Bar Breton

Aw, I am sad that this place is closed. I broke my jaw awhile back and this was one of the first places that I went after my jaw was unwired. We started with a delicious tuna tartar, smooth and flavorful, and most importantly, requiring very little chewing. The reason we had stopped in because I figured that a nice crêpe would be easy to eat, and I was right. A little prosciutto, arugula and tomato with parmesan on a delicate little pancake, and I was enjoying the best meal I had eaten in over a month. It remains a powerful food memory that has stayed with me.
I had never had a buckwheat galette before, and pleased to learn (for my celiac-​suffering brother’s sake) that buckwheat is gluten free. It is a very flavorful grain and is a little intense on its own, but once you realize that buckwheat and wheat are two totally different animals, you’ll see how tasty buckwheat can be. Does anyone know anywhere else that makes galettes? What a shame!

My mother has a gluten allergy and now we think my partner does! So I’m even more pleased to come back here again. We came for Restaurant Week a little on the early side (5:30), but the place maybe had 7 people scattered around.
Two of us opted for the RW menu and for the other, the hangar steak. Beef carpaccio with quail egg, duo of lamb and an apple galette were all plated beautifully. I worried about the amount of food, but we all left satisfied. The service was highly responsive and I enjoyed the look and feel of the place. Not fussy, not neglectful.
One gripe: The booths in the middle of the restaurant are quite snug. With two people of average width, it was not the best fit.

Came here for restaurant week
Very good dinner and very good prices.
Food is tasty, but some appetizers might be too small portions for big eaters.
Desserts were incredible !
Definitely to recommend for a date and people who like French food and not French-​copycats

Went here for restaurant week. I ordered: a cold salmon appetizer (forgot the name), Duo of Lamb, and the Caramelized Apple Crêpe. I really enjoyed the salmon appetizer, just wish there was more than 3 bite’s worth. The duo of lamb was very flavorful and tender, and sauce-​y, just the way I like it. The crêpe was by far the best, and was much better than my friend’s chocolate brownie/​cake/​mousse. It was sweet, but not overpoweringly. It was flavorful, crispy yet soft, and plain delicious. Because it was restaurant week the pricing was good but I’m guessing normally, it’s going to be pretty expensive.

Lovely staff… delicious dinner.
I came here for restaurant week. I was annoyed when the waiter said they ran out of one of the appetizers (smoked salmon something), but they said it was a popular dish, so I had the potato leek soup. It was ok. As my entrée, I had the braised short ribs. The sauce that came with the rib was to die for… very rich and tasty. For dessert, I had the caramelized apple crêpe… OMG! This crêpe was orgasmic!!!
They have this really cool chandelier made of wine goblets in a rainbow of colors. I’d go back again mainly because of the awesome staff.

I came here to meet a friend, and we both agreed that it’s a one-​of-​a-​kind place in this part of the city. It actually has some ambiance, and it’s not so loud. We sat at the bar and talked for an hour uninterrupted. Our wine by the glass was pricey but good. I’d come back and try the food!

On a recent weekend in New York City, some friends and I dined at Bar Breton, a casual, yet vibrant French eatery with dishes inspired by the chef-owner’s native hometown of Brittany. While the brunch menu offers a wide selection of savory galletes (buckwheat crepes), I was instantly drawn to the french toast.
And color me dazzled! I ended up with a caramel-​ganache stuffed block of french toast surrounded by a plateful of fresh berries drenched in raspberry bourbon sauce. Topped with fresh whipped cream. It was one of the most luscious slabs of french toast to ever grace my plate.
I went back soon after to try some of the buckwheat gallettes and ordered the «Chelsea» crepes with chorizo, eggs over easy and onion confit. They blew my mind. My boyfriend and I also ordered some chicken liver pâté (and I LOVE all pates– duck, wild boar, chicken– you name it), and it was kinda bland. Oh well. Would definitely go back!

The one dish I had was fine, but this place feels very overpriced for what you get. The galettes at brunch were a particularly poor value — $ 16 for a rectangle of folded crêpe topped with, in my case (the Flatiron), a layer of lox, some sliced radish, some frisee, olive oil, and capers. At that price point, I would expect it to come with a side salad or potatoes, or both. Maybe the eggs benedict is a better value, and the burger, though pricey at $ 17, looked much more substantial. They serve no bread with the meal, but offer a brunch bread basket for $ 10. No thanks.
While I liked the flavors of the Flatiron galette, I’d steer clear of the galette my friend had, which had vegetables and goat cheese in a red pepper sauce… all we could see and taste inside the crêpe was the tart goat cheese.

