La Boite en Bois

I’ve always liked this spot despite their super tight seating. The food and service is always on point. Been here a few times and will be back again.

I really like this place! Absolutely French and the food is delicious. It is a little too intimate for my liking and tables are too close together but if you are here on date or something then it is perfect. Older crowd and smelled like old money but the dishes are well priced for a restaurant on the upper west side. Service was great as well.

I’ve been to La Boîte en Bois twice and was blown aways with their food and waiters. Amazing service and delicious food. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to my friends and would attend it again!

Love this place!!! Very quaint, cozy and the food is just as wonderful. Lunch is wonderful to. A definite favorite.

The ambience of La Boîte en Bois and its proximity to Lincoln Center are its main attractions. The food is reasonably good, with the typical choice of a few fish, chicken, duck, mussels etc.
All of which are just a bit over-​sauced to hide the reality of a lot of pre-​prep to get guests out in time for the opera. Vegetable sides are nicely finished and Salads are excellent. Still one of the better restaurants for pre-​theatre, just not great. My main gripe with La Boîte en Bois is the escalation of wine prices over the past couple of years which are now approaching 5X retail. Overall, the service is smooth and efficient and never a bad choice

La Boîte en Bois is one of my favorites.
The oysters are amazing, every time I have them elsewhere they pale in comparison. The smoked salmon, which I found out is smoked in house, is my favorite appetizer.
The filet mignon medallions, pepper steak, shrimp & scallops in ginger sauce and the honey mustard salmon are some of my favorites.
I love all the desserts but particularly the apple bread pudding.
Do try this little gem tucked away on the corner of 68^th & Columbus.

I have been here a few times, for dinner and brunch, and have always had a great experience. It is perfect for dinner before heading to Lincoln Center which is a short walk from here. First of all, the restaurant is very cozy and has a relaxing atmosphere. The dinner menu is slightly different depending on when you go. It is pre-​fixe from 4:30 — 7:30 every night except Sunday (and not in the summer, according to the website). The pre-​fixe is a good value with great options to choose from — no complaints here. Everything I have tried has been delicious. The escargot and pâté were crowd-​pleasers at my table. I enjoyed the duck and the salmon, and you can’t go wrong with the chocolate mousse for dessert.

My mother and I go to the Opera often and decided to try something new to our original dinner date spot. The restaurant itself is very cozy and French. It has a nice ambiance and super cute. The host greeted us and took our coats, which was nice since the place is so compact. As we sat down, we were given prix fixe menu. We were not aware that we could not order from a regular menu. The host insisted that the app (
) we used to make reservations tells you that it is a pix fixe menu before any show, however, I don’t recall seeing it. And my mother is incredibly meticulous and would have seen it, too. The host did give us a regular menu after my mom explained that three courses was more than either of us could finish (nor did we have any intention of paying $ 49 a person for dinner). I went to the host to show him that nowhere did it say anything about only having a prix fixe menu on the page or the email confirmation, and he pretty much told me to take the regular menu and be happy. (Not so nicely… Just kinda like shushing me away). So as far as service goes, I was incredibly offended by the rudeness. The waiter was not very nice either. When I asked about drinks he looked at me surprised that I was unfamiliar with their drink menu. I explained I didn’t want alcohol, and he was still acting like I should have known what juices they served. Overall, the food was ok, nothing to brag about. I ordered French onion soup and an appetizer and my mom got the duck. Normally, when people order apps as entrees they ask if you’d like your food served at the same time. Here, I got my soup and app at the same time while my mom waited. I was almost done with my food by the time her entrée was brought to her. (At this point, my food was cold) After dinner, we waited at the door for about 5 minutes before another waiter offered to get our coats. Needless to say, we will not be going back there, nor will we recommend this place to anyone.

Ordered the lobster bisque for takeout. Literally took two bites and dumped it down the sink. By far the worst lobster bisque I’ve ever had (and I’ve had lots). It’s a shame their food is so awful because I live just a few doors and would love a good go-​to place. ICK!

After I left Nick & Toni’s (one block away where I was treated like dirt even with a reservation), we walked into La Boîte. The food was wonderful, the service elegant and comprehensive and I am recommending this place to everyone.
I will return again and again.
Kudos to the staff and the chef. A wonderful experience.

Seriously average. Waitstaff indifferent plates stacked on your table when clearing. House wines were OK but chef’s specials well below standard.
Ravioli OK but sauce awful. Lamb chops came from one of the oldest in the flock gravy was gluey and tasteless. Julienned vegetables reasonable.
Go somewhere else.

Food is good. Wait staff is friendly and efficient. I felt like a cow lined up at a feeding trough though. The ambience is destroyed by the fact that they have seven too many tables packed into a tight space. Strangers stared at me the whole time I was eating, as though I had something hanging from my beard.

