Claudette

Sweet spot. Nice atmosphere. We sat inside. The menu was limited, but my friend and I enjoyed what we ordered. We shared the grilled octopus. Excellent. I ordered the salmon entrée which was cooked perfectly, but the fennel was a bit salty for my taste. My friend ordered the wake fish (?) and enjoyed it. We split a bottle of Rose, which our waitress Sarah kept chilled and timed our refills perfectly. Not sure if I will be back. It’s in an area I don’t frequent, but would recommend to anyone, but would mention the limited options.

I came here with a group of friends on a Thursday night. We made reservations since we were a party of 6. Details down below.
Ambiance
Claudette has a very charming décor. I felt like I walked into a local restaurant located somewhere in the countryside of Paris. It is a nice dining ambiance especially if you want to get away from the daily New York City bustle.
Food
Our table ordered about 10 dishes but the three that really stood out were the steak, skate, and the grilled octopus. The octopus was served on a bed of chickpea purée and the steak was cooked exactly how we requested. The best dish we had was the skate. The waitress informed us that it is seasonal but if you see it on the menu, don’t hesitate to order it!
Desert was decent but limited and cocktails were strong.
Service
Everyone here was very welcoming and attentive although it seemed as though they were understaffed that day.
*We paid about $ 100 pp.

What a find. Great French Rose from France. Excellent harrissa eggs and lamb burger. The room is French provincial shabby chic. Wait staff is on top of everything. Loved it for lunch on Saturday. Had the almond basil pesto tapenade for and it was taste bud explosive. Eat here soon!

Claudette sure looks the part. It has the location, the décor, the hot hostess, the right words on the menu for American customers to mispronounce. It even radiates that broader «je né sais quoi» feeling that great restaurants give off. At least, it radiated that feeling until the actual food hit my mouth.
I had the Tuna Nicoise at brunch yesterday. It was a paradox, in that how could something so over-​salted be so vanilla?
(I will admit that I ate it all. But not because it was good — I ate it all because it was like 25 – 30 bucks, and I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror at the end of the day.)
In that way, Claudette reminded me of Megan Fox. Megan, as you all know, looks the part. Star actress. A-​list. Magazine covers. All that. At least, she looks the part until the moment she opens her mouth and starts «acting».
Ok, I’m being a little mean here. Claudette wasn’t as bad of a restaurant as Megan Fox is an actress. But tickets to the Transformers movie weren’t $ 100 either.
(And yes, I stayed through the end of the movie. I wanted to be able to look myself in the mirror at the end of the day.)

Love this place! We live around the corner — so it is our go to spot… and well I am biased. Great setting, yummy food; quality ingredients and selection. Knowledge and seasoned staff. PS: dog friendly to the max!!!

Lovely little spot on 5^th Ave.
We did not have reservations but we’re still seated right away. We ordered a bottle of cab — prices are reasonable and the wine menu is extensive.
I’m no French food expert but my octopus plate was pretty average — not the most amazing I’ve ever had. It was pretty dry and a very small portion — too small. It was on a bed of spicy chick peas — that was damn good.
My fireman ordered the steak — that was phenomenal — cooked medium with all aspects of «medium» respected. I had a couple of slivers and wished I had ordered a steak myself.
No dessert was had but overall great experience. A must try.

Fantastic! I loved the whole French style of the décor and food. It was great. We ordered aperitifs which were delicious and strong. I got the eggs and cured salmon which was really good but I should have gotten the eggs Benedict which looked amazing! The service was really good and loved the overall vibe.

