Claudette — Restaurant in New York

Overall decent experience, despite Remy the Rat joining us in the dining room:

Great food and happy hour! Decent service (when it’s available; it was rare to see a server come by the tables, no less it was also rare to talk to the same one). GREAT ambiance, very cute and great for dates and quiet brunches...

My date and I did, however, experience a small guest (A LARGE RAT) run through the dining room and in to the kitchen... Thankfully, we both had a sense of humor about it and laughed it up saying it must’ve been Remy from Disney’s Ratatouille coming back in from his “smoke break”... The manager did overhear us and approached us apologizing, claiming that “the rats just like to come in out of the cold on days like this” and offered us a free dessert (which he forgot to bring before he left the restaurant entirely shortly after that exchange). For the record, I don’t think a “free dessert” is on par with seeing a rat run through a fine establishment’s dining room, but up each their own...

The establishment has excellent COVID related safety precautions (color coded air filtration systems that indicate air quality level in the dining room) and not one employee took their mask off (within our line of site).

Despite the rat, and the slow + infrequent service, the food (both in terms of quality and quantity), and ambiance were appropriately on par with my expectations otherwise.

Would definitely return for another brunch or happy hour, should the establishment get a refreshed and glowing inspection from the...

This place was so worth visiting and will definitely be back, especially for happy hour (only available at the bar). The fact that is also available on weekends is amazing. I saw a few women having the oysters by themselves at the bar and I can totally see myself doing the same lol

Oysters - good and hard to beat the happy hour deal Moroccan Margarita - very good, nothing super different for like to call it Moroccan but was very tasty. Rosé Spritz - very nice twist and easy to drink Pink Flamingo - super good, very cute flavor Tunisian Spiced Lamb - loved this! Also went super well with Kronenbourg Blanc beer (draft) Ravioles - if you love tarragon, you’ll love this. Very nice flavor twist, not like the Italian style I’m used to, which I love, but this was pretty good. Lamb shank Tagine - I was expecting the tagine dish to be piping hot like in Morocco and it was not, but probably better to not have that piping hot plate at the bar. I have been to Morocco and I won’t say that they make it the same way, the lamb did not have the particular spiced flavor, but the fruits and vegetables added made it feel very Moroccan, and we didn’t need the knife, as it was fall off the none. Also very good amount for like to share. As far as I know tagine doesn’t normally have couscous like in this dish at Claudette but we very much enjoyed this addition.

Bartender was nice...

I had been eager to try Claudette for some time, drawn in by its inviting atmosphere and laid-back vibe. Its longstanding presence in NYC suggested a certain level of quality. However, my visit left me with mixed feelings.

The atmosphere and service were indeed praiseworthy. Sadly, the food didn't quite meet our expectations. We started with the shrimps, which were the standout dish of the evening, and the octopus, where the ratio of potato to octopus seemed off.

As for our main courses, I ordered the bouillabaisse, which turned out to be overly salty, and a notable portion of the clams remained closed. My friend opted for the ragu pasta, which also suffered from an excessive saltiness.

To add to the disappointment, our side of Brussels sprouts arrived so deep-fried and greasy that they were nearly inedible. However, to their credit, the restaurant promptly removed the Brussels sprouts from our bill after we voiced our concerns. They even offered us a complimentary serving of vanilla ice cream as a gesture of goodwill.

In summary, Claudette offered a welcoming atmosphere and good service, but the food, aside from the shrimp starter, left much to be desired. The issues with saltiness and the quality of some dishes were notable drawbacks...