Buvette — Restaurant in New York

recently dined here for breakfast and for dinner. i think i would choose breakfast over dinner even though dinner obviously has more options. the dinner is nice if you want some quick and small bites but i definitely think if you’re trying to go out for a nice dinner there are better places in ny and especially around the area. the food was not bad by any means i just think i would prefer do dine at via carota or i sodi instead of here (unless you are looking specifically for french food). at breakfast we ordered the scrambled eggs with prosciutto and parmigiana, the eggs are a soft scramble so be mindful that they may have a differing flavor than a scrambled egg. i liked them but after a few bites they made me a little nauseous. we also ordered the pain perdu which was very good but a little overhyped. i read reviews saying its the best french toast in ny and i personally disagree with that. it was very good, especially the center but it was not the best. portions are also very small so for someone like me with a bigger appetite i left still hungry. also for the price i don’t think the price is reasonable. i also tried the hot chocolate which was very good but i think you could skip it, angelina and eataly remain the best in my opinion. as for dinner portions are again smaller which is somewhat nice because you can try a bunch of things but price wise its a little expensive for the sizes. we ordered the gourgers (i hope im spelling that correctly) which were little breads that were somewhat cheesy and had some small pieces of ham. they were my favorite thing that we ordered but i wish they were served warm because i think that would just elevate them a bit. we also ordered the potato gratin, croque forestier, burger (it was a special) and chocolate mousse for dessert. the potato gratin was a little bland in my opinion, i kept feeling like it needed more cheese. it was a little soupy which was. somewhat nice because i dipped the bread in the sauce but i still wish it had more seasoning. the frostier was the other winner for sure. it was small but i honestly think its worth the price just because of how good it was. it’s gruyère cheese and mushrooms (not sure if it has béchamel sauce). the center was soft and the flavor all around was really good. you can get the forestier all day so i would recommend this at breakfast. the burger was not the best in my opinion. to be fair i am very picky about my burgers so i just did not feel that this tasted very good. they used fresh focaccia as the bread which i did love and the it came with french fries which were amazing, please order a side of fries with your meal! the burger had roquefort cheese on it which was way too strong for me and overpowered the taste of everything else. lastly, the chocolate mousse was nothing too special. i had heard some reviews raving about this but i didn’t think it was that great. the whipped cream was good but the mousse wasn’t anything special especially for $14. as for service the servers were nice enough but not personable and we felt a little rushed both times we dined here. the atmosphere is cute but tables are super small so things can crowd up quickly. overall i would say this place is worth a try but not something i would go out of my way for. if you live in the area i could see this being a place you come back to but as someone who lives in brooklyn i would not make it a point to...

Lots of NYC visitors/ tourists go to this place and seem happy because they will not go there next week again but I go there quiet often for food. So. my review is based on years of observations. The food is B - PLUS. But

1. This restaurant is small. The sitting arrangement is horrible. The chairs, tables and the bar stools are small and cramped together. You can clearly hear and smell other people sitting next to you. This is not the place where you can talk to your loved one with peace. So, you can eat good food but you will not be able to enjoy it because of flux of people coming in and out and cramped space. I can compare this feeling to sitting in the economy class of a plane. OR sitting in the subway train in NYC.

2. The bar is not the bar , it is the kitchen. The people behind the bar are not bartenders, they are actually cooking food. Thus, it is the place where waiters will pick the food for other customers. So, you have to constantly watch for your physical safety while you are eating your food sitting on a small stool. Thus , you will not be able to enjoy eating food because you will be constantly worried about getting hit or worst worrying about some waiter spilling coffee on your clothes.

3. This restaurant does not take reservations. So, if you have to wait in a line outside the restaurant while you are starving. The average wait time is 40 minutes. So, do not bring elderly/ older or physically weak people to this place particularly in winter. Its a good idea to eat something small before you show up to eat at this place else you will pass out standing outside in the cold. Note: This place is not for elderly friendly.

4. For some unknown reasons, it is always dark in the restrooms . There is no way you can turn the lights brighter.

5. The napkins always leave lint on your clothes. So, do not wear wool / cashmere pants or jackets to this restaurant. or bring your own lint free napkins or bring paper napkins.

6. The food is not covered all the time. The croissants, cakes and other food items are left open for the entertainment of the flies. The main door is open most of the time in summer and fall.

7. The service is allright. Some waiters are humble and some will make you think that they are doing favor to you because this is the greatest restaurant in the world. The NYC tourists have encouraged this behavior among these waiters.

In conclusion, I would say if you want to eat similar food with your loved ones with peace without waiting outside in winter then make a reservation with Balthazar. They have big space, food is B - plus, bar is not the kitchen, they are elderly friendly and...

As much as I wish I could write a decent review I have to say that I was appalled by the level of service and have been to Buvette a number of times before without issues. The hostess gave us weird looks when we asked for a bigger table considering we had the intention of ordering food and the tables are so tiny and jam packed in this place--good luck with having enough elbow room. I'm a small person and felt I had literally no personal space with the table next to us and we could barely fit the food on top. She made faces as if we were inconveniencing her when our reasons for wanting a bigger table had a practical reason. Once we sat down, the waiter didn't even address us for about 5 minutes even after bringing the food to the table next to ours nor did he bring water and ask us what we would like to eat or drink or if we need another few minutes. It's almost the equivalent of walking into a nice retail shop and no one acknowledging you are there to help you should you need assistance--as if we were inconveniencing them and being ignored. The food was not that good as I've had in the past here and was so salty--as if they didn't taste it themselves before it came out of the kitchen. Even with meat dishes, they expect you to cut it with a butter knife which is just laughable and the escargot are so tiny they probably get them out of the hudson river lol. Even the red wine I had tasted like grape juice and I'm by no means a wine snob or somalier but for 20 dollars a glass I would at least expect something decent. Throughout the time there, the faces on the wait staff and hostess said it all. They were just annoyed by us and I wasn't even being demanding about anything aside from the table we wanted and faster service. It's almost like the servers in this restaurant hate their jobs and bring it out on the customer to the extent that we just don't ever want to come back. Now Buvette is irrelevant and disgusting and a thing of the past. Don't waste your time or money at this overpriced garbage place with garbage servers trying to pretend to be a posh place...