NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Balthazar
Included In
Balthazar is always a scene. Like a one-martini-and-peep-toe-heel-away-from-Samantha-Jones scene. You’ll run into plenty of regulars, like the teacher posted up at the bar at 8pm downing a decaf cappuccino and a scoop of vanilla ice cream who told us Balthazar serves the city’s best whipped cream. (We can neither confirm nor deny at this time.) Next to the regulars sit Soho shoppers and Gen Z kids wearing camo bucket hats who heard about this restaurant from TikTok. It’s an undeniably weird mix for a traditional French brasserie that opened in 1997—but the frenetic energy is what makes Balthazar worth visiting for a night of paying too much money for escargot and French onion soup.
Breakfast and lunch here work nicely for a meeting or whenever you’d like to present someone with a nice salad and freshly-baked bread. But nighttime is when things get more fun. We always order the steak frites served with a whole-ass beurre blanc dipping sauce on the side (as does much of the crowd sitting in the dining room). Admittedly, you could plop this $43 New York strip or ribeye into an Outback Steakhouse and no one would have the slightest clue. It’s totally unremarkable. The crispy pinky-sized fries though, you’ll probably want an extra order of.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Despite the crowds, you can usually walk in and get a bar seat if you’re there a bit before 7pm or a bit after 9pm. That’s the ideal move. It means more eavesdropping and face time with the strangers who make Balthazar what it is.
If high prices and scene-y restaurants bother you, you’re going to hate everything about Balthazar (and Soho at large, for that matter). But if you’re in the area with tiny martini stars in your eyes, it’s one of those places you should probably check out.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Onion Soup Gratine
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Escargot
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Steak Frites
Frites
photo credit: Noah Devereaux