Cafe Du Soleil

Victor and another wonderful guy, who was so funny and considerate and anticipated my family’s needs perfectly (so sorry I can’t recall his name) did a fantastic job today at my Grandfather’s memorial service at Riverside Church. The woman who accompanied them was also very sweet and kind. I can’t say enough positive things about these amazing professionals, whose performance is the sole reason I recommend this business with five stars.

This is a perfect neighborhood bar, although it can take a few visits to realize it. They have a nice wine selection, classic French food, and a great atmosphere. The staff is excellent, especially as you get to know them, and on any given night the whole restaurant might turn into a big party with French anthems and flying cocktail napkins filling the air around you. Best bar in the neighborhood by far.

I would give this place 3 stars for food, 2 stars for service, 4 stars for décor.
Food — the food was decent, but nothing spectacular. We came for lunch on a weekday and got an omelette and the mussels and frites. Again, both were very standard — nothing really stood out to me, good or bad. So, I would say that you can expect an inoffensive food experience when you come.
Service — it’s hard to describe exactly what was wrong with the service here. I will settle on the word lackluster:
1. First, our food took forever to come. We literally were the second people in the restaurant since we had come just after opening, and we received our food way after the 5^th and 6^th parties had trickled in. Maybe there’s a delay in the kitchen, but could you please let us know at least? Especially when we overheard that the chef «was feeling generous» with the next table over and comped them a side of fries for no reason. Good for ya’ll, but you actually have something to make up for over here, and with no bread to start, those fries really would have come in handy next door. Common sense, people.
2. I noticed that the omelette said that it came with a side salad on the menu, but I only realized this later on, after the salad that came with the mussels and frites had arrived and been consumed. By that time, we just figured the main courses were coming soon so I didn’t bring it up. (Oh how wrong I was.) I admit that we contributed to this particular problem by not bringing it up at the time, though the restaurant should know its own menu and have ultimate responsibility for not bringing out a dish.
I will say that I got a French vibe here. Not food-​wise, but décor– and service-​wise. Décor-​wise, there were names of cute little French streets that brought me back to my trips to Paris. Service-​wise, as stated above, just annoying and slightly careless. All that is fine is France, where no one is expected to tip, but I’m pretty sure that it would have been unacceptable for us not to tip here so… by that logic, it’s also unacceptable for them to give crappier service.
Overall, mediocre to negative experience, and probably won’t be back.

A neighborhood favorite. Always warm and friendly. Mussels are the best in the hood. Brunch is a delight.

No nonsense French cuisine with an admirable atmosphere and staff. Waitress was a little forgetful, but manager quickly attended to any needs in her absence. Love this spot and will keep coming back.

I’m not one to write a ton of these but this one is well deserved. Came in on a Saturday night and the place was busy but comfortable. Service was impeccable and food outstanding. Had a top notch beef bourguignon and will be coming back in the near future. The coffee which I usually assume to be mediocre at most restaurants was excellent. Did I mention the service was great? Five stars — no complaints.

Okay… Well I got the 3 course prix fix meal with the salmon burger and I thought it would be delicious… But honestly it just wasn’t. It was over cooked and dry and just totally unappetizing. It tasted frozen and I honestly couldn’t eat it. I told my waiter and asked for the sandwich my friend had, the chicken poulet. (Which I tried, and tasted much better) Next thing you know, the manager comes out and makes me feel terrible about not liking the salmon– he says that the chef makes these all day and that since it’s cooked food he has to charge me for it and it’s just going to be wasted. And I just sat there like… Dude I’m sorry, I know food waste is a huge issue but honestly I personally did not like that burger, and I’m not going to eat it. At this point I felt like a terrible person but honestly it’s a service industry and I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain myself to them. If you look at my reviews I always give restaurants high stars and give the benefit of the doubt, but these 2 stars are solely for the chicken poulet which was actually decent. The salad was just lettuce and dressing and the crème brûlée wasn’t so special. The manager is someone I never want to deal with again! If you don’t like the food here, plan on just eating it anyway unless you want to wrath of the manager!

Personally, I don’t care that much about service as long as the food is good enough. However, this place is just too disappointing. I don’t know if we are just unlucky. We waited over 50 minutes for our food. We had to wave constantly to the hostess to order food and get our check while she was chatting with other servers. The «owner», probably, came to let us know that our food was on our way. But still 50 minutes of wait for nothing special is what I would expect. Like other reviewers, the only French this place offers is the service. There are many other similar restaurants nearby. Don’t come here hungry or with any a bit expectation.

Just went for Happy Hour And was very pleased. The dirty martinis were tart and salty with a good
Pour of vodka. The croque monsuier was fresh with delicious gruyère melted on top. My friends had the shrimp in a garlic wine sauce and were very happy. Will definitely have to try for dinner or lunch.

I cannot recommend this place for brunch.
We went for brunch yesterday, the food was bland and didn’t taste fresh.
We had the omelette, the eggs Norwegian and a side of garlic fries and it all tasted like it was prepared a while ago.
Both the omelette and eggs Norwegian came with a side of shredded potatoes cake that was horrible. It tasted like it had been prepared many days ago and had been re-​heated many times. On top of that, it was served half cold, half warm. Basically they were not even able to warm this potatoes cake up again properly.
The garlic fries were basically regular frozen fries (maybe the same you can get at home), fried with a couple of garlic pieces thrown into the batch. You could not taste the garlic when eating the fries, but if you wanted garlic, you could just eat a fried clove straight up.
This was even more disappointing that it is not cheap. There are many other places who can do omelettes and egg Benedict for $ 15 each, and they will do it much better.
The only true french thing that you get at this place is the service.

