Cafe D’Alsace
“In the warmer months they have outdoor seating, though it can be difficult to secure a table if you go during normal dining times.”
“Had the price fixe dinner , loved the duck sausage and the three mustards brought out.”
“Charming Upper East side restaurant with cheerful service, a golden interior and well-priced food and cocktail menu.”
Cafe D’Alsace
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I really enjoy this place. It has the brass, and warm feel of a traditional French bistro. This is comfort food to me. Sausages, cassoulet, all that good stuff hits all my favorite things.
Love the sausages, the boudin is terrific, the others are good too.
I like the leeks appetizer, something so simple but so pleasing.
Cooked leeks with a vinegarette. They can be a bit stringy through so ask for a steak knife.
New York exists to eat. Forget the financial district, forget the museums, forget everything. Everything you do in NY centers around filling up time between meals, and the only reason there is time between meals is because if your stomach ruptures and you die, you won't be able to keep eating.
This was far from the best meal I have ever had in NY, but it was a really good brunch. The restaurant was a couple of blocks from our airbnb on our last day, so we decided to hit it up for brunch before heading to the airport. My girlfriend pointed out the Shakshuka, which was something she got in Boston at one of the awesome restaurants we went to there, and it was one of the best breakfast/brunch items I had tasted, so I made sure to get it here.
For those of you unfamiliar, it is a Mediterranean dish, described as a casserole of eggs in a tangy tomato sauce with peppers, onions, paprika, cumin, cilantro, cheddar with grilled country bread (though I think the bread thing isn't part of the recipe – just a basket of bread). I got it with the 2 merguez sausages. Now, from this description we can determine 2 things: one – I can read a menu and transcribe it to yelp perfectly, and 2-this isn't your average breakfast. I got the sausage because I wanted protein and like breakfast meat and because its sausage, but really, the dish doesn't need the sausage. It is fan-freaking-tastic and doesn't need anything; no salt or pepper – maybe just some water after you try to eat it right away and burn a hole in the roof of your mouth (the dish comes out in a piping hot iron skillet).
I am going 4 stars instead of 5 for 2 reasons. Firstly, at $19, it is expensive for breakfast. However, this is NY and you have to expect to pay more, so that probably isn't fair. More importantly, I have had this dish twice. I tasted it once in Boston and then had it here, and frankly, they did it better in Boston. That's not to say this wasn't good – this was excellent – but the one in Boston was noticeably better and while there might be room for more than one 5-star Shakshuka, until more places start serving it, I can't give both 5-stars when one was better than another. Again, maybe not fair – it was 2 different restaurants in 2 cities, so they aren't exactly competing, but…nothing, I have no way of ending that sentence.
I didn't see much of the inside of the restaurant as we sat on the patio, but it looked very nice. The outside wall opens up all the way so it merges seamlessly with the patio, giving it a nice open-air feel. We were in the sun – the entire patio is not shaded – but thankfully it wasn't too hot. I was still sweaty, but I always am, and that is too much information. Sorry.
Coffee was very good. Service was excellent. That grilled country bread? Superb. And, it was warm enough that our plate of butter melted completely, so we could dip it in butter. Score!
Don't know how they do other meals, but brunch is a winner here.
HEAVEN.
The shakshuka is amazing. Comes in a cast iron pan and looks decadent but actually quite healthy. It's just poached egg very runny with tomatoes and a ton of spices plus a little cheese. 15 bucks and so filling for something relatively healthy.
The table next to me got there food as I was leaving. Everything looked incredible, from the steak tartare to the crepes.
Patio is very nice if weather okay. Indoor a/c was terrific.
Really nice people from the server to hostess to food runners.
And the BREAD BASKET! Best French bread had in a long time–more sourdough /french mix. And the butter! Homemade apricot jam! And these brioche-like almond thingies. Heaven.
I just started training to be an adoption counselor at the ASPCA not far away and this will become a regular thing for me.
If you're in a hurry, you need not worry at Cafe D'Alsace. The food comes out SUPER QUICK! We had just placed an order and 5 minutes later, the food was out — hot.
I got the Smoked Salmon Benedict. While it tasted good, it was ordinary. Maybe I'll go for something more special next time…
The complimentary bread was hella delicious though! Especially the nutty one. Warm, flakey, buttery, soft… Yummy!!
Came here with my service dog and they were extremely rude to us. They told us to leave the passage way near the bar. They are discriminating against people with service dogs. Lance was not nice at all. I order from here all the time. I wont be returning!
Upper east side AWESOME! Out of towner looking for a great Sunday brunch spot on a warm Sunday because I forgot to make reservations at Tavern on the Green. Glad I did! My husband found this place on Yelp. He did good.
10 minute wait on Sunday @ 11:00. Seems to be a place for the locals. Not many people carrying around their "I heart NY" souvenir shop bags in this place. The ambiance is tres chic. As it started to warm up outside the wooden glass panels on the front of the restaurant fold into one another and the whole restaurant just opens up to the warm air.
Everything on the menu looked great but sadly I could only chose one dish. I knew none of my choices would have let me down because the bread basket was so good. Warm with crispy crust bits. Oh yeah, the apricot preserve was on point.
For my brunch choice I went with the salmon benedict served with roasted potatoes and salad. Very good. My husband ordered the Shakshuka (everything but the kitchen sink in a skillet). It was huge and he ate the whole thing. Oh yeah, the coffee was good too.
OMG the omelette Lorraine is the epitome of a fully satisfying breakfast omelette. The onion, cheese, bacon bits. YUM.
we also had a really sweet and great waiter named Andrew!
The wait is never that bad and always worth it in my opinion
Hit or miss. I've had a great egg benedict but also a really badly made shakshuka (egg casserole) which was very watery and under-cooked. Go early or expect a bit of a wait for weekend brunches.