Amélie West Village Restaurant, Bistro & Wine Bar — Restaurant in New York

Wonderful experience! My wife and I came to celebrate our birthdays. We let the staff know that we had a theatre performance after dinner, so we had to watch our time, but still enjoy a nice meal together. Everything was so good! From the recommended wines, and the dishes (that I researched ahead of time). Nothing was too salty, overseasoned, overcooked, nor undercooked. The grilled octopus was tender but still firm, artfully plated as one long tentacle, with diced fruit & vegetables... just salty enough, and grilled just enough to taste hints of char, without overpowering the flavor of the sea, and leaving the texture as natural as could be. The duck confit was delicious... you could taste the unique flavor of the duck, which was again cooked to perfection... not over nor underdone, and supported by a wonderful backdrop of earthy & tender mushrooms and potatoes in just enough sauce, again with just enough seasoning to highlight and complement all the natural flavors in the dish. The hanger steak, cooked medium, as requested, and served in diagonal slices, was divine! The reduction, served already drizzled on top of the steak, brought some salt and concentration of umami steak flavor, without being too tart nor too salty. You could taste just enough of the char from the grill, but the natural flavor of the steak just shone through, and brought smiles with each tender slice, which was made in parallel with the grain. Whoever is leading the kitchen, and whoever is executing the dishes in the kitchen, clearly knows what they are doing, and has a respect for letting the natural flavors of each ingredient shine. The sharply delineated rectangle of potato gratin was another example of balanced seasoning and had the appearance of a firm, well structured exterior that seemed to perform a magic trick as each chew brought the realization of many delicate layers of thinly sliced potatoes that served to complement and calm the taste buds before each bite of steak got those taste buds, and the pleasure centers of the stomach and brain, firing on overdrive again. And the dessert, banana creme brulee-- just exceptional! Hard crust with a loudly audible crack when tapping firmly with the spoon, evoking visions of ice fishermen cracking the ice in search of bounty from the cold depths below... but in our case, breaking through the crust enveloped us in a harmonious blend of warm vanilla custard, flame-melted sugar, and caramelized banana flavors that just went on for days, and paired so wonderfully with each sip of the Grahams 20 year tawny. Oooohhhh what a meal! And the service was attentive, warmly & genuinely concerned, and professional yet personable in a down-to-earth way. Plates were cleared promptly, suggestions & insights thoughtfully shared, and we were checked-on by multiple staff members throughout the meal... not too much nor too little. Just right. Nothing was rushed. Everything was savored, and yet we still made it to our theatre show with plenty of time to spare. We'll be dreaming about this meal, and this experience, for a while. So glad this restaurant made it through the pandemic. We were also relieved to hear that the landlord also played a crucial and compassionate role that alleviated some of the financial distress that helped keep this restaurant on the map during this globally challenging and devastating time. We could tell that the patrons also seemed to appreciate this symbiotic existence of customer and restaurant nurturing each other, bringing meaning and joy to the lives of the staff and patrons. Thank you EVERYONE for making this...

Not sure how this place has so many 5 stars since I was so disappointed. I came here for a birthday dinner excited because it was so highly rated.

Environment: Needless to say, I was put off by the experience from the moment I came in and was told we'd still have to wait a few minutes for our table even though we made a reservation, and this was the same for the 2-3 other reservations that walked in for an 8pm table as well. After that I noticed the tiny tables were so close to the next couple's on each side that I was extremely distracted by their conversations.

Food: We ordered a 5 cheese board with some of the smallest cheese portions I've seen and I've been to quite a few places with cheese boards on the menu. The only good thing was that the bread was freshly baked in house so our second batch was warm though very different from the first batch. It wasn't as firm on the outside, almost like it was taken out of the oven too soon.

Then for the main course I was even more disappointed. I ordered the duck confeit and my date ordered the steak and fries. My duck was just okay, a very small portion it seemed compared to other French restaurant. The potatoes and mushrooms on my plate were also room temperature compared to the warmer duck so it seems they were probably sitting there waiting for the duck to be plated for some time. As for the steak, my date said it had no flavor and upon trying a piece I agreed. All the flavor was on the topping outside the steak but the steak itself was bland. The best part of either of our meals was his fries. It was also so dark for dinner that once my food arrived I could barely tell if there was any meat left on the duck bone or if I was picking up a thin potato or a mushroom (the pieces were roughly the same size)

I was totally put off to this place and would not recommend it. There are better French...

I had a dinner with about 9 friends last night for a birthday. The night started off well enough, we were shown immediately to our table... (N.B. for large groups, they only really have one table in the back). We ordered escargot, fries with a delicious dipping sauce and mussels. The escargot and fries were kick ass. The bread they also served was delicious! The mussels were ok, quite dry and some were sandy. Things started to go south from there. One of the entrees had a piece of plastic in it and the waiter jokingly commented, "It is crap." when my friend asked what that was in her food. Then supposedly they dropped my bf's pork chop and was making a new one. It took more than 30 minutes to come out by which time everyone was done eating. Did they really drop it or did they forget it? Does it really take that long to make a pork chop? The real irksome factor was when my boyfriend went out to vape and when he tried to come back in, one of the employees blocked his path and wouldn't let him in. When my bf tried to explain I'm with the group in the back, he still wouldn't let him in. The employee asked with derision, "Can I help you buddy?" Another employee came to block him as well. My boyfriend was so taken aback and upset he just shoved past them and took his seat. He had no desire to eat his half hour late food. I am absolutely disgusted with this behavior. It is rude as hell and I will never step foot in this establishment again. What gives them the right to treat someone like that?

Let me also note that a little over a year ago, my friend got her bag stolen in this place. I can't place any blame on them but still worth noting. This place just has bad jujus for me....