One of New York City's most romantic restaurants - Café des Artistes
Written: Aug 17 '03 (Updated Aug 17 '06)
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Pros: fantastic French cuisine; excellent presentation; interesting wall murals; fawning wait staff
Cons: A/C is at best iffy
The Bottom Line: Everyone needs a romantic evening. Why not have an experience, too?
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| davidmanning's Full Review: Cafe des Artistes |
In what will certainly continue as tradition, we make an annual pilgrimage to Café des Artistes, a romantic French bistro just off Central Park West on Manhattan's West Side.
Nestled into a Parisian-style residence, the Hotel des Artistes, the Café has been in operation since 1917. If you really want to know more, you can visit the website, at http://www.cafedesartistesnyc.com.
Reservations
Naturally, you're not going to be seated without a reservation. It is fairly easy to get one at least a week in advance, but to get one at a time you prefer, it is best to reserve as early as possible. Make sure if it is a special occasion that you let them know, and they will likely seat you more discreetly (or less, if that's what you want). We've witnessed our share of marriage proposals in the restaurant, and we've been seated in an out-of-the-way nook as well.
Café des Artistes also prepares lunch, and when they offer a prix fixe, it's one of the best deals in town.
Attire
Café des Artistes used to be a bit more formal. In the past year, however, jackets have gone from required to optional. Business attire is still recommended, and on this evening almost all the patrons were so dressed. I guess since I don't splurge on an expensive romantic dinner very often, I want the night to be special in every way; putting on a polo shirt and khakis just doesn't say "special" to me like it does to some.
So I and most of the other men were dressed in suits; some were tieless, but it was a rather humid evening to have one's collar bound and gagged. The women were dressed up too, of course, and it is a real pleasure to look around and see people dressed in their finest attire enjoying a spectacular meal.
Atmosphere
The walls of Café des Artistes are adorned with very intriguing murals, painted by Howard Chandler Christy in the 1930s. Our room, up and to the left of the main dining area, was adorned with the Parrot Girl, Ponce de Leon, the Fountain of Youth, and a couple other paintings. All feature lovely nubile young women cavorting, lounging, or playing in the water with their friends in lush tropical surroundings. They really are striking, and if you aren't careful, you might find yourself staring a bit too long.
The seating areas are mostly tables for two or four, with bench sofas for half the guests and very comfortable chairs for the facing patrons. Sometimes this means rubbing elbows with your neighbor, but as everyone has been friendly on each of our trips, it is been nothing to worry about. In the main seating area, there are a couple of nooks perfect for two people to enjoy a little more solitude than the average diner, and I think these can be asked for with enough advance notice.
Also in the main area, the air-conditioning ducts are plainly visible, but the easy way to avoid seeing them is not to look at them, silly. You would think they could keep the place a little less warm in the summer, but it could be that a large portion of their clientele is of advanced age and would rather the room be a little warmer. It's not sweaty-hot in any case.
The Menu
The appetizers and entrees change constantly, but many of the signature dishes appear quite regularly. Generally, a menu for the week appears on the website.
As is our custom, we started with a glass each of the signature pear champagne ($14), a glass of champagne with a slice of spiced pear submerged in the glass. A variety of other cocktails are also offered, named for the murals' titles as of 2006, and ranging from $9-$14.
The wine list is quite extensive. There are about fifteen wines by the glass running the basic gamut, from $8-$22 per glass. Half-bottles and full bottles of wine fill in the blanks not offered by the glass. Prices are noted online.
In the six years we have been going, one of us always selects the asparagus with Hollandaise sauce appetizer--I did not even like asparagus until tasting Café des Artistes' dish. Six large, long stalks of asparagus and a "healthy" serving of sauce on the side ($12), so tender and delicate. I enjoyed the cheese plate ($22 for three, $29 for five), large slices of Stilton, Mimolette and other cheeses accompanied by raisin bread and a fig preserve with almonds.
Other appetizers also offered were the signature mushroom ragout; a lobster bisque, the first time we've seen lobster on the menu; endive salad with Stilton cheese ($14); foie gras ($17); chef André's famous paté ($12), salmon five ways ($19, also available for two at $33), fresh sardines ($13), and "as always," French fries ($9). In other words, it's not particularly kid-friendly, but if you're bringing your children here, they ought to be very un-picky.
