5 Best Low-Cost French Restaurants In NYC For Valentine's Day
Few cuisines are as romantic as French, especially on Valentine's Day. Luckily the city offers plenty of options for those looking for the perfect cassoulet or crepe without spending beaucoup bucks. Read on for our picks for the best low-cost French for February 14, or any day. By Jessica Allen.
True to its word, this restaurant in the East Village has just 26 seats. Decorated in oil paintings, framed posters, crafts, figurines, and other flea market-esque finds, the restaurant is seductive in a musty kind of way, while the food is classic and sophisticated. Among the Valentine's Day specials are asparagus fricassée with orange caramel jumbo shrimp, beef sirloin steak roasted with smoked garlic and Flemish sauce, and red fruit bread pudding. The $49 prix fixe also comes with a complimentary glass of champagne.
Williamsburg's Cafe Moto gets our vote for the quirkiest, coolest, charming-est French restaurant in the city. The small space beneath the J-M-Z subway line boasts slate tables, wrought iron accents, and a curving bar. It is magical. On Valentine's Day, Cafe Moto has three courses for $50, including artichoke dip, spicy tomato soup, beef short ribs, roast chicken, and date cake. Date cake! Of course that's a must-order on February 14. Live music too.
The Valentine's Day extravaganza at Jules Bistro, in the East Village, features live music, namely the Ethan Mann Trio and vocalist Marianne Solivan, as well as a three-course menu for $49.95. (Items are also available a la carte.) Options range from smoked duck breast with candied walnuts, grapes, and frisée salad to mushroom veloute to filet mignon with burgundy sauce to a seafood risotto to a lamb shank braised in red wine. Jules has been around since 1993, so eating here is rather like getting a dose of history with your dinner.
Le Grainne Cafe is the kind of place anyone would be glad to have in his or her neighborhood. Always yummy, always friendly, always crowded, this restaurant in Chelsea makes a mean papillotte (pictured), moist tilapia in a white wine sauce, as well as several types of mussels. Another big draw are the crepes: from savory (including egg, bacon, cheddar, and tomato; mushroom; and goat cheese) to sweet (including Nutella; honey; and clement-faugier chestnut cream with creme fraiche), there's one for every palette.
For the big V-Day, Pates et Traditions in Williamsburg is offering a three-course special for $45: you get to choose from such apps as housemade foie gras or beet carpaccio, such mains as Scottish salmon or a rack of lamb, and such desserts as strawberry-lime tiramisu or a Guinness-and-chocolate cake. This restaurant puts a North African twist on its French food, as in the crepe orientale (pictured): Swiss cheese, Merguez sausage, a marmalade of peppers and tomatoes, and a loosely cooked egg.
