Jeanne & Gaston

Went here for dinner with 2 others because of the reviews but were disappointed with our meal, despite the great service (I learnt my lesson of never trusting low number of reviews). We each had the $ 40 prix fix menu but shared the dishes:
Appetizers:
Cheese plate: Good, satisfying but nothing fancy
Foie gras: was cold tasteless and perhaps the worst I have ever had in any city
Seared tuna: actually pretty good, best part of the dinner
Entrees:
Gnocci: too soft, but sauce was OK
Rabbit Friccassee: sauce was bland but Rabbit was tender and tasty
Beef tartar: another disaster, cool preperation but the end result was the worst tartar I have also tasted
Deserts:
Cheesecake: meh, but for New York mediocre cheesecake is a shame
Crème Brule: Really good, definitely done to my liking
Soufflé: smelled like raw eggs and it was clearly under baked. Had to send it back… They were courteous enough to offer a replacement but I wasn’t in the mood to wait for another dessert to come.
2 starts because I had a 4 star expectation and it didn’t deliver. I would rank this in the lower 25% of the many $$$ restaurants I’ve been in New York.

I was a little worried about this place because it is on 14^th St, which is not so nice, and were able to get a last minute 8:30 reservation on Saturday for 7. But then I heard the French Embassy has held holiday parties here. Sold.
The ambiance is a modern elegance — think 50’s with a low key, local vibe. Enjoyable.
The bourguignon is fabulous, hands down our favorite. We also enjoyed the soufflés, which were the perfect melt in your mouth texture with a hint of sweetness.
One call out: the service is a bit slow for groups. It took an hour and 45 min for a party of 7 and we were running out to a show.

Seriously wonderful place. came for a birthday dinner on a Saturday night, Oct 18^th, and waited for a good table in the back (reservation indicated a special dinner, but we were given a table wedged in between two others, in the middle of the room). We didn’t make a big deal, just asked to wait for a better table, and the hostess and manager were lovely and gracious. Waited at the bar, had a delicious drink, and then enjoyed a FANTASTIC dinner. (TIP: Get the pike quenelles!!! Delicate little pillows of wonderfulness).
This is one of those off the radar places that is truly a gem.

Excellent French restaurant in the west village. My girlfriend brought me here for my birthday and we sat in the garden out back, which is great during the summer. For appetizers, I had the salmon tartare and my lady had the french onion soup. The soup was delicious, but the salmon tartare was the best I’ve ever had. For our entrees, we each ordered the salmon, which was baked inside of bread, and unlike any we’ve ever had previously and it was very good. We would have ordered the steak frites or le bourguignon, which looked amazing and what was most people around us ordered, but we just had meat the night before. For dessert, we split the Soufflé and Jasmin Tea Crème Brulee, both of which were delicious. This place is amazing and I hope they have another groupon as it’s very expensive and we want to come back!

Only came here for groupon. Tried the sea scallops terrine, nothing special, bite sized. Bourguignon was great, a tad bit oversalted for my liking but still great! Lamb Croustillant was amazing, lobster bouillabaisse was great, broth was very light and balanced. The lobster bouillabaisse came with a quantity of one lobster tail, one sea scallop, a small piece of salmon, a couple mussels & shrimps costing at a price of 45 $. I found it to be very overpriced for the dish, if i were to pay for the full price.
The food were all prepared carefully and tasted great, but will not be a good choice for someone spending on a budget.
There is seating at a nice and quiet backyard garden with a fountain.
Very friendly waitors, great setting, not the best french food based on its value but overall had a great time.

I was looking to try a new place in the city with some outdoor seating. Between Unilocal and Groupon, I decided on Jeanne & Gaston. We sat in the garden which is quite charming. Jolis, the manager, along with his staff was very friendly and provided good service. The menu and wine list are not vast but offer enough to please different palates.
Appetizers:
Napoleon with crab/​avocado-​the crispy layers went quite well with the softness of the crab and avocado. The tuna tartar was good.
For a second course, we shared the homemade pasta with morels & mozzarella. This pasta had a flavorful sauce and worth the carbs. The mozzarella was fresh but needed a bit of salt. Other than that, a very good dish.
Entrees:
Le Bourguignon-​tender short ribs in a pinot noir reduction over mashed potatoes. My husband enjoyed this hearty dish. I had the salt crusted salmon. This fish was cooked to perfection with just the right balance of flavor coming from the sauce.
To our delight, we ordered the dessert soufflé after confirming that they were indeed genuine French soufflés. We know/​love a good soufflé and don’t want to waste our time and calories with the «fake soufflés» often offered in some restaurants. These were excellent. I had the Grand Marnier (I requested rasberry sauce to go with it) and my husband had the Praline. They were slightly more to the cake side and ohhhh so good. My husband ordered another one, so yes, 3 in total!
Jeanne Gaston offers delicious food, friendly service and a charming atmosphere. After enjoying a three hour, well paced meal in their garden, I would venture to say that we will return.