If I was a lady who lunched (or brunched) frequently, Claudette would be a regular in my «places to see or be seen» rotation. Even with scaffolding blocking the sidewalk tables, it’s a charming little restaurant that makes you feel as if you were in a Parisian cottage inside.
First things first: make a reservation. Claudette is always bursting at the seams, no matter what time of day you go. Secondly, if you’re there for lunch, order the pre-​fixe (for only $ 25!) so you can try as many of their delicious offerings as possible.
Claudette’s food is definitely pricey, but simple and delicious. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s one of my favorites in NYC, but the excellent service and cute ambiance definitely lend to reasons to come back. Again, I would recommend getting the pre-​fixe to add a little bulk to your meal, and of course, have dessert. On a recent weekday, I tried:
+ cold sweet pea soup with crème fraîche: I’m not a huge fan of chilled soups, but this was amazing. Really flavorful and refreshing on a warm spring day. It comes with a huge cheese stick which was good, but you definitely didn’t need it to complete the meal.
+ chicken paillard: this was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. The chicken was covered in a chipotle gremolata which packed a punch, topped with quinoa and arugula.
+ meringue with vanilla crème anglaise: I forget the actual name of this dessert, but it was definitely my favorite part of the meal. The meringue was so light and fluffy, which was a great contrast to the heavy crème anglaise. It also had these delicious pieces of brittle floating around. Overall, great mixture of textures and flavors.
I also shared a bit of the star anise crème brûlée, which was just OK; the sugar was a little bit too burnt, which destroyed the taste of the star anise for me.
Definitely a place to impress! I’ll be back to try brunch next time I’m in the area.

Like automaton waitstaff and overpriced, mediocre food? Then this place is for you.
It’s just another example of how more and more New York is becoming a crappy joke, catering to rich, classless tourists who, like stupid sheep, will accept — and welcome — ridiculously priced goods and services as an earmark of quality. NYC real estate is a fortune and customers must pay for it. Thanks for that legacy, Bloomberg.
Anyway, I went to Claudette the other night with a friend after reading so many good reviews about it. The first thing I noticed was the annoying vestibule, with curtains literally whipping you upon entering. There was a beehive of activity, as at least 8 busboys and waitstaff formed a clump near the host’s table, all ready to either trip you up or bang into each other. This type of unnecessary frenetic energy is usually not a good sign and is often symptomatic of ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’.
The waitress seemed sweet, but like the restaurant, pretty lackluster, and asking her for recommendations was like pulling teeth. The $ 13 – 16 by-​the-​glass wine list is relatively short on variety. Probably so that you’ll purchase a bottle from the overblown-​priced, yet more extensive list instead.
The octopus starter we shared contained 2 pathetic pieces of charred octopus swimming in a blow-​your-​head-​off SPICY tomato-​y sauce with chickpeas. It’s one of the worst octopus dishes I’ve ever had. Seriously, the waitress should have said something about the spice factor when we ordered the dish. Next, the mint salad at $ 14 is a big boring rip-​off — a plate piled high with mainly arugula and quinoa that came off like mustard seeds left in between your teeth. Several small slices of pear and slivers of red onion dotted the dish, but the whole thing was totally overwhelmed by the taste of mint. Not good. My companion ate two forkfuls and called it a day.
At this point we walked outside to get some air. The restaurant, though small and quaint was warm and stuffy. We were gone about 10 min and when we returned, our dirty appetizer plates were still on the table! Totally unacceptable, especially with the amount of staff buzzing around.
And as for the staff, they are expressionless zombies who don’t smile or speak. They just plop your food on the table and run away. It was both hilarious, yet chilling watching them deliver the tagine towers like robots. But the more I observed this detached service, the sadder I got and the more I disliked Claudette. Later, my companion and I concluded that this horrible attitude witnessed en masse in the waitstaff can only originate with the owner or is being imparted by the phony maître d’. Honestly, this was a major turn-​off.
For the mains, we ordered the bouillabaisse and Bronzino. At $ 32, the two pieces of fish come with NOTHING on the side but a piece of lemon. That’s it! While the $ 34 bouillabaisse was tasty, it contained more broth than fish. It would have been nice to dunk a few slices of bread into the broth — more than the two thin pieces of toasted French bread that accompanied the dish. But as we realized, we never received bread when we were first seated. Two mussels, two prawn heads, some cut up pieces of shrimp, maybe a scallop and a small piece of cheap perch were swimming around. All served on a small soup plate — not your typical bowl. A nice way to skimp on portion, I guess.
In the end, I give one star to the restaurant because the Madeleine dessert served with caramel dipping sauce was sublime. And the dining room and open kitchen are charming. But I will never be back here again.

