Orsay

Food was less than mediocre; service was horrific; 1
mistake after another was made; the only positive thing I can say is that the atmosphere was lovely.

Love this restaurant. I’ve been dining at Orsay for many years. The atmosphere is lovely. much like a trip to Paris. The food has always been delicous and the waiters, sweet and helpful. My only disappointment is that the lobster soufflé was removed from their menu years ago and never put back on,

Excellent brunch choice on a Sunday! I had a Bloody Mary, along with the Chicken Kale Salad, which included feta, Apple, and grapes. It was a healthy and delicious treat. I tasted the salmon on a bed of lentils and also found it to be a great selection on their menu

A welcoming oasis on mid-​70s Lex — but expensive for the quality of the food and drink
My wife and I attended the opening of this year’s Costume Exhibit at the Met and were faced with the usual problem of what to do for lunch by the Met. In the mood for a nice-​ish lunch, we decided on Orsay.
The atmosphere is lovely in a classic French bistro kind of way and the service was delightful. But the food was just… good. The Orsay Salad was tasty and impeccably dressed but the tomatoes were off. The West Coast oysters were insufficiently briny and were the smallest oysters I’ve been served in a restaurant since… well ever. We were sold on getting two cheese souffles because of their small size but they turned out to be enormous. But the real problem was the cheese Orsay used was rather flavorless — the souffles lacked the piquancy and aroma you get in an actual French bistro. On the other hand our desserts — a Paris-​Brest hazelnut almond-​y thing and a orange crème brûlée were both stupendous.
Another disappointment was the wine. We tried both a white Burgundy and a Chablis. The Burgundy was rather awful and the Chablis was OK — but neither were worth the price. Which brings us to the real downside of Orsay… lunch ended up over $ 200 for the two of us. And when I think of the other French bistro lunches we’ve enjoyed (or of the other $ 100/​person NYC lunches) the prices were way out of line for the quality of the food and drink.

Went here a couple weeks ago with my boyfriend & his family.
Standard ‘French’ American food, my short ribs were good, rich and hearty — but everything else was just okay/​standard and the service was absolutely abysmal.
For a «nice» French restaurant on the UES, I have the expectation to get water at some point… Nope. Everything is pretty oily/​salty so you think they would fucking check if you have water.
I was bumped on multiple occasions, and they almost got my hair in dishes as they moved by at one point. It’s not like it is a small restaurant that is tightly packed, so it is pretty unacceptable — and not a single person apologized.
Pretty lame place, I would have never chosen it. It’s a pity — the space is beautiful and huge.

All the charm of Les Halles, but lacking the food quality and crowd I typically like for. The mature nature of this restaurant was a turnoff for me, but I still enjoyed the meal.

Delicious food great service wonderful al fresco dining I would definitely recommend and go back! Ps. Great mimosas!

Orsay is a semi-​secluded Upper East Side French brasserie that serves hit-​or-​miss French inspired American food.
I came with some co workers on a Tuesday evening.
We had charcuterie, gougeres, crab cake, hanger steak with sauteed mushrooms, macarons, and chocolate ganache cake.
The cheese platter had 4 different varieties of hard and spreadable cheeses. The blue cheese and brie were soft, non pungent and perfect with the toasted crunchy bread. The gougeres were light airy cheese puffs with a hint of truffle inside. Delicious. I wanted to eat a third or fourth one!
The crab cake was standard fare but the green apple salad with horseradish was unpalatable. The salad was sour and tasted like a spicy sour bitter sauerkraut. Yech!
The well-​crusted seasoned hanger steak was disappointing. Half of the steak was cooked medium rare and the other half was medium well and tough to cut. I wish we had a steak knife. The buttery sage-​sprinkled mushrooms were perfect. I finished my plate and considered asking for more mushrooms.
The potatoes au gratin was perfect! Creamy rosemary and truffle flavors with a crisp top layer. I wanted to bring some home to my husband but I ate all of the top layer already.
I didn’t get to try the macaron, but I had the cannele de bordeaux. Orsay’s version was slightly sweet, airy sponge cake but lacked the caramelized crust.
And the chocolate ganache was rich, very sweet. I couldn’t finish it.
I would definitely want to come back and try other items on the menu. The service was perfect!

My fiancé and I have passed Orsay a few times and always thought it looked elegant yet relaxing. Last Sunday after mass, we decided to try it. The interior looks like a french parlor, finished with wooden walls and a elegant bar. The staff was very friendly and accommodating, and showed us to a table by the enclosed patio. The pastry basket looked delicious, however we did not try (something for another time!). I ordered a Mimosa, and my fiancé the popular Bloody Mary. To be frank, these were the only items that fell short at this restaurant. They were sub-​par. For our meals, my fiancé had eggs Benedict, which he said was very good, and I the eggs Norwegian with the sauce on the side. I was very happy with my dish! I should also note they served bread with the meals, which was freshly baked and excellent.
Overall, I would absolutely return and recommend this restaurant.