This place is such a disappointment… nothing that french about it went there for breakfast and expected crêpe, amazing croissant… a corner café serves better

What a great place! You know when you go traveling, in France or in Tuscany and you eat at little restaurants, and you’re like its so good, we should just move to this country for the food? This is one of those restaurants. Except its on the upper west side! you don’t have to move anywhere and can eat it all the time!
The food is basic french –duck a l’orange, coq au vin, steak frites, mussels and fries, but it’s done so well.
There’s a beautiful outdoor seating with scaffolding, and they’ve decorated the scaffolding with flowers, lights, white tarps, plants and a white picket fence.
As soon as you walk in, you smell the amazing flavors of the garlic and white wine mussels. It took everything we had not to order the mussels!
We got the trout and the duck a l’orange.
The duck was good, seared well, and the sauce was good, but oh my goodness the vegetables. The mushrooms were a medley, i definitely saw some oyster mushrooms, but it was just so good, I didn’t even care what I was eating. The haricot verts were perfectly cooked, beautiful green and well seasoned. The rosemary potatoes were soft and together, each bite was just perfect.
But what was even more perfect was the trout dish! it was filleted beautifully with the head still on, pan fried to a crisp in a savory brown butter sauce topped with haricot verts. One of the best things i’ve had in a while.
We also had a side of spinach sauteed with garlic. What a perfect meal
For dessert we had the profiterole. The chocolate was warm, and the vanilla ice cream was milky and cold, the strawberry and mint were fresh, but the hazelnuts really tied the dish together. If you get every ingredient its the perfect bite
This dinner was just all around perfect
Highly highly highly recommended. There are lots of different specials on nights, and this will definitely be a regularly place for me!
Oh and there was live music to help complete the night. Just a perfect place!

I had such a great meal here last week while visiting New York! I had the Salade de Tomates & Burrata as well as the Roasted Salmon with Ratatouille. Everything was perfectly cooked and the salmon was delicious. I had never had burrata cheese before and it was creamy and yummy. Service was impeccable and very friendly. The staff seem to truly enjoy working with each other. Maxime is the manager and he treated us warmly. I enjoyed the Cabernet with dinner as well. I loved the quaint atmosphere and would definitely go back on my next trip to NYC.

We were in the city for a «salon» musical event and the restaurant was a great spot for the 17 of us!
Service was super friendly and outstanding. The menu is a prototypical French bistro lineup with everything from Escargots to Coq au Vin
The wine list is neat and reasonably priced and there is a solid selection from France’s various producing regions.
Our small end-​of-​the-​table foursome started with a house-​made country liver pâté (very good) garnished with cornichons, mustard and crostini, a lamb sausage (good)over cous-​cous and some grilled shrimp (very good). This went well with a bottle of Provence Rose ($ 42)
For our entrees we were all over the map — from Les Moules Frites, $ 19 (mussels with fries) and some good fresh bread for dunking to a prime sirloin steak in a wine and onion sauce that paired perfectly with a 2012 Chateuneuf du Papes from Clos L’oratoire ($ 79).
The atmosphere is light and airy as the entire front of the restaurant is open to the street. the small bar also has a TV for a more casual hangout spot.

Their $ 24 pre-​fixe menu, consisting of appetizer, entrée, and dessert, is fantastically priced for an Upper West Side French restaurant. My favorite appetizer would have to be the Soupe A L’oignon (French onion soup), which has the perfect amount of gruyère cheese and a great ratio of broth to bread. For entrée, I would suggest the steak frites, cooked to your liking, that comes with delicious (and addictive) garlic fries. The crème brulée is nicely torched and the custard is rich with vanilla bean. If you’re feeling thirsty, the scrumptious Pomegranate Cosmopolitan is a great choice; comprised of vodka, cointreau, pomegranate syrup, cranberry juice, and fresh lime.
The service is both friendly and efficient. The restaurant’s calm yellow wall color matches the French style seating, and the usage of mirrors is a nice touch – I would suggest choosing a booth if with a group.

Great place and great service! The staff was very attentive and the food came out fast. Most important the food taste amazing. Definitely will come back and suggest it to any one.

Charming little French Café on the Upper West side. Went for brunch, it was delightful. A real Parisienne French person charmed us and provided us some wonderful tips on Springtime en Paris. The breakfast choices were decent sized, fresh and tasty. My friends both spoke highly of the Challah French Toast, a classic NY breakfast item that comes with high standards and expectations.

I love this place! In this area this is the only French spot I would suggest.
The food is really good.
The staff is so friendly and the service is great, which is hard to find in this area these days.
Brunch is really nice, and happy hour offers small plates to accompany your wine. Very good deal. Very friendly service, and a good experience every time.
I normally sit at the bar and the people who frequent are super friendly and chatty. If you come alone you won’t feel alone at all.

Charming as always I fell like I’m in Montparnasse noisy full of music yes music in the weekends and the bartender happy to be here and pore ya some Bordeaux. So fill up my glass and listen to the crowd having a good time.

walked in and no host, so i never got greeted. Sat at the bar and no bartender… waited 5 minutes and still none. Once my watch hit the 10 minute mark I got up and left. No one noticed. –_–
Date: 10÷24÷14
Time: around 1:38PM.