I went to Claudette with one of my friends for a catch up dinner. We made a weekday reservation for 7:30. One of the helpful things about Claudette is that you can make reservations on relatively short notice.
We arrived on time; my friend beat me there and they sat her immediately, which I liked. The restaurant is super cute — perfect for a girls night. It’s very open and fairly small without being cramped. The tables are evenly spaced so you don’t feel like you’re right on top of one another.
We were greeted by our server right away and we ordered appetizers and entrees. Our server was friendly and was able to describe the dishes I asked about.
The food came out quickly. My friend got the mint salad to start with, which was a straightforward bed of arugula with pear and quinoa. It was exactly what you’d expect it to be. I didn’t think it was worth $ 14 but at least it was a reasonable portion.
I started with the young potatoes in truffle vinegarette and shallots. This was good overall although I didn’t expect it to be cold. It was a good portion size for $ 8. The shallots were a little overwhelming.
For the entrees, my friend and I both got the salmon with gnocchi. It was served over mushrooms and fennel (with, again, lots of onions). The mushrooms were great and flavorful. The gnocchi were good but there were literally FOUR tiny pieces of it. I asked for mine without peas but it was still served with a pea purée. The piece of salmon was a nice size with a crunchy skin on top, but the fish itself seemed rather oily. The dish was overall OK, although I was very disappointed at the lack of gnocchi.
For dessert, we split the chocolate valhrona cake. This was served with «charred cinnamon marshmallow, sweet harissa coulis chestnut honey sherbet, hazelnut allepo crumble», while this dessert was reasonably sized and pretty good, it was essentially a good chocolate cake with relatively mild tasting gelato, crushed hazelnuts, and some melted marshmallow. We enjoyed this but didn’t necessarily feel like it fit the description.
The bill came to ~$ 100 and we didn’t even get drinks. I felt like that was a bit expensive for what we consumed. $ 56 for some potatoes, a piece of salmon, and half a piece of chocolate cake is a lot. The food was good but it certainly wasn’t one of my favorite places or anything. I left satisfied but not super full.
In conclusion, Claudette was alright. It’s a good place to have in your back pocket for a girls night. It likely won’t disappoint although it won’t blow you away either. I would consider coming back.

When you walked into this place, you feel like you are in a country house in Paris. They have tulips in every table. The staff was super welcoming and friendly.
The food was good but not amazing. Living in NY kind of made you a snob. You don’t settle for good, you come back for the amazing. However, I definitely will come here if I want to impress someone who’s interested in French food and a fan of nice décor.
I do have to highlight one of my brunch favorite. The young potatoes are super yummy!

I cannot say enough good things about dining at Claudette.
–reservations accepted, with friendly, accommodating, and kind people taking your phone call. Had to change our reservation from 3 to 2? No problem. Checked to see if we could bring balloons? No problem. All said with a smile.
–chicken liver mousse $ 10 *a must* and the lamb burger $ 18 on the brunch menu were stand outs to me (guanciale on the lame burger? Yes please. Perfectly medium rare? Yes please), with the smoked salmon crème fraîche and eggs $ 19 not far behind. Beautifully presented and paced accordingly for a leisurely brunch. This price point is I would say on the higher end for brunch in the area, but well worth the ticket considering taste, presentation, and atmosphere.
–service was impeccable. Warm, attentive but not too attentive. By surprise the staff brought my friend Madeleine’s over for her birthday. It made her day, and it was exactly what a lovely dining experience should be.
As text Rex told me, this is a highly instagrammable restaurant but what’s more that I found out, it’s without heir nor pretense. You feel like you could sit all afternoon in these lovely surroundings and feel welcome.
I will gladly go back for brunch or dinner service and thank the fine people at Claudette for an overall 5 star experience.