Looking for something different for lunch, and it was a rainy chilly day today, so I was hungering for some comfort type food to help warm me up. Walking into Bar Breton is like walking into a French bistro or something similar to that effect. Very stylish but not over the top. Nice warm décor, dim lighting, soft music playing overhead.
Sat at a small booth across the bar and was handed the lunch menu. Good amount of options, but I was definitely craving a burger. I had read a few reviews on Unilocal and wanted to try it. The burger here is a good size patty and was cooked right to order. Had swiss cheese melted over it and was overall a nice, juicy burger. The french fries are the star of the show here. Damn, these things are addicting! And you get a lot. Crispy, salty, and wonderfully seasoned. Along with a soda served in a mason jar it was a perfect meal on a soggy cold day.
Looking around the place you could see it is very charming and unpretentious, with a dining area in the back room. Service was attentive and pleasant. What is not so pleasant are the prices. $ 4.00 for a soda? Really? $ 17.00 for the burger and fries? Really? Is Anthony Bourdain himself gonna serve it to me naked and supply nuggets of gold on my plate too?
I have to say the food here seems ok, but the prices are a bit on the high side for lunch fare. If you are willing to shell out extra cash for a nice relaxing lunch, or business meal, then go for it. Otherwise, there are many other places in the area to find more affordable lunch options.

In some of my many travels, I decided to dine here for lunch, due to its menu for us forced to be gluten free.
I enjoyed the mixed vegetable side, and the green bean and shrimp salad. I LOVED them both. I could eat that salad every day. It was served warm, and the fresh beans and herbs were really amazing.
Then, after eating a lunch of veggies and shrimp, I decided I earned the right to have dessert. Oh. My. God. Nutella is really amazing, but to have it in their Nutella Galette is melt in your mouth good. It was very rich and amazing. I couldn’t finish it, so I brought it back to my room and enjoyed it post a mostly wine dinner. Nice end to that work day.
I would say the only annoying part of the visit was my server. I had to ask him for everything, including that I had questions on the menu, that I needed to order, that I was done, that I needed more water, and that I wanted to see the dessert menu. And, I practically had to tackle him to get my bill. Did I mention he walked by me repeatedly looking at me but did nothing? Service here sucks. Food: amazing.

Ambience, ambience, ambiance.
What more can I say?
On a single glass of wine, I’m going to give this place 4 stars, and will promise to go back and update with a food review.
Ever since I started using $ 200 an ounce Sulwhassoo cream, (it was a gift) this is my preferred lighting setting. (see photo)
I’ve actually always liked dimly lit bars. These days, I just prefer them without gum stuck to the floor.
Blocks from my office, this is going to be my «winter time» bar. (I’ve never had a bar for a specific season before, but it just feels right)
Happy hour here, is $ 6 for nice wines. $ 4 for beers, and something else.
Prices on food didn’t look inexpensive, but i NEED to get the «Special burger» platter, that comes with fries and a NUTELLA shake… $ 22.
The place has such a comforting feeling, of unpretentious charm, as the causally dressed Mom sat in her booth alone, reviewing her papers. Not crowded. No one in a rush. Nice banter at the bar.
I know these place gets a little more crowded as the evening wears on, so if you can escape when the sun goes down so early, you’ll be rewarded.

I came here for a girls night, and turned out to be a perfect spot for that. Not too noisy but not eerily quiet, and good comfy ambiance too.
Not all the drinks in the menu, but they pick one red/​white wine and one beer (it was bud) to offer for happy hour till 7pm.
We ordered an appetizer plate of pâté, which was just as expected. Good, but not something special. But the three crepes came after that were all really cute and delicious!!!
Among all the delicious crepes, Crab meat was especially good. Smoked salmon and goat cheese was good too though.
Reasonably priced food and happy hour drinks, and tasteful ambiance and friendly service. Perfect for talkative girls’ dinner gathering.

Savory galettes = crepes deconstructed.
Instead of traditional crepes filled with goodies and then folded, the buckwheat crêpe is diced and folded into the filling. Each galette comes with a sauce and it makes for an interesting meal. The flatiron galette with smoked salmon is really yummy.

