La Carafe
“They offer an enormous bowl of fresh mussels, fries and glass of wine for like $20……”
“Hard to find an intimate, cozy, neighborhood restaurant in Midtown but La Carafe is definitely one of the few nearly extinct species left.”
“We had a pre-theatre dinner at La Carafe, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.”
La Carafe
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This isn't a great restaurant but it's a fun place and I'd definitely go back.The Ninth Ave food fair was going on and the place was open to the street and noisy.My wife and I had brunch.I'm a notorious brunchophobe.But they had a "Mediterranean" platter- dolmades, feta, humus, baba ghounush, falaffel,salad and pita bread- and I was in.The quality was surprisingly high.My wife had a Salad Nicoise with a lot of pretty good tuna.But let's be honest the cap was it was an all you could drink brunch and while staying within civilized bounds, dear reader, we partook.They have not bad Bloody Mary's , an assortment of wine and sangria.You can switch .It's not real expensive and it suited our moods.We had Tarte Tartin for dessert , which was good .The espresso and capuccino were excellent.Service is good and the waiters are charmers.
Ate here for the first time last night and enjoyed my experience. It's a cute French (?) place in which the entire staff sounds like they are French … At least they all seemed to have accents.
The reason I write French (?) place is that the menu is not really French. There were plenty of Italian dishes on the menu. Quite a few pasta selections along with fried calamari. Not exactly French staples.
I ordered the small cheese plate and was given a nice selection of cheeses. Cheese is my favorite thing in the entire world – and I really was impressed with the selection I was offered. My only gripe is that the cheeses were served at post refrigerator temperatures rather than room temperature. In my opinion, cheese should never be served at anything other than room temperature.
Next, I had the Poulet Paillard Aux Champignons & Salade (Grilled Chicken topped with Mushrooms and salad). I was a little disappointed by this fish. Not sure what I was expecting, but it was honestly just plain old grilled chicken breast with a green salad and mushrooms on top of it. I guess being a "French" resturant, I had expected there to be some sort of sauce or something on top of the chicken.
Anyway – they have a very nice wine list and a full bar to choose from . Ordered a glass of cognac as an after dinner drink — and got a huge glass full for $ 15.00. It was nice!
The staff at La Carafe is very nice. They do not rush you. I can also substantiate the reports of others that the waitress was hard to waive down to get our check when we were ready for it. Took a couple of tries. But that's fine….
Overall I liked this place – despite my disappointment over my entree. The menu has a lot of selections on it, so I'd definitely be willing to come back and try something else if others wanted to go here. However, with so many restaurants in the city to choose from and try — I just don't know if there was enough here to compel me to come back on my own.
PSA: $18.95 bottomless brunch Saturday and Sunday. A true hidden gem in Hell's Kitchen, this intimate brunch spot is overlooked by locals and tourists alike. I came here on a Saturday and the place was literally empty. Terrible for the restaurant but great for us!
Our group of four had the salmon eggs Benedict and the grapes and pancakes (usually it's strawberries). I was a bit skeptical about how good the food was going to be, but I can honestly say this was one of the tastiest eggs bennies I've had in a while! The eggs were poached perfectly, and the salmon was so tasty!! I also liked that the base was a baguette, not English muffin. The salad on the side was also a nice healthy touch. I tried a bit of the pancake. Though they had a great consistency, they're on the thinner side and looked borderline crepe-like. Not my ideal pancake, so I'd definitely recommend getting the salmon eggs Benedict!
The unlimited mimosas were so good. You can also switch to another drink halfway through at no additional cost if you get bored of the mimosas.
Given our large appetites, we decided to go for dessert too. I had the chocolate soufflé. It was very fluffy, and let's be real, no dessert can taste bad when served a la mode.
So before the whole world knows about the bottomless brunch and this spot turns into another one of those trendy brunch spots in the city with a 2+ hour wait, go eat here!!!
A solid 3 stars. Food is not amazing, but the restaurant is soooo chill and makes for a really nice dinner when you want to focus on the company, not so much the food. In any case, I had a few small plates and they were all pretty okay.
Good wine, decent drink prices BUT – I asked for a dirty martini and it was SO olive-y I wasn't convinced there was anything BUT olive juice in there. They took it back and were super nice about it but the second drink was worse than the first. Stick with the wine here.
Regardless of the martini debacle, I got a good vibe from the staff and the owner, and overall enjoyed myself. Just don't come here looking for blow-your-mind food.
A nice but strange brunch. We only saw one employee the whole time. He had his Bluetooth headset on the whole time and didn't seem like a server. When we ordered our meal and asked for an omelette with multiple ingredients he got confused and told us we would owe more. We were there from 1-3pm on a Saturday And only one or two tables were occupied at any point in time.
Food was good but not great. A strange experience.
I would give 4.5 stars if it were possible. This is a charming spot that I stumbled upon one evening after work and will be frequenting more often. Fair drink deals, a very quaint atmosphere, owner on-site, and excellent service. Manages to achieve an unpretentious European atmosphere. The feel was a casual, family-atmosphere, yet a little romantic and nice. Different from the alternatives in the vicinity. I would drop in here for a post-theatre bite with a friend or date!
Friends were in the city from out of town. I met them and they wanted to get drinks after the show. I panicked for a minute because the theatre district is not the best areas for drinks or dinner.
Anyway, I was very happy when we happened upon Le Carafe. It was perfect for post-theater drinks. It was a late show and it nice to find a place that was open and welcoming. Everyone here was very nice.
We enjoyed our drinks and my college buddy LOVED their music. It was mostly older songs with a jazzy twist.
Drinks, great music, and a warm, welcoming spot made for a perfect visit with some old friends.
3.5***
There are tons of options in Hell's Kitchen. We came here because of the Happy Hour specials…until 10PM. $15 pitchers of Sangria, and $5 drinks. This is definitely pretty generous of a happy hour. I was surprised that not more people took advantage. We got a bit hungry and ordered a few small plates — the escargot and mussels. Ehhh the food is nothing special….I've had better. I'd definitely return for the drinks though.