Charming space transports you out of noisy New York for a mini French vacation.
Delicious food attractively presented in sensible portions. You’ll leave refreshed and ready for New York’s bustle.

Came here for Restaurant Week lunch and was impressed. It’s a Provencal restaurant, so the dishes are different from what we think of as traditional French cuisine (think: French ingredients with a Greek/​Tunisian/​Moroccan twist in preparation). I was surprised but ended up enjoying the meal.
In terms of the RW menu, the only thing I was not a huge fan of was the Za’atar Roasted Eggplant Soup. It was a bit too heavily seasoned and came off a bit sour for me. I can see someone else with different tastes enjoying it though. The Claudette Cassoulet was good: tender and savory – an amazing piece of smoked duck baked in sausages and beans. The Crème Brûlée with Star Anise was AMAZING. It’s the best crème brûlée I’ve had outside of Paris and even my friend who’s not a fan of anise enjoyed it (the anise flavor isn’t overpowering).
We also ordered the Le Pain Tunisien (truffle hummus with flatbread). Highly recommended. You can taste the truffle with every bite and it balances very well with the texture of hummus. Can’t believe other places haven’t through of this combination yet.
For drinks, I had the St. Trop (citrus-​y and a bit bubbly since it has a rosé base) and my friend had the Bloody Mary. He liked it so much he got two. I’m not a fan of Bloody Marys but after trying his I do agree they do them very well here.
Décor is very French country – light and airy but cozy, with wicker chairs and a few plants here and there. There’s a bar on the side too. Really great for daytime, but not sure how it would transition into dinner. Seems more like a place for a relaxing lunch rather than a romantic dinner date, but they do have the bar so I guess everything could look different with dimmed lights? Service was extremely attentive!
Tip: There’s coat check!

My priorities are food quality and value. At Claudette you can achieve them. Lunch instead of dinner. Restaurant week instead of ala carte. Here is what $ 25.00 gets you. A choice of 3 appetizers. Carole and I both chose the grilled montauk squid. Tender little squid rings, playing against firm chickpeas, and soft eggplant cubes. The seasoning takes you to morocco. Little red peppers introduce sweet into the background. A very satisfying dish, not to be missed.
She had the grilled branzino entrée. It tasted like it had just been caught. Multi colored cherry tomatoes and a green sauce complimented the fish. Throw in the grilled lemon slices, and you’ve achieved a high end taste without compromising high end health. Since it was January, my choice was the cassoulet. Fuel for the furnace! Flageolet beans flavored by their marriage to duck confit and pork sausage. We both chose the star anise crème brûlée for dessert. Creamy, not too sweet, with an anise edge.
Was their room for improvement? Yes. The skin of the branzino should have been crisp. Not enough to affect the 5 star rating.

Claudette is a Francophile’s wet dream with its lighthearted Provençal fare, breezy décor and properly demure staff. I’ve been eyeing this Greenwich Village café for a while and, on a whim, we decided to reserve a 9:30pm dinner spot during restaurant week.
We complemented the restaurant week menu with a few a la carte options. In stark contrast to the french eating philosophy, we outdid ourselves with the quantity of food and left with food bebes in our bellys.
For apps, we started with the charred octopus appetizer, which seems to be popular amongst the Unilocal community. In line with what everyone’s said, the meat was tender and paired well with the charred chickpeas, eggplant and roasted peppers.
The Claudette Cassoulet was hands-​down my favorite meal of the night, with its decadent, meaty flavors. I associate cassoulet with medieval peasantry but I’m pretty certain that duck contif was not a prime dark ages ingredient. Interestingly, I didn’t see this dish on their regular menus but I really hope that it finds its way there sometime soon!
The seafood in the Bouillabaise dish was tender and fragrant but the soup itself was bit salty for my taste. I was a bit confused because I expected a pastry top to the soup. After consuming nearly a whole loaf of crusty bread between the octopus and cassoulet, it probably was for the best.
The local greens looked like they had gotten a deep tissue olive oil massage. The spicy kick was a bit unexpected (though not necessarily in a negative way).
The Suzette drink is so simple and refreshing. I would highly recommend as a quasi apéritif.
I thought the service was impeccable, especially since we were there until nearly midnight. My questions were all answers and my water glass was never empty. Bravo, Claudette!