The outside garden is so nice! To add to my prior list, the salad was excellent, but the lamb only pretty good – diners nearby raved about the chicken and salmon. The soufflé was ok, but I would not order it again.
The 2 fixed price dinner options are good deals.
Very gracious about using a Groupon on Saturday night

We came here on a Friday night with the groupon $ 120 voucher.
The service was very friendly and attentive, and we had no issues using the voucher. The décor was mostly rustic, and the place itself was a bit smaller (seating about 20 or so people).
We started with some wine and drinks (to get the use of the voucher!) The French Manhattan was decent, but nothing very special.
We ordered 3 appetizers:
–Crab and Avocado Napoleon. Really good flavor, and the mushiness of the crab and avocado were really nicely contrasted with the crunch of the layers. We liked this a lot.
–Tuna tartare. Pretty good, but nothing special. A pretty standard tuna tartare.
–Escargots in pesto. These were a bit heavy (soaked completely in olive oil), but I enjoyed them. A nice pesto too. Would have been great with the mini-​baguettes that came at the beginning of the meal (which were nice and hot) — now I’m sad I didn’t think of that.
We then ordered 2 entrees:
–Beef bourguinon. Pretty good, very tender meat and good sauce. Really good with the mashed potatoes underneath, and with our wine.
–Roasted chicken. A little dry, and could have used a little more seasoning, but overall decent.
This all came to about $ 120. I’m not sure I would have paid that, and the portions were smaller (we didn’t feel overfull after all that). But the food was overall very good. I’d say the groupon deal is very worthwhile, especially if you can get a few friends to come too.

Fell upon this on a groupon, like most, small but sleek atmosphere. We first ordered our martini’s with one person and as our order was placed 3 different people asked if we had ordered, twice we said drinks only and no one took our food order. Drinks took a bit, so I said ok here we go. Then our server came back with specials and recommendations, ok back on track. Then the surprise the escargot appetizer was amazing. Not usually on my agenda but when in Rome, and I was not disappointed. Dinner was a steak Tar tar that was rich in flavor and they make it table side as spicy as you want it. Then the cap, soufflé to perfection! Light full of flavor and melted in your mouth. Besides the initial greeting, dinner was great and dessert was better. Definitely going to return.

Came here last Sunday for an early brunch. The host was very friendly and seated us outside in the lovely courtyard area right next to the fountain.
The disappointment came when our waiter brought the menu — for some reason, only the dinner menu was available and we had been craving the brunch menu. No explanation was offered and our waiter was obviously hung over.
Nevertheless, we ordered and food came very promptly. Both the mussels and pork belly were delicious. The jasmine tea crème brûlée was also nice. Would go again if I knew when they would be serving the brunch menu!

Back and again and I brought mum
Low key Sunday night. Ordered the napolean app (wafer, crab and avaocado) wish it were bigger. A carafe of cab sauv. Which was VERY GOOD! Short rib for mom and delish steak and fries cooked medium for me.
For dessert new jasmine tea crème brûlée! It was good. I’m not a fan of any tea products into desert (like green tea ice cream– yuck) but these guys nailed it. Filling with a subtle taste. Attention to detail given by server/​mgr Holies. Thanks! Will be back!