I was part of a group of nine who gathered for a special Sunday brunch at La Boîte en Bois. The service that morning was good and the offerings were delicious. I’m looking forward to returning!

Service (men with French accent) a bit rude/​arrogant. the place smelled funny (stuffy). Food is average. Will not return.

This longtime neighborhood spot has some serious problems. I went there at 7:30 on a Friday and was worried because, without a reservation, I felt sure it would be hard to get a table. The place was almost completely empty! Worrying, but my dining companion and I thought that at least it would be quiet.
They were out of Sauvignon Blanc by the glass, which seemed sort of strange. When telling us the specials, they announced that they only had two left of that night’s special entrée. It was only 7:30! It took literally an hour for our food to arrive. There was some comfort in seeing that the other two or three parties were waiting just as long, but we started to think we should just leave. I can’t imagine how long we would have waited if it more tables were occupied.
As for the most important thing, the cooking, it wasn’t awful but it also was not a meal I would want to have again. The mustard «glaze» on my salmon was a thin soupy sauce. Though the fish was supposed to have been broiled, it had virtually no caramelization. We didn’t order dessert — the slow service had just exhausted us. Two glasses of wine, two mediocre main courses and a very long wait ended up, with, tip, coming to over $ 100.
When we left, they handed us the wrong coats. The coat check person had put ours on a hanger with a different number than the number on the stub. Fortunately, because there were so few other people there, we were able to find our coats without difficulty.
This place could be a candidate for a reality TV show restaurant makeover. Inept front of the house, slow food service, mediocre cooking, plus old, musty décor. It has it all!
I know it’s been around forever, but I don’t see how it can survive if this continues.

I am all about Sunday brunch and I was not let down this week. Eggs Benedict is my go to dish but I decided to branch out. I ordered the Croque Monsieur. It was delicious. My dad who I was traveling with ordered the French onion soup and eggs Benedict. He enjoyed both. There was such an authentic taste to the meals. The atmosphere was very French as well. It’s a very tight space and we were lucky to get a table without a reservation but that’s expected in the city. The service was polite-​nothing to complain about. I would definitely recommend this place and it will be on my list of places to visit again.

Have not been to La Boîte en Boise in many years. Its the same as I remember. Classic French bistro. Had the french onion soup, wonderful cheese topping, flavorful broth, succulent cooked onions.
Entre was classic too, filet de boeuf with two delicious baby lamb chops in a very lovely sauce a cross between an au jus and a gravy. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and good with haricot vert to finish the dish.
if you like classic bistro food, and you are near 68^th & Columbus give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. Also works for pre-​theatre.

came here for brunch tosay and it was really good! A bit on the heavy side…
I ordered a omlete with leeks and jambom, husband had french toast. We split the garlic sausage appetizer.
After eating our meal, I walked for an hour. 2 hours later, I am still feeling stuffed.
Definitely good food. I love the intimate feeling of the restaurant. I kind of feel like I was in a hobbit house… not frodos, but his neighbor. :)
Will definitely go back to try their dinner.

Came here for Valentine’s Day with my fiancé (we had just gotten engaged earlier that day.) The three course prix fixe dinner was very nice. I enjoyed the bisque and the veal was delicious. The desert medley was nice but the crème brûlée was overly eggy in my opinion. My fiancé enjoyed his dinner as well. A lovely little restaurant tucked away in the basement of an UWS brownstone. Perfect place if you’re looking for an intimate French dinner with real French waiters!

I decided to try this restaurant out based on its proximity to my place of dwelling and because I have always thought it looked «neighborhoody» and cute. I would say that it was OK, but not a restaurant that I would make it a point to visit again. My friend and I came here for dinner one Saturday night and while the food was good, it wasn’t great or memorable. To be honest this was a few months ago and I can’t even recall exactly what I ate — which should speak to the fact that this restaurant isn’t going to make a huge impact on your life. I guess it is a good spot to go to before seeing a show at Lincoln Center, but whatever.

The service here was a little shaky– there was some confusion with the bill and the waitstaff could have probably handled it in a more delicate manner, but it didn’t overshadow the entire experience.
The ambience here is that of a typical french bistro, with bread for the table (yum, baguettes), as well as a good wine selection. It is unique in the sense that you walk downstairs to reach the seating area, lending this place a more secluded air.
I had the cabernet here as well, and for appetizers and mains had the escargot-​served very hot and buttery, the foie gras (standard), as well the ravioli, which is actually in the apps section of the menu, but I had it prepared as a main. The pasta was cooked al dente and the dish was served piping hot, but that is really all that I could remember about the food at this place.

