Brasserie Cognac

I usually love this place for the location, simple food, and outdoor space. Today at lunch, I entered the restaurant with my colleagues and waited while the hostess chatted on the phone and addressed a worker who was there to fix something. No acknowledgement of any of us. Finally, a nice waiter from within the room noticed and set us up outside. Enter our server Bladimir. Overall, he was not bad, but seemed in a rush. I think he interpreted his «hurried» approach as competence, but it came off as rude and off-​putting. The food — a salmon burger, beef burger, salad, and onion soup were all fine, but not outstanding. The wine was good. Finally, as an employee of a certain corporation, I get a significant discount at this restaurant. I added my business card to the check folio and he whisked it away without even asking «is this all set?» (Or some other cordial waiter-​speak.) I had to go inside and ask him to run it again and apply the discount. I’d rather have a server pay more attention to the diners, than to the process of getting orders in and out of the kitchen. Because I was with good friends, I got passed the all of these things and feel grateful that a) I can afford to eat out, and b) I have friends to share it with. Perhaps this was just an off day.

Nice welcome, the navarrin d’agneau (lamb) is very correct (too much tomatoes) it’s remain a good entrée. Rice is perfect. I try the Profiteroles, average, the chou is not house made but the ice cream inside and the chocolate sauce is perfect. So as a french à can say good just above average, but un NYC close to Time Square… Good! Merci.

Went for a pre-​theater dinner and enjoyed it very much. It’s a pretty restaurant with an old Paris train station-​style clock, towers of bread greet you. The service is attentive and friendly and relaxed. I loved the scallops and my son had a (very rare) steak frites dish. The desserts were to-​die-​for. I would definitely come again.

A great dining spot to people watch with outdoor seating on Broadway. We stopped in for dinner and a few drinks before the Broadway play Blackbird, with Jeff Daniels (the restaurant was visible from our hotel room). I ordered the strawberry basil martini to start, it was tasty, all the main flavors were present. My bestie ordered a martini special with cucumber flavors, I loved it. We ordered the fondue, cheese puffs, and shared the prix fix deal. The cheese puffs were scrumptious, crisp and light filled with flavor. The fondue wine flavor was stronger than expected, but delicious and who doesn’t love a basket of fresh French bread. The prix fix meal came with salad, entrée and dessert. The entrée we chose was croquet Monsieur, ham and cheese baked into a light crispy bread. A few ladies from Milwaukee were sitting on the inside of the restaurant while we were outside dining and waved to us. The waiter was nice enough to open the doors so we could speak. How sweet. They even shared their bottle of Champagne with us and we returned the favor. My friend and I shared a glass of cognac which the waiter suggested, being I am mostly a craft beer/​pub kinda gal. We went back the next day of an after breakfast drink. Their choices of cognac vary in price from $ 12 to over $ 300 a glass. If you like cognac, French food, people watching and good service stop by and enjoy a great meal. Cognac is elegant and welcoming.

I had been to this location before a number of years ago. A neighbor called me late on night and asked if i wanted to step out for a late snack. I was reading so I said yes-let’s go! We were seated immediately and i got a cup of coffee and my friend ordered a cocktail. He ended up getting the truffle mac and I got the snail appetizer. There was bread on the table which was great. The waitstaff was very pleasant and we were taken care of quickly. It is a nice sized space and is set up like a typical Parisian brasserie. There are many choices in terms of what to eat-​I would recommend and return-​the food was delicious.

Had breakfast here on Saturday morning. Elegant yet welcoming. Menu choices ranged from omelets to lemon pancakes to homemade brioche and eggs all with a French accent. Service was attentive and respectful. You must try the cheese puff appetizer. Prices about the same as the Brooklyn Diner a few blocks away but without the wait the noise and the tourists.

