La Bonne Soupe — Restaurant in New York

It saddens me to write this review and to give 2 stars to a place I used to love...but that's the problem. Used to. I have been going to this restaurant for years and it used to be one of my favorite places. It used to have an incredibly priced prix fixe menu option. It used to have some of the best soup in town. It used to provide complimentary bread alongside a bottle of delicious in-house salad dressing for dipping. It used to have a great bistro/brasserie vibe. It used to offer crepes and quiches and other traditional french items. I am hoping this review galvanizes the management / ownership at Le Bonne Soup to restore what used to be a true NYC gem.

Now it has become a shell of its old self. First off, charging $4 for the basic bread and butter is painful. I understand prices have gone up, times are tough, changes must be made to surive, etc. I get ALL of that...but in the event you are charging for bread you'd better make sure the bread is fantastic. And this was not. It was completely average. It was the equivalent of FREE bread and since I'm paying for it, it's a disappointment.

Then the salad dressing. The bottle used to be delivered to your table - especially when ordering a salad which I did. This time I had to ask for extra dressing and it came in a small squeeze bottle instead of the classy glass bottle. These little things add up.

Next was the overall vibe. We sat upstairs which I like, but there was a projector screen hanging against the wall and it wasn't playing anything. So it just looked weird and created an amateur aesthetic. Either play old French movies on a loop or pull the projector screen up. Having it down and blank looks terrible. Next was the music. Totally wrong vibe playing classic rock and 2000s alternative rock. I am in a French Bistro. I do not need to hear "Shot Through the Heart" by Bon Jovi or "Mr. Brightside" by the Killers. Play indie-pop french music or new wave or even smooth jazz. This will create a better more authentic atmosphere. Listening to Bon Jovi while eating entirely sub par mussels and a basic piece of bread that cost me $4 made for a really confusing and frustrating experience.

My partner and I ordered bread, one side salad, one caesar salad, a french onion soup, mussels, and a bottle of pellegrino. With tax and tip this cost us $62 per person. Again, I know prices have gone up across the board, but this was absurd to me. It was not money well spent. Even the French Onion Soup was uninspired.

Sorry for the harshness. Please make changes. I'd love to come...

i have been to this restaurant a few times, and the food was always pretty good, but i did feel rushed a few times. However, since i liked the food i decided to take my husband out for dinner on Valentine's Day 2020. I was 5 minutes late for our 7:15 pm reservation and since it was taking a while to park the car, i decided to walk into a restaurant alone. Not a very happy hostess told me she will sit me only when my husband arrives, and asked me to wait. She never mentioned for me to wait outside , so i was standing next to the hostess area by the coats check. More people were coming in crowding the entrance. Hostess got very aggravated and started to act annoyed asking ME very loud to go and wait upstair... there were about 5 people behind me so i wasn't sure why i am being told to go up when 5 more people are obstructing the entrance. Meanwhile my husband made it to the restaurant and was trying to get through the crowd by the entrance to get to where i was standing. One of the guests was getting annoyed by my husband trying to get through when they are being asked to go upstairs. Instead of handling the situation properly hostess got even more upset and when one of the guests decided to yell at me hostess really did nothing to elevate the situation. This made me pretty upset and spoiled my holiday mood and i did say i wont eat here, however i changed my mind quickly and was waiting to be seated. Hostess came upstairs and when i asked when i would be seated( we had Carnegie Hall performance to go to at 9pm) she said i cancelled my reservation by saying i wont eat here. Never during those 30 wonderful minutes that we have spent waiting did i say i was cancelling my reservation. We did get seated and the food was wonderful and the waiter was quick and very good. However, my valentine's day mood was spoiled . On the way out the same hostess saw us and didn't say a word- so nice "Have a good evening" or at least a "Thank you " would have been nice to hear. I like the food so i might still come back, however this latest experience left very bad taste in my mouth and i will think twice now before going there since i prefer my mood to be good. In general, the owner should probably teach the people who work at this restaurant how to act during the times like holidays and the fact that they are stressed doesn't mean they could be mean to...

After spending the day walking around central park and then planning to visit MOMA that evening, we wanted a restaurant within walking distance of the museum so we made a reservation. The meal was great as was the service. We split the Leeks Vinaigrette. The addition of chopped egg in the vinaigrette created a modified Gribiche without the capers and cornichons. The leeks were tender and delicious. My wife had the spinach lasagna and it was delicious. Crispy and cheesy on the outside, rich and creamy on the inside. I had the steak frites. The steak was perfectly cooked as were the fries. There seems to be some confusion though regarding what cut of meat they're serving. Based on the menu we ordered from last night, I was expecting a "Hanger" steak which is cut from the diaphragm and is a touch gamier than most cuts of beef but normally it's tender and delicious...I was served an "Strip" steak which is a different cut of meat altogether. The online menu says "Angus" steak, so that must've been what I was served. When I called to confirm which cut of meat is actually being served I was told that they had been serving an "Angus" steak, but last night I was absolutely served a Hanger steak...I'm sorry, the steak I was served last night, while very good, was not. I know I sound picky and perhaps it's not that important to some. Afterall we're not talking about Del Frisco's, or Peter Luger's..? The steak was very good, but I think it's important to have your written menu reflect what is actually being served. The only other constructive criticism I have is that the sauce wasn't really a "Peppercorn" sauce as it was devoid of green peppercorns or any noticeable butcher ground pepper. Aside from those two constructive criticisms, we enjoyed our meal and will consider returning when next in the...