Seriously the best restaurant i have been to on my entire trip to new york this year. Very quaint and cozy, do not anticipate to have alot of space between you and the next table but if you dont mind that then its great! The owner was very much involved in the restaurant including spieling the specials to us and assisting the servers. They check your coat at the front which is very classy in my opinion and i appreciate that small detail. The food was wonderful! Be aware its a prefix menu meaning you get an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert for $ 48 which to me, for the quality of food and wonderful selection is a great price point. I had the escargot, one of the specials and then crème brûlée. It was delicious and i will absolutely return

A very cute and very small French restaurant. The food was very good. We ate here on our last vacation here and loved it so much we came back on this visit.
The service was very French– a little flippant with French accents and all! The waiter who took our wine order forgot to bring our wine so we had to order again from the other waiter about 10 min later.
The French bread was authentic and delicious. For appetizers: The French onion soup was standard. Hard to mess up. My wife had a seafood crêpe in a nice wine sauce that was delicious.
I had the lamb stew w garden vegetables and she had a fish stew of sorts, their specialty, both meals were delicious.
It is a very ‘euro’ setting so the tables were very close together, like 4 inches apart so you feel like you’re sitting with the tables on either side of you and involved in their conversation. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, just preparing you for the setting.
I filled up on bread (shocker), so didn’t have room for dessert but it seemed like the had a very nice selection. I was thinking about ordering the fresh berries in crème fraîche but we were both just too full.
All in all the food was great, the atmosphere very cute, the service was average. We would go back again for the food!

Absolutely lovely. I have no complaints!
The ambiance is really low-​key and authentic. No frills and barely anything on the wall. The waiters are professional, and the light is a little dim. The tables are close together. Most of the people dining here are older, and I’d say about a half of them were speaking French. All the waiters had a French accent, too.
Our food was wonderful. The duck, scallops, salmon, and veal were all wonderfully flavored. Portions were really appropriate, and each came with a vegetable and a grain. Pretty and not over the top presentation.
The hazelnut mousse and profiteroles were also wonderful and traditional. They complimented each other very well.
Would be great for a nice occasion or really nice date. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to eat here!

It is times like this I am glad to be a member of Unilocal.NYC is humongous and finding a place to eat can be daunting. Unlike the good ol hometown of Austin, folks in NYC, actually feel a need to dress up to go out to dinner. It doesn’t matter if you spend a butt load on dinner, if you are not wearing a jacket, or a proper dress, you are not welcome in a lot of places. I was lucky to find La Boîte En Bois which didn’t require such a costume to get a truly excellent meal. Suzie and I hadn’t been out to a french restaurant. like evaa. so why not. From some of the reviews we read, it was dinged as super small and not that great.
I am here to differ greatly. I booked a reservation on Open Table and when we arrived, we found a quaint, petite, warm, cozy and well appointed bistro. Yes, you couldn’t swing a gerbil in there without hitting a wall, but it worked beautifully. We were seated promptly and Maria, came dancing over and in French welcomed us with a smiling «Bonjour!» She went through the specials and served Suzie a great glass of Cote de Rhone. Our menu consisted of, Escargot and Duck Liver Pâté for starters. Coq qu vin with seasonal veggies and Seafood Stew. Chocolate Mousse and coffee.
Escargot was bubbling hot when it arrived at the table and the Pâté came with four toast points, the wonderful gelatine and tomatoes mixed in with a couple of pickled onion and gherkins around the plate. The Escargot was perfect in it’s six little basil/​butter hot tubs and the Pâté brought back memories of what my mom used to make when we lived in England. Excellent way to start our meal.
Seafood stew and the Coq Au Vin made the table. The Coq Au Vin was delicious. The aroma’s of the red wine and sauteed mushrooms were intoxicating. I manged to snag a wing to munch on and the taste was phenomenal. The wine which the chicken was cooked in, was a perfect balance as to not overwhelm the dish. My stew was chock full of scallops, fish, shrimp, mussels and broth. It came with three toast points, with a dollop of horseradish aioli I believe once each one. Superb. Surprisingly light, but filling.
We had seen a plate of Mousse go out and decided to split an order. Somehow, when we choose to share a plate, we received three nice scoops, rather than two which we noticed on individual orders. I parred this with a great cup of Jo and Suzie grabbed another glass of wine. We leisurely finished our meal and enjoyed the great ambiance and charm the restaurant had to offer.
I cannot say more great things regarding our server Maria. It was totally easy to transpose yourself to France dining in a bistro. Maria was funny, attentive and on point with her recommendations. Being French was just that much better.
Yes, the restaurant is small. You will get to know your neighbors. That’s just fine. It was a really big part of the allure to return if we are in NYC again. Wish we could take you back to Austin with us. And Maria… Je vous remercie de tout cœur.