Since it’s only a block away from our home, my partner and I have dined here many times, usually with perfectly adequate results: nothing spectacular, but tasty enough, and always with a warm welcome from the evening manager and staff. Today, I made the mistake of popping in for a quick lunch. It’s not only an entirely different crew, but an entirely different atmosphere. I was seated at a lovely open window table, and waited for a server, some water, some bread… and waited… and waited… and waited. When my server finally came, there were no preliminaries: no offer of a drink, no query as to my water preference, nothing. «You look like you’re ready,» was the server’s introductory greeting. Damn right, I’m ready, after all this time, I thought to myself; but being a gentleman, instead I was polite, smiled, and ordered: a chicken burger with Gruyère, and I asked if I could have spinach instead of French fries.
Let’s pause for a moment.
I eat out often — almost every day, in fact. And I have never, ever, been denied the request to substitute a side of fries with a burger (or even moules or steak frites) with either a salad or green vegetable which is the equivalent price to the fries if ordered a la carte. (In other words, if a different side is understandably more expensive than the fries, I don’t ask to substitute.) It’s not an unreasonable request, and it doesn’t harm the «integrity» or composition of the burger or steak dish. More to the point, I’ve done it many times AT Brasserie Cognac, with the burger, moules, and steak. So, when I requested it today at lunch, I was taken aback when my server hesitated, and then said, «Well, I can give you a SIDE of spinach.» I was annoyed at first, but then figured, what the hell: If the burger arrives with fries AND the spinach, I’ll nibble on a frite or deux as a special treat, and pay for an additional side.
The burger did NOT arrive with frites, only the spinach, so I thought, Ah, they’ve accommodated my not-​unreasonable request. Unfortunately, they also ignored my request for Gruyère. Chalking this all up to an unfortunate but not disastrous experience, after I finished my burger sans frites and Gruyère, but avec spinach, I asked for the check. And I was livid to see that I had been charged for the additional side of that blasted spinach. Taking my check to the manager, I explained what had transpired, and that I had often substituted spinach or salad for fries at Brasserie Cognac. «Oh, no,» she replied, «we NEVER do that.» Ok. It’s one thing to screw up my order. It’s one thing to screw me over on the check. But when you basically call me a LIAR, that’s when things get messy.
It’s ridiculous enough that Cognac has a «we don’t substitute fries for vegetables» policy at all — the far superior Times two star-​rated bistro two blocks away, Benôit, does — happily. So does the far superior, legendary UWS bistro, Café Luxembourg — happily. In fact, in all 20 years of my living and eating in Manhattan, so does every single restaurant at which I’ve lunched or dined — happily. And specifically, Brasserie Cognac has done so for me, multiple times — happily. So while the «policy» itself is ludicrous, to call a repeat customer a liar is inexcusable. I suppose the manager on duty this afternoon is correct in one sense: «Oh, no: we NEVER do that»? You bet your sweet life you’ll never do that to me, because I will never, ever cross your threshold again.

Came here for lunch during restaurant week. I am in the area often and pass this restaurant all the time but never thought of walking in.
From the outside, I though it was a low key place like a diner. After walking in I was pleasantly surprised. It’s actually classy and mid to upscale inside.
Service was good and 3 of us were in and out in about an hour after three courses. When I take lunch at work I always worry about time and was happy that we were not delayed by services and were done in the hour mark.
The food was great. I loved the pumpkin soup and the dessert was amazing! If I wasn’t in public I would have licked the plate. I had duck as a main course and it was tasty but messy to get off the bone.
I am glad I got a chance to try the place and must say I enjoyed the food.

Had a drink here after work as it’s close. Cute little French place with a nice ambiance. Menu looks regular, nothing too surprising or special. Need to amp up the quirks!

My wife and I came here for Restaurant Week 2016 to have lunch. After we settled in, the server came to our table and did not ask what we liked to drink nor brought us any bread as a starter. This would not be an issue if the surrounding tables had the same service. However, the same server was very hospitable to others.
Food was average. Nothing spectacular. We had the escargot burgundy which had crumbs for bread instead of thin slices, soup du jour which was the tomato soup, codfish over risotto, and duck confit.
To end the afternoon, the restaurant had the nerve to automatically charge 18% for gratuity with such horrible service.
I would not recommend coming here as you can find other places around the area with better service and food. You will most likely get better service if you are caucasian rather than asian. When we arrived, there were multiple tables occupied with similar service as us. Once non asians were seated, the same server greeted and serviced them as if it was the President or The Pope.
The only reason we gave 2 stars was for the food and the bus boys’ service. They should be the promoted to head server!

I went here for NYC restaurant week this week. I did the $ 38 dinner with my Fiancée. We chose this place because it had escargot which as you may or may not know is a french delicacy.
Anyway, we order our food and enjoy the ambiance of the place. I ordered the soup de jour which was lentil soup and my fiancée ordered the escargot. She loved her food, however, mine was very much under seasoned to the point of bland water. I had to add extra salt and pepper. My fiancée thought i was weird but tried a bite of it and was in agreement with me.
Our main course I ordered the duck leg and my fiancée ordered the cod. Both portions were tremendously small compared to the actual regular meal. I know this because the table next to us ordered from the main menu and ended up with larger portions.
Finally we had both desserts. I enjoyed my fiancée’s the most while my molten lava cake was more solid then molten which was a huge disappointment.
Overall the ambiance was nice, calming and peaceful. We talked forever about our day. The wait staff was attentive with refilling our waters. The only disappointment of the day was the bland food and slim portions. I understand restaurant week is to get people to broad their horizons, however, it should contain normal portion sizes. In the end i though this would be an experience that brings us back here again and again but alas this will be our only visit.

Came here for Restaurant week 2016 and walked away feeling hungry…
The restaurant is beautiful and i really like the lighting but I really cant stand restaurants with TINY portions and lack of flavor.
My first course was Escargot and it was like chewing rubber. the garlic sauce was okay and i dipped my bread it in.
My main course was the cod fish and risotto. the risotto is very flavorful but the dish stops there. Cod fish was tiny and tasteless.
My dessert was the «floating island» and it was equally unmemorable.
I would not be returning.