I’d give it a solid 3.5 stars. Lunch fare was solid but definitely a little bit on the pricy side.
Shared the fish of the day sandwich (fried skate) and the crab gallete. The gallete was SUPER rich. I’m not a rich food person so it was a little much for me but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t delicious.
I loved the fish sandwich. It was perfectly cooked and not greasy at all. The baguette was very soft too, which is nice. I hate hard bread that cuts the roof of your mouth.
Saw a bunch of people eating burgers which looked great too.
Overall, food was good. Inside is very nice although a little loud. Portions were on the small side so I wouldn’t go here expecting to get a lot of food.

We came here for the gluten-​free buckwheat gallettes (crepes) and were not disappointed. The service was wonderful and the presentation was exquisite. Forget the stereotypes of stuffy, pompous French cuisine. This place is gorgeous without being intimidating; it’s a warm and welcoming space with some unique options for foodies and gluten-​free eaters alike.
The smoked salmon galettes were absolutely delicious and my dining companion thoroughly enjoyed the chicken entrée. Dessert options are rich but worthwhile; I could come back here numerous times without getting bored. Portions are quite small, so you may need to order several items if you’re really hungry.

Unilocalers have it just about right on the weighted average. Lots of positives from my experience here at BB, little having to do with how the food tasted. You can read my previous reviews on French food, I’m qualified in the least to comment on it.
We were seated promptly, arriving last night at 7:15, & not only that, we requested a specific table outside & it was given to us. This place was not dead in the least. Although I did spend most of my time on the sidewalk, I noted that the interior was nicely dressed, with a very thought-​provoking chandelier in the front, made of multiple layers of maple plywood, carved in a curvy, swoopy shape, about 6′ across, with different wine & cocktail glasses hanging within the spaces cut from the maple & a few dangling incandescent bulbs. It’s one of those things I look at & say «Cool! I could make that!» & I go home & realize I just don’t have the patience. As for the rest of the place, there’s nice accent lighting, tall ceilings, earth-​tone colored walls with highend crown moulding, booth seating & a bar.
One thing to note, it seems you CANNOT make a reservation for 5 or more here, but if you call & speak to the hostess after making your res for 4 on opentable, they’ll accommodate you.
Onto the important stuff, the food & experience. My friend insisted on trying the alcoholic cider, which tasted like Martinellis but apparently has 5% alcohol. Interesting stuff, but I’d rather buy Martinellis for $ 2.59 at Costco & subsequently take a shot of apple liqueur, the warranted effects would be more substantial. My friends also indulged in a bottle of wine, although I was being precautious as the DD, I did try a sip of whatever they got. It had hints of strawberry, blackberry, & smokey liquorice (if you can imagine) & I wasn’t hooked (esp because I think it was pricey).
We started with an order of fries. I tried a few, they were ok, but honestly? They were just seasoned with something, like perhaps oregano or thyme or both, but I bet if you went across the street to Burger King & threw herbes de provence on their fries it’d be about the same. I did enjoy the (free) bread, which I had TONS of, because I was at a French restaurant & knew that the portions would be minuscule.
Next up was the tuna-​tartare, which scared us because the description of said item spoke only about salmon, but turns out it actually was tuna wrapped in smoked salmon with salmon roe, topped with a potato chip. This dish I think I enjoyed the most here. For $ 14, at a sushi place, I could get 3 times the amount of the same grade tuna & salmon. But whatever, the combination of flavors was satisfying, albeit nothing more than a really light snack.
The next course was the Lobster Gallette. It was a gluten free buckwheat gallette (crêpe) with bits of lobster meat. I am really glad that I’m not one of those people who can’t handle gluten, because apparently it makes all the difference in bread. The buckwheat crêpe is mushy, with a weird consistency. Someone at my table pointed out that it had the same look and feel as Ethiopian bread, & although I LOVE Ethiopian food, I HATE their bread. To be honest I can’t even remember what else was in that crêpe, it didn’t taste bad, nor did it taste good, it was just very, very interesting. I think I’d rather end up feeling like something tasted «good» as opposed to «interesting».
The last course wasn’t memorable. Had the grilled salmon. Ordered it med-​rare. Ended up being medium. Why? The chef didn’t screw up, but rather, my friend’s medium salmon was served to me, he got med-​rare. Not good! We were almost finished when we realized this.
One of my pals got an apple crêpe for dessert & another got a nutella shake. The apple dessert was decent, very carmelized, sweet, & the shake tasted like a whey-​protein shake that I drink after I work-​out.
I should make mention of a couple of interesting things that happened aside from eating & drinking 1) when it started drizzling, the bus boy immediately went to work extending the awning, & when we quickly realized our table wasn’t fully covered, we were moved to the best inside table in the place, right by the double doors with a view to the street. 2) My friend was really craving a dessert with banana, but not in anything on the menu, so our waitress actually offered to take a banana she had for her lunch but didn’t eat & have the chef make a dessert. Very cool of her to think outside of the box. Unfortunately, the bartender got a hold of the aforementioned banana earlier in the day & ate it. Nice gesture, though.
I can’t hate on BB because the food isn’t my scene. However, despite my lack of understanding of why the French make food the way they do, why they charge as much as they do, I have to say that there are better French places & better values around. Regardless, the experience was quite enjoyable, almost 5-​star enjoyable, mostly because of the company & service. This rounds out to what I consider a 3-​star experience.