I went there with my friend with a groupon coupon. Both the service and food are great! The waiter there is quite nice. I choose the salmon as my entrée. Both my friend and I love our dessert-​pistachio macaron and chocolate cake. I decide to bring my other friend with me next time!:)

I had a great experience on a cold night. I came here after I got the Groupon for 60. We were a little early for our reservation so we decided to take advantage of the Happy Hour. They didn’t have half the beers on their list, which were disappointing. I ended up having Stellas.
The restaurant had 3 tables and we were seated immediately after our happy hour. We ordered two appetizers to start. The escargot wasn’t bad giving that it was my first time having it. I don’t really know what I should be expecting, but it was eatable. I don’t remember the name of our second appetizer but it wasn’t bad also.
Our entrees took a few minutes to prepare, and the restaurant at that point were close to capacity around 8 pm. I had the roast beef Chateaubriand, which was very good. My wife had the Le Bourguignon. It was on the salty side. She wasn’t to please with it.
For desert, I tried to order the Soufflé and was told it could take up to 35 minutes. So, I opted for the Chocolate Martini that was served in a champagne glass. I was a little dumbfounded because I thought I ordered the Martini. And for 13 dollars it was not worth it. The orange crème brulee wasn’t bad.
Overall, a very cozy nice restaurant and I didn’t have any issues with the groupon or menu restrictions.

Top Notch! And I am hard to impress.
Greeted with a smile from the host as we first came in. Small quaint table. Cute space.
Wine list was nice. My first glass didn’t taste right. No argument. The server came to my table and OPENED a new bottle. Made sure I lied it and gave me a nice pour.
Service not rushed. Impressive customer service.
Menu looked great. Had mussels (of course, it’s French) and friend had squid ink pasta. Dessert was chocolate molten cake with ice cream. Everything perfect. Delectable. Nothing was over sauced or covered up because of poor cooking skill. It was all professionally prepared. The chef is awesome.
The attendant bussing out plates was awesome. Very pleasant, polite, professional.
Jolis, the server did not miss a step. I am hard to impress and do not live nearby but I will be back because of the service, the amazing food, the good portions and the ambience. The wine too:) Prices were reasonable.
Sorry, no pics because we were too hungry to wait!
Clean bathrooms. 2 of them. No wait… either time:)
Come see these guys, they aimed to please and they DID!

Jeanne & Gaston’s was a much-​awaited trip from the moment I purchased my Groupon around July 2013 (took me nearly 5 months to actually go and use it). I paid $ 60 for the voucher and had $ 120 to spend on almost anything on the menu. A great deal I was excited to use since their pictures looked so good (of the plated food, the indoor and outdoor seating, etc.).
First, let me start by clarifying that the pictures are deceiving and are the result of a good shot achieved through a well-​placed camera angle. The indoor seating area is quite small, but the space feels very open — no walls or barricades are up. It’s a very intimate setting and if the food was better, I’d recommend it as a romantic date spot.
Our server wasn’t the best one I’ve had. While he wasn’t rude, he didn’t do too much to actually earn the tip we left him. First no-​no he did was give us reheated stale bread. Now folks, I know there are restaurants that do this and they’re able to get away with it because their bread can be reheated and it maintains most of its taste and consistency. What he gave us was slightly warmed, but became harder by the second. And it wasn’t the hard, crunchy texture, it was so hard my teeth would’ve broken if I actually tried to bite down on it because I didn’t eat it quickly enough. We asked for some bread later on in the meal to dip with soup and my friend confirmed the ones our server brought around the second time were fresh (er). One was actually chewable and soft, but the other one did the same hardening thing as the first time.
Below is a recap of the things we ate during our meal and how good (or not) they were:
Shared appetizers:
Baked Homemade Gnocchi, C
Crab, Napoleon, Avocado C
Tuna and Lima BeansTartare, B+
The gnocchi was basically just pure butter melted into a small cast iron skillet. Too heavy and lacked real flavor — unworthy of the $ 14 price tag. Seafood Napoleon’s flavor potential was not fully reached and instead tasted bland. This was our least favorite of the entire meal. I really liked the tuna and lima beans tartare. Haven’t tried it like this anywhere else.
Shared entrees:
PEI Mussels, A
Le Bourguignon (Short Ribs), B+
Calamari and Squid Ink Pasta, B
Mussels were delicious and plentiful. We ordered an extra side of pasta to toss into the broth to absorb some extra flavor (there is an extra charge for this). Short ribs were very tender and the sauce was tasty too. Mashed potatoes were a very nice chunky consistency (my preference). The squid ink pasta was good on first bite, but then less so the second, third, fourth, etc. There was actually an overload on the calamari. If you removed all the pasta, calamari took up ¹⁄₃ of the plate alone.
Dessert:
Hazelnut Napoleon, A
Very good dessert that does not leave you feeling too heavy. The hazelnut taste was prominent and the cookie they use for sandwiching is delicious as well.
So where did they go wrong? This restaurant has great potential, but instead of leveraging the talent of the chefs and the exquisite tastes of French cuisine, they instead lure more customers by way of a discount deal and then lowered the level of quality in the food. Our bill came to $ 151 before they subtracted $ 120 so I paid the remaining balance and added gratuity. By no means a price I am happy about paying when I’ve had better French food at ¼ of Jeanne & Gaston’s regular prices.