Had a great meal here over the thanksgiving holiday. Service was not great, but the food made up for it.

First time in NYC and I must say Cognac set the bar!
The steak was sooo juicy and the rotisserie chicken was the best I’ve ever had. I also had the strawberry basil martini… actually more like 3 because they were that good. My table split the fondue which was very rich and hearty, and the spinach and avocado salad (which you can get anywhere). Our server insisted on ordering for us, which is probably how we ended up with the mediocre salad. I wanted to get the arugula and fennel, but he insisted on the spinach and avocado…
We were way too stuffed to get dessert, but I heard it’s a must, so I’ll probably be back to try it in a day or two!

Really enjoyed the food here! There were lots of choices and even the kids found something they could try. Had the cassoulet, the scallops, the Thursday lamb stew special and the onion soup. We also area the beet salad and the cheese puffs as starters. Everything was well received by all. I ate the scallops and found the sauce to be sweet and tasty. It was a great pairing. Also the mushrooms in the dish were perfectly cooked. The cassoulet was very tasty and a huge portion. The onion soup was a nice size bowl and not too salty. Didn’t try the lamb, but my son basically polished it, so that makes me think it was pretty good.
All told the bill came to just under 160 for appetizers, wine and a cocktail, and 4 meals. Not bad for NYC.

Terrible service– waiter very argumentative and not attentive. Brought stale bread to our table.
Food is mediocre to bland.
Would not recommend.

I’ve been going to Cognac for over five years at least 2 – 3 times a week. Spending on average $ 24K a year.
I will NEVER go back as the service and attitude of the servers continues to decline week after week. The restaurant would rather listen to the chef than the customer.
I have brought friends and business people and each have commented on how rude the servers are.

Bf and I had dinner here during the weekend. It was a beautiful night and it had outdoor seating and their menu seemed enticing. We were seated outside and was greeted by a great waiter who knew his food. They were having specials on the blackberry margaritas and the pomegranate Mojito so I ordered the Mojito. And o my lord. It was scrumptiously refreshing. It wasn’t strong with alcohol so you were able to taste the mints and the fruits in it.
For entrée, I ordered the pan roasted Scottish salmon and he ordered the beef bourguignon and they were all really tasty. Delicious. My salmon was perfectly cooked just the way I liked it. The sauce on both entrees were amazing. The only thing that kinda ruined the experience was that we were being eaten alive by mosquitos. Perhaps if you decide to dine here when it’s still mosquito season, better to dine indoors.

Ate there with Travelzoo voucher and will return soon. Salad ($ 13), tuna tart ($ 17), halibut ($ 30), filet mignon ($ 35) and bread were all excellent, although filet was slightly small. Excellent service; very good wine/​beer selection; nice outdoor seating, very nice host.
Good early bird special. Obviously not inexpensive, but very high quality and near Broadway; Lincoln Center; Rock Center; Cental Park.

I rarely eat French cuisine. my favorite European food usually consists of Italian and Spanish, with some Mediterranean flavors as well. Occasional German/​Austrian. But I checked out the Restaurant Week menu for Brasserie Cognac and it sounded very appealing. so my friend and I set up a lunch date. (The RW menu is the same for both lunch and dinner).
Stepping through the front door, you get a feeling of a warm, and rustic interior. Host and wait staff are all inviting with smiling faces and some with awesome accents when they speak. lol There was seating outside, but my friend and I preferred the cool a/​c inside on such a warm afternoon. There were floor-​to-​ceiling windows on either side of the entrance, so there was lots of natural light. Otherwise, the dining area would probably be a lot more dim. We were seated at a table right by one of the windows.
— = Food = -
For food, my friend and I pretty much got the same things, except for dessert. We both had the escargots for apps, and both had the hangar steak cooked medium rare for entrees, and for desserts, she had Peach Melba w/​vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and I had the Coconut Crème Caramel.
The escargot was cleaned well and very tasty. They were cooked with garlic butter, which made the snails rich and fragrant. The hangar steak was delicious! The medium rare was SPOT ON, and the flavor was amazing! My steak was actually medium rare, bordering rare but no complaints there! The side of potatoes were yummy too! I usually don’t care for potatoes, but these were very good!
The desserts, we had mixed reviews. My friend’s Peach Melba, it was so obvious that the peaches were from a can. I expected better from a pricey French restaurant, even if it’s only Restaurant Week. However, the vanilla ice cream, encased with whipped cream was delicious and a perfect ending to the meal. My coconut crème caramel was very underwhelming. Not much coconut flavor. But no big deal, the apps and entrees definitely delivered!
All in all, a very good meal and dining experience! Food was delicious, service was attentive and our water glasses were refilled promptly, and the interior and ambiance was warm and comfortable. I will definitely be back to try some other dishes off the menu! I recommend Brasserie Cognac to anyone who wants to try a traditional French dining experience. Bön appétit! :P