Una agradable sorpresa. Lo elegimos por la cercanía a nuestro hotel para ir a cenar el viernes. Restaurante íntimo, con buena decoración y excelente trato.
La comida es realmente buena y los postres destacables. Sin duda repetiré.

Claudette is a Provençal restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village, steps from Washington Square Park, created by two friends, Carlos A Suarez and Mark Barak. The menu focuses on local produce, seafood and North African aromatics found in the Provençal kitchen.
This is definitely one of my favorites in New York! The service is great, the food is fabulous (I just love their ‘les garnitures’ and usually we order some to go with our dinner). They have a good knowledge of what the food contains so even tough I have allergies I always feel safe eating here.
I visit Claudette every time I’m in New York, sometimes for food, sometimes for drinks and I’m always leaving this place with a big smile on my face! The interior is warm and welcoming and they have an adorable outdoor seating during summer. On Claudette’s homepage they write that they are offering a warm and inviting atmosphere to share great food with friends and family and I can just say that they really succeeded!
I can really recommend you to visit Claudette when in New York!

Claudette is a cute, little bistro who also has a sister restaurant Rosemary in the west village. I went to rosemary last year so I knew I was going to have a great experience here as well.
Though this was supposed to be a birthday dinner for me, it ended up turning into a «we’ve had a bad work week and need alcohol» dinner.
We started off with a great steak tartar and grilled octopus. Both were flavored very well. Then we had a pot of mussels with a helping of pasta. Mussels were ok but the pasta was great.
Now the drinks! We both started off with some strong cocktails just to take the edge off of the work week. Later on we moved onto wine. I had ordered a glass of white wine which they had trouble locating? So they served us each a glass of another option on the house. That made my night!
I will definitely be back and if it’s for the same reason, so be it!

The Quick: True 5 star restaurant. Incredible French, Moroccan, Mediterranean fusion food. Charming interior, great staff, everything you could want. Absolutely must try the charred octopus.
The Details: With a group of five, we each had an appetizer, entrée, and dessert/​drink, and loved everything. Honestly the food was phenomenal. The octopus was the crowd favorite, but the truffle hummus is also award winning. The lamb burger was cooked to perfection, and served with a generous helping of spiced fries (and a great aioli for dipping). It’s perfect for lunch with the girls, date to impress, or even family dinner night.
Oh, and they have rose on tap!
The Damage: Five people, each having three courses, and a drink ~$ 200 before tip. Worth it, go!!!

Went to lunch here today with a friend and it was absolutely adorable. I’d seen this place several times while walking past, and it’s always been packed. We chose outdoor seating, which was perfect considering the nice weather today and the lovely view. I got super lucky with what I ordered: St. Trop cocktail, Ahi Tuna Niçoise, and the Apple Tartine.
St. Trop: Delightfully sweet. Not too strong. Fresh, fruity flavor, almost like you were drinking juice with a bit of a punch. Might be too sweet for some, but it was perfect for me.
Ahi Tuna Niçoise: Recommended by our maitre d’. It was excellent. Beautifully plated, and the tuna was seared to tender perfection. Wonderful balance of texture from the leaves, potatoes, croutons, and tuna. Also, the sauce was excellent — not too heavy or distracting.
Apple Tartine: Another recommendation. It was heavenly. The tartine was heated so nicely, and the crust wasn’t soggy at all. There was a lovely dollop of cream on the top that wasn’t too sweet or overwhelming. Portion was perfect, although to be honest, I definitely could have ate like five of those singlehandedly.
Absolutely will come again!