options were tired or stuffy. Starting last year, with the opening of hotspots that have drawn A-listers, tourists, and locals alike (like Chez Fifi and La Tete d’Or), French dining in the city is undergoing a renaissance. Here are all the hottest new spots to save.
76 Carmine St, NY 10014
Le Chêne, West Village
Best for: a chic catch-up with friends.
This West Village spot is the first solo project from chef Alexia Duchêne and her husband Ronan Duchêne Le May, who leads the beverage programme. The menu highlights traditional French recipes with a New York twist in dishes like oeuf mayonnaise with confit tuna and Mimolette cheese and the already famous Pithiviers Terre & Mer, a puff pastry layered with potato gratin, pork, and smoked eel. Pair with classic cocktails such as a Monceau Spritz and Vieux Carré.
lechenenyc.com
Drai's Supper Club, West Village
Best for: a place to see and be seen.
Vegas has come East with this opening by trendy hospitality group Drai’s. With 8,000 square feet over two floors, Drai’s Supper Club has a retro vibe that nods to old New York. The main dining room is home to a performance stage that hosts live jazz bands and a menu that features contemporary French dishes including foie gras terrine, frog legs, steak au poivre, and baba au rum for dessert. The lower lounge is an intimate and moody space with cheetah print accents and classic cocktails.
draisnyc.com
244 W 14th St, NY 10011
1 Little West 12th St, NY 10014
Sirrah, Meatpacking District
Best for: playful takes on French classics.
At Sirrah – September Hospitality’s first opening – the classic prix-fixe steak frites appears as a four-course $75 menu. Cody Pruitt of Libertine was the consulting chef, bringing dishes like French onion soup in a shot glass, ratatouille with summer produce, and a seven-ounce hanger steak with pommes frites served tableside from a cart adorned with a Tiffany lamp. The maximalist design features velvet curtains, patterned wallpaper, and burled oak panelling.
sirrahny.com
Maison Provence, Williamsburg
Best for: a cosy Brooklyn date night.
Be transported to the South of France at this sunny Williamsburg spot by native Frenchman and chef Laurent ‘Lolo’ Dantonio, who was born and raised in Nice and previously operated Pâtes et Traditions in the same spot, which closed during the pandemic. Guests can munch on elaborate cheese and charcuterie boards, socca (a chickpea flatbread from Nice), hearty salads (including a traditional Niçoise), pastas, and a lengthy menu of savoury crepes (with sweet ones available for dessert).
maisonprovencebk.com
52 Havemeyer St, NY 11211
964 Lexington Ave, NY 10021
Cafe Commerce, Upper East Side
Best for: fans of Cafe Commerce’s original West Village outpost.
When Cafe Commerce was open in the West Village 2008–2015, its fans loved the vibe as much as Chef Harold Moore’s cooking. This January, Moore revived the gem in the Upper East Side as an evolution of everything we loved about the original: Harold’s Famous Chicken, the bread programme, steak Diane, and coconut cake. The bistro-style setting is once again home to the iconic 19-foot mural of Saint Sebastien suspended above the bar.
cafecommercenyc.com
Maison Passerelle, Financial District
Best for: a meal that’s French – but not too French.
Inside Wall Street’s new French department store, Printemps, Maison Passerelle is led by chef Gregory Gourdet. It offers Haitian cuisine with plenty of French influence, plus Gourdet’s signature twists that landed him on Top Chef and netted him a James Beard Award. Expect dishes like cane syrup-glazed duck and Haitian coffee-rubbed steak frites in a fine dining setting with seating upholstered in Pierre Frey fabric and a wall fresco inspired by the sunsets of former French colonies.
maisonpasserellenyc.com
1 Wall St, NY 10005
119 South St, 119 Peck Slip, NY 10038
The Paris Café, Seaport
Best for: paying tribute to the past.
It’s always exciting when an historic restaurant returns, and The Paris Café in Seaport is a lovely comeback story of a circa-1873 restaurant that had seen the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Edison grace its chairs. It closed in 2020 due to the pandemic and reopened this July with ornate wall plasterwork, a pewter-topped bar, custom mosaic fan-pattern floors, and even a performance space for jazz shows. The classic French menu features a raw bar, escargot, moules frites, and steak frites au poivre.