There’s a dearth of West Village-​y restaurants on this 14^th street stretch between 7^th and 8^th ave. Jeanne & Gaston is an exception. Without too remarkable a storefront, it’s easy to pass by. On Thursday nights, this is likely less to occur since there’s live music playing, a combination of dixie and smooth jazz which somehow works. Once you’ve stopped to peek in, you see the menu, and then you’re hooked.
We seated ourselves at the bar so that we could take in the place from our perch. There were about 8 other tables occupied, many dates, others threesomes. The fixtures are modern but there’s still something rustic about the décor — the French are whizzes at that.
We were promptly served ice water and our orders taken by a very French server who was attentive and friendly. We started with the crab and avocado napoleon which was delightful — full of crab while light and zesty. My fiancé had the gratinated salmon, which didn’t look all that appealing, but he enjoyed quite a bit. I had the pasta and scallops, which was housemade al dente pasta — there’s nothing quite like freshly made pasta. There’s something outstandingly delicate and this one swam in an olive and garlic broth tinged with seafood lent by the grilled scallops. YUM.
My only regret? 1) not seeing the garden out back (it was a cold day and we didn’t realize it was such a notable element to the place) and 2) not trying the wine or cocktails (my fiancé and I were both getting over the flu). However, with our positive experience, we’ll be back before too long.

I chose this spot to meet a close friend of mine who was in town for dinner. I’ve been wanting to try this spot as the food did sound good and the garden in the back sounded beautiful on a summer night.
We were able to get reservations only a few hours before and sadly it had rained to the garden was closed for dinner. Regardless, we still ate like Queens.
They had a cool cocktail menu. The first one I had was great but the second round I think they may have mixed it up because there was coconut in mine. I hate coconut so I would’ve never ordered a drink with it. I was expecting a glass specific to the type of drink I ordered but they all come in typical 8oz glasses. So you are getting a big drink which could be good or bad depending on what type of drinker you are. Two drinks was plenty throughout our meal.
For dinner we started with the Napoleon. We had asked the waiter for recommendations on what would be god for sharing as we wanted to split an appetizer and get our own dinner. The Napoleon was recommended but not the best choice for sharing. It was alright.
For dinner, I chose the hanger steak and my friend picked the salmon. The hanger steak was loaded with flavor but mostly because it was topped with tons of spices and pepper. It was a little over cooked for my liking and a bit chewy. My friends salmon was just salmon. In most restaurants I’ve found that salmon is never any better then when I make it myself.
For dessert we picked the crème brûlée. The menu said it had ginger in it which I thought sounded unique. It came out about 3 minutes after we ordered it which made me think it was pre-​made and not fresh. When we tried it, the top part was warm and the bottom was still pretty cold. Usually when I have crème brûlée it’s warm but this dish was lukewarm on the top and cold the rest of the way down. It also had no taste of ginger.
Overall the service was iffy. Our appetizer and dessert came out within minutes but of course out dinners took the normal amount of time. There were three main people who spoke with us throughout the night. Two of them were very nice but the main waiter was snobby. The menu in general is not descriptive so naturally I had questions. I know I wasn’t rude, but I genuinely wanted to know what to order and what were some of people’s favorite dishes. He acted like he couldn’t be bothered — despite the restaurant being pretty empty. It’s not like I asked him what a steak-​frites is.
Oh well, at least I still enjoyed seeing my friend. I feel sort of harsh giving this only two stars, but I really have experience better food and service.