Alright, alright, alright, check this: walk into the joint last night looking to grab a quick drink before our dinner reservation at a REAL restaurant (I mean c’mon, the whole French Bistro thing is full of grade D veiny ribeye «steak» and oily French fries and whatever non-​perishables like pasta they have lying around for the last decade – that’s not a «restaurant»), and the bar is crowded. In the corner there sits a couple. Wifey, on the phone complaining about how terrible life is, has her purse on a stool. My girlfriend, ever so classy, asks «I’m so sorry, but would you mind if we took this stool? There’s only one other unoccupied stool. I hope this isn’t too much trouble.»
Now, I know what you are thinking, «Um, yeah. So this is a normal thing that happens every night at every bar/​restaurant in every city in ever country on earth.» That’s where you’d be wrong.
Wifey begins to huff and puff and proclaim to the bartender «Ugh, well that just put me in an AWFUL mood,» loud enough for me and my partner to hear. So, I pipe up, asking this Real Housewife of the Upper East Side, «Was that too big of an ask?» That’s when her little miscreant husband, face deep in no less than three different types of alcohol, in his garbage UES uniform of backwards Vineyard Vine Hat, cheap zip-​up nylon track sweatshirt and ugly khakis loses his mind. He starts mumbling all sorts of strange phrases. «This is my restaurant! If they only knew this was my restaurant! A**holes! This is not the kind of place where you can just do what you want in MY restaurant!»
Simply put: garbage human being. I could never stand to support an establishment where the owner is so disconnected from reality and rude. Dine at your peril: you never know when homeboy will just pop up and say something awful to you and your partner.

Me and friends went for restaurant week here. The pork appetizer had strong odor and was not flavored much. The Lamb shank was flavorless but I thought decent quality. The vegetables in the stew underneath seemed frozen. The dessert was choco mousse and it was nothing to remember, friends had pancotta it was good. Afterwards I had diarrhea which was bad. I would not recommend this place to anyone with taste buds. Only plus was service, everyone was nice.

Booked for dinner last Friday at Orsay to try out their Restaurant Week menu offering. Everything was on point, from the host leading us to the table, coat check, table service, wait staff and the food! I’m a Sancerre girl so that’s my default order to start with. Always a good decision.
The pâté for starter was delicious. The lamb as main course was divine (by then I already had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon). And the chocolate mousse for dessert was the perfect end to such a lovely evening. Felt like I was back at my favorite restaurant in Paris!
The place was packed yet the level of attention and service that we received was above par.
Merci beaucoup, Orsay! Most definitely coming back! =)

Popped in here for a drink last night. Love the space and the atmosphere — feels very authentically French. Maitre’d and bartender friendly. We only had drinks (the cocktails are delicious and the wine pours are very generous), but all the food looked and smelled delicious. Would definitely come back for dinner.

The lamb chops were really good. The meat just melts in your mouth.
I came here for Valentine’s Day, so I forgot a lot of the details, but it was pretty good.

What a gem on the Upper East Side! We love coming here for brunch — the food is delicious (I highly recommend the Croque Madame!), coffee and drinks are great, and service is attentive.
As a plus, the outdoor space is really lovely — just closed in enough and removed enough from the sidewalk where you have a little more privacy and feel like you’re on a secluded balcony rather than a NYC sidewalk.
Get a table, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy!

Best French Onion Soup that I have had to date in New York City. ‘Nuf said, you won’t be disappointed!

Eating French food outside on the corner with great staff and great food makes this upper east side joint, a gem.
You will have a great meal here with fantastic service.
A go to in the. Neighborhood.

Great place 5 stars on food drinks waiters
Desert best part it’s on Eastside
Like I always said you can’t put price on good food and good service

The worst experience ever!!! It suppose to be a French place, but there is no a single French person working there. Only Rumanians with broken English. Very arrogant I believe Pakistani manager. He was very rude and annoying. Food was terrible, dirty place. And I think I have seen a mouse running thru dinning room. I must say I wasn’t surprised.
Never come back!!!

We had a lovely lunch today at Orsay. I have been eyeballing this place for years, not wanting to go in because it looked like a «Ladies who Lunch”/Housewives of NY hang-​out. Today, I got over my issues and had a great (expensive), quiet lunch with the hubby.
We had:
2 glasses of Cote du Rhone — lovely
Frisee salad — very tasty
French Onion Soup — the hubby enjoyed
Beet Salad — Delicious
Steak Tartar — very good. Heavy on the mustard but tasty
Rhubarb tart — very tasty
Cappuccino & café latte — very good
We would definitely come back.