(Lest you think I brought along a pad and pen to the restaurant, I should note that while I recalled much of the menu from memory, the prices are on the sample menu online. These are 2003 prices; increases average 10% as of August 2006, with Dover sole an exception, being $59 now thanks to overfishing and massive demand.)
The entrees were much the same varied selection. We ordered the Maine lobster ($37), huge chunks of tail meat served in the head shell plus the claw meat in its shell, served in a creamy herbed sauce and accompanied by a personal spinach quiche and potato gratin; and the rack of lamb ($35), several ribs in a tasty marinade, cooked to medium-rare perfection, so tender it almost literally melted in my mouth. I've never had lamb this good, and I felt not the slightest bit bad about ending an ovine life so early. This was served with little roasted squashes and pepper alongside a mashed-potato dollop. The dishes were arranged so artfully--okay, I didn't care so much about the lobster antennae extending a foot over the side of the plate into everything else, but it did look pretty cool--that it was almost a shame to disturb the contents.
We went with lobster and lamb because we'd rather let someone else make these rather that try at home. There were plenty of other tempting entrees, from the basic steak frites ($35) and duckling two ways ($34, crisp leg, smoked breast) that I've enjoyed on previous visits, to the schnitzel ($29), veal or sturgeon (that was a new one for me). Dover sole ($42), herb-crusted tuna steak ($32), pot au feu (a fun little dish served with the marrow scooper, $29), squab ($32), presumably not caught in Central Park a block away, a half roasted chicken ($28) and the requisite vegetarian plate ($27), which actually looked pretty tempting, were also on offer that night.
I can't say we saw any real vegetarian plates in Parisian bistros, so I take this as a friendly gesture to misguided Americans.
Dessert
Only a fool would forgo dessert at this restaurant. As clichéd as it sounds, the hot-fudge Napoleon ($14) is "sinfully delicious." It's really too much for one person after two courses, so we split this. They do offer some other outstanding desserts, such as créme brulée three ways (chocolate, lavender, and traditional), various berry tarts and tortes (this night was a banana torte that looked to be amazing on another table), the Napoleon, a light, flaky pastry surrounded by a sea of fudge, huge blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and real whipped cream, is the One True Dessert since you already have admitted caloric intake is not really an issue this night.
Desserts range from $11-$18. Coffee is $4.50, a French roast that comes in a small pot to keep it hot, and contains about three cups of rich, strong brew. A wide, wide variety of ports and madeira are on offer including several 50 years old and older (the list is on the website), and of course tea, espresso, and capuccino are available.
Service
As you might expect in a high-end restaurant, the wait staff pays attention to every detail. Recommendations are helpfully offered, when asked for. Water glasses are tended to often. When my wife asked about the sweetness of the Riesling, the wine was described perfectly. Bread crumbs are of course never allowed to sit or more than a few minutes, and plates are removed promptly. Also, our waiter added little candles to the Napoleon to honor our special occasion, a very nice touch.
Recipe Alert
Additionally, after we finished the pear champagne, our waiter mentioned that we ought to also eat the pear. We've never been emboldened to do that before, since it seems odd to plunge a fork into a champagne flute. But he also offered us the recipe for the pear: it's really a mix of clove, anise, cinnamon, and orange and lemon peel, together with sugar and water, heated and reduced; the pear slices are added for just long enough to infuse the pear with this savory blend, but not so long that they begin to fall apart. I can't recommend trying the pear champagne highly enough.
Total Damage, Verdict
The two of us managed a hefty three course meal (two and one-half since we split the dessert?), champagne, coffee, and a glass of wine each, for $165, $220 including tax and tip.
Was it worth it? Most definitely--we do not treat ourselves to such a wonderful dinner very often, and so we expect something out of the ordinary when we do. Café des Artistes provides this and more whenever we go back.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Make your reservation a few weeks in advance if you have a specific time in mind. Do not pass on dessert. Pamper yourself.
Best Suited For: Romantic Evening
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Epinions.com ID:
davidmanning
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Location: New York City
Reviews written: 303
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