3.5*
I came here yesterday for a friend’s birthday party. We bought a groupon for this place and was excited. However, we were met with a somewhat rude/​snobbish waitress who was not knowledgeable about this dishes/​specials offered at all. She only knew the names but not exactly how the dish looks like/​is. We also waited really long for our food. THANK god we ordered a lot of appetizers or else we would have starved waiting for the entrees. We were also warned that we should pick our desserts when we order our entrees because it would take 20 minutes to make… yeah. ok.
Besides the services, our food was pretty decent. We had escargots, napolean (a summer dish with crab meat and avocado), and the french pizza. All pretty tasty. For entrees we had the salmon, skate wing, steak frite, and mussels. My skate wing was tiny… the best dish out of those is the steak. so I would definitely get that. All in all it was about $ 20/​person with our $ 120 Groupon. I probably wouldn’t return as there are a number of French restaurants I know of that are better in taste and around the same price.

I was recently invited to Jeanne and Gaston to try out their new Spring menu and while I had limited knowledge of this restaurant prior, it would be a place I’d recommend to someone looking for some delicious French food with Chef Claude Godard makes his own. The restaurant is very modern looking but at same time having a somewhat minimalist quality. Not your standard looking, run of the mill, French bistro interior.
A large, newly landscaped, garden area is located in back. I didn’t get a chance to see it due to the weather. But the garden seats 40 people and is open year round, with a tent up during the colder months.
We had a set menu of smaller dishes, but all of them are on the regular spring menu. We started with some mini-​baguettes with warm butter (my biggest pet peeve is cold butter, glad they didn’t make this blunder). Next we received a Charcuterie platter with a number of different meats, salad, pickles etc. The chicken liver mousse was my favorite, as it was rich, creamy and delicate.
Next came warm smoked herring with a potato blinis and a citrus crème. The herring was well seasoned and the potato underneath was light and fresh. Not a heavy dish and made all of the diners I was with curious about the use of herring in France. Apparently it is served more in the South.
I was a little worried the next course, a quiche, would be heavy and be too filling. I was wrong. Boy was I wrong. The quiche was nestled in a small filo dough crisp with a nice salad of apples and greens. While we may have received a smaller version, a larger amount would still not be too heavy.
Next up, skate wing with Brussels Sprouts, capers, small croutons and a nice au jus. The skate was delicious and every little accompaniment made the dish better and work in harmony.
To finish us off with pure sugary bliss, we sampled the rum baba, apple charlotte and ginger crème brûlée. I am not a crème brûlée fan, but this was tasty, albeit a smaller, more enjoyable portion. My go to deserts are fruit filled, so I really wanted to love the apple charlotte the most, and I did. I enjoyed the rum baba too, but apples in dessert almost always reign supreme.
My overall experience was a great one. Each dish resembled and tasted very French, but they all had their own spin. The presentation of each dish was wonderful and the taste and flavors were able to match the plates. I would head back to that garden sometime soon and each about a pound of that chicken liver mousse and a full portion of skate wing.

I came here on Saturday night with my girlfriend because she strong armed me into buying a Groupon. I am usually very against Groupon’s for restaurants because I feel like they make me look like a cheapo, but I jumped on the bandwagon to try out Jeanne & Gaston and am so glad that I did!
First of all, the location is a little strange, but I don’t think anyone should hold that against them — right on 14^th Street, not quite in Meatpacking or the West Village but an easy walk to either for an after dinner drink. We arrived at 9pm for our reservation and unfortunately were not seated until 9:20pm. This kind of annoyed me because I hate to be kept waiting, but my friend is really patient and thankfully calmed me down. When we were finally seated everything was smooth sailing from there. Our waiter was excellent — personable and attentive.
Since we had a Groupon, we were obviously ready to gorge ourselves in a full on French feast. To start we ordered a bottle of wine, a cheese board, charcuterie and some escargot. Everything was amazing. I really was so full after all of that, but clearly needed to plow on through to the next course! My friend had the braised short ribs and I had the skate. Both were fantastic, but to be honest her ribs knocked it out of the park — sooooooooo good. When I come back, I am definitely making sure I order those. For dessert we ordered a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream, which was your basic standard hot chocolate brownie type thing + ice cream. Overall I was more than satisfied with my meal and did purchase another Groupon so that I can come back and stuff myself to death again!