Great reasonably priced option in the Murray Hill/​Flatiron area.
They have a great selection of buckwheat savory crêpe. Make sure you try the crabmeat lasagne. It was crabmeat+parmesan filled buckwheat crêpe, topped with foamed sauce. It is very creamy and filling.
To balance our meal, we had the duck confit salad, which is the chef’s twist of cesar salad with duck confit. I wish the duck confit comes warm on top of the salad, but all was room temperature.
We also tried the cauliflower gratin, first time i saw it and it was not bad at all.
Save room for dessert, the nuttela crêpe was fork licking good.

So came here last night with some friends and I’ve been here before and was not that impressed but last night you know I really enjoyed the evening.
First, the staff — so nice, friendly and accomodating. To the point I was like why are you being so nice to me? What is going on? No I don’t want that beautiful huge table by the windows — what did you do to it?
The waiter was attentive and offered a great bottle of wine. Noah, the man of all men who is maybe the sommelier? manager? owner? Well Noah came over poured a mean glass of wine told us all about it. It was tasty. He begged us to order the beef bourginion — and we were like whoa over sell much. None of us ordered it. He brought us a sample anyway to pair with the wine. IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND. He was right. Trust Noah.
My salad I ordered was reg– very leafy not much to it. Argula. Mushrooms. Not much dressing.
My two friends ordered the crepes — one loved hers and my other friend ordered the crab one — she gave it a 2 star rating.
The desserts were really good — but I mean warm nutella and like an apple brulee. How could it not be good.
Overall a really enjoyable experinece the staff making it a great experience.
Ohhhh and the music — Otis Redding and Earth Wind and Fire. Hell yes.
And to all you gluten free heads — they have many GF options that they highlight as GF.

The food here is really good and the prices range from «just right» ($ 16 for a big juicy burger and a mound of fries) to «what a bargain!» ($ 4 for a beautiful presentation of 5 halves of battered and fried soft-​boiled eggs — I order hard-​boiled eggs whenever a restaurant has them on the menu and many other places will charge $ 9-​$ 14 for only 4 halves) — plus they put really good bread and butter out on the table for you to enjoy while looking-​over the menu.
My first meal I had the battered and fried soft-​boiled eggs (which were so friggin’ delicious I wanted to order another round), and the crab & parmesean «lasagne» gallette (which was amazingly delicate and savory, plus there was a very generous amount of crab meat), and and a plain chocolate gallette with honey and whipped cream (oh it was just perfection, and another example of a terrific bargain)… My friend and I split a bottle of wine that was delicious and very affordable.
My second meal I had the battered and soft fried eggs (I just couldn’t resist them, they’re so damn good) and the tripe & parmesean gratin (which was super delicious and succulent), and the braised lamb shoulder «lasagne» gallette with turnips & mushrooms (mmmmmmm, so good), and tarragon ice cream with whipped cream (absolutely incredible)… My friend and I split a bottle of wine that was delicious and very affordable.
I don’t remember what my friend got the first meal and I don’t remember what my friend got the second meal, but I can vouch that both visits my two separate friends were both very satisfied with their meals.

This place is a refuge from the Midtown lunch crappity crap fest of sameness.
It was solid, if unspectacular the first go round, but it looks promising enough for a return.