La Sirène Soho — Restaurant in New York

"New York City has no shortage of French restaurants but it is surprisingly difficult to find a reliable, unfussy French bistro that cares more about the quality of food than the glitzy atmosphere. In SoHo, Balthazar has been the French bistro everyone knows about, swarming with tourists on a nightly basis, but my experience there this year in terms of food was quite mixed. If you are in SoHo or nearby area and want to explore the French bistro cuisine, I'll give you a hint: go to the western side of SoHo and step into this charming space with the sign La Sirene on the front. It has had a loyal following since opening almost 10 years ago, but for some reason it has also been hidden quite well under the radar. On a recent Saturday visit with my girlfriend, I had a lot to like about the food coming from the kitchen.

The menu at La Sirene is a collection of simple bistro classics. You've probably seen a lot of these and eaten a lot of these already. For bistro food, however, it is not always easy to be successful in execution department, which thankfully this kitchen is doing well. Roasted escargots with butter and garlic sauce had the nice texture without overpowering richness. I haven't seen mussels steamed with curry before, and enjoyed the spicy kick instead of creamy sensation that brought something unique to the table. My girlfriend and I happily dipped the remaining bread to the curry. The best appetizer of the night, however, clearly belonged to baked goat cheese tart with shallots, truffles and grape. It was a sensational dish that my girlfriend couldn't stop raving about, with the silky smooth goat cheese (which I'm not even quite a fan of in the first place) working so beautifully in the tart form for elegant balance in flavor. Tournedos Rossini, a classic meat dish consisting of filet mignon topped with foie gras and red wine truffles sauce, was another winner, with the juicy, tender filet mignon really shining and the foie gras and truffles sauce adding a level of richness that added to the texture (although my girlfriend said she wished the sauce came out a little less heavy). For dessert, we chose and absolutely loved croquembouche au caramel, basically a stuffed choux (a pastry dough) filled with French vanilla cream topped with caramel and sliced toasted almond. It was pure decadence with the delightful mixture of vanilla cream and caramel crust.

Getting a reservation at La Sirene isn't too difficult, but the dining space quickly filled up so I would still recommend booking in advance. The restaurant takes only cash or AMEX credit card, so be aware. It has been long known for a BYOB place from Sunday through Thursday (although now they seem to charge small amounts for corkage fees); I will certainly go back during one of those days in the near future. I was a fan of the cozy, inviting dining space that seems perfect for an intimate date night or casual get together with a group of friends. If you're looking for a satisfying meal with soulful French bistro food, La Sirene is one of the viable options I would be glad...

Baked Goat Cheese Tart A must order for every visit to this restaurant, unless you’re one of those sad goat cheese phobes. It comes with a mixed greens and mango salad, and is everything a goat cheese tart needs to be. It’s big, so broker a deal with your dining companion.

French Onion Soup A serviceable classic. There are better starters on this menu, but if you can’t go without ordering French onion soup, this will hold you over just fine.

Roasted Escargots Roasted in butter sauce with breadcrumbs, there are better versions of escargot out there, but this also won’t let you down. Order it if you’re into snails.

Little French Ravioli I’m ashamed to say I like this, because I suspect it involves the great mirage of all trendy food products: truffle oil. Apart from that lame detail, tiny ravioli are served in a cocotte with truffle cream sauce, and honestly? It’s delicious. Forgive me.

Mussels A specialty of the house are the four various mussel dishes. The mussels La Sirène uses are fresh and large, and the white wine and herbs version showcases this best, as the broth isn’t too overpowering. The curry mussels are another favorite, albeit stronger.

Seared Hangar Steak A crowd favorite that has survived all iterations of the menu, probably because it’s perfect. The steak is sautéed in butter, garlic, and parsley which certainly doesn’t make it taste worse.

Cassoulet This dish is on the menu year-round, but you should probably wait for temperatures to drop to eat it. Unless eating a personal pot of slab bacon, duck fat, duck confit, foie gras jus, pork sausage, and quail stock in the middle of August sounds awesome to you. If so, do your thing, and might we suggest some exercise.

Duck The duck rotates between being served with a chocolate sauce or cherry sauce. Both are good, but the cherry is better. A good substitution if you’re craving duck but can’t handle the blow of the cassoulet.

Tournedos Rossini If you’re feeling masochistic and have already done the cassoulet, consider this dish. This is basically filet mignon with a slab of foie gras in a port and red wine truffle sauce. “Tournedo Rossini” refers to a lean cut of beef, and not actually a “tornado of fat”, but the latter is more apt. It’s intense, in a good way, and has been a long-standing fan favorite.

Vegetables Complimentary with your meal is a serving of three or four vegetables. Usually, this consists of roasted squash, cauliflower puree, sweet potato puree, and something else. Thanks to a healthy dose of butter, they are really, really good, and you don’t even have to worry about ordering them. All you have to do is eat...

La Sirene will always be our favorite French restaurant in NYC. Let me lay out all the reasons why:

Service - 5* Marty is what I would call the perfect waiter. He's friendly, easily to talk to, and provided exceptional service to ensure we had a wonderful dining experience, from cleaning up the bread crumbs to checking-in to see if we like our food, to simply having a pleasant conversation that wasn't too abrupt or too long, it was simply enjoyable and heartwarming. If I had a restaurant of my own, Marty is the type of server I wish I could hire. The other waiters are also exceptional and friendly as well!

Ambiance - 4* The restaurant is indeed very beautiful and warm, but some of the tables are very small; although it provides an intimate experience, it sometimes felt as if our food overwhelmed the table and made it a bit tight. The seating is also kind of too close, where we felt as if we were dining with the table next to us. However, I'm sure a little rearranging can fix this issue with no problem!

Food - 5* Escargot - consistently fresh and tasty, with a perfect blend of garlic, butter, and parsley! The sauce remaining paired beautifully with the complimentary bread so remember to save some of the bread! It is a bit pricy though, averaging around 4 dollars per piece.

French onion soup - crispy cheese adding a pleasant bite to the soup! Very flavorful and the different textures are beautifully interwoven, providing a delightful and heartwarming experience!

Hanger steak - incredibly tender and it paired perfectly with the sauce, which has a nice balance between its savoriness and the truffle infused in it! Definitely a good choice for steak!

Cassoulet - My favorite dish of all time at La Sirene! Incredibly filling and rich, with a blend of fattiness from the duck, sausage, bacon, and chicken infused with the soft beans and veggies! The breadcrumbs also provide a very playful crunch that enhanced the entire dish as well! If you get this, chances are you're guaranteed to be full, so be careful you don't over order! This dish used to be served to warriors, so that's just a little fun fact that also made me love this dish more! A perfect winter dish!

Overall, I am so happy that La Sirene has always been so consistent in its exemplary service and heartwarming entrees! Highly recommend coming here for a nice comforting dinner, whether it's with family or with your soulmate!

Thank you for reading and...