La Belle Epoque

[Ruby]

I'd been wanting to try La Belle Epoque for some time and finally got around to it on Friday night. Four of us arrived about 7:30 and got seated at a banquette. The free tango lesson starts at 8.

The space is beautiful and lives up to its name - very Art Nouveau. It's up one flight of stairs around 12th Street & Broadway in the Village.

We ordered only appetizers (from ů to บ) which had a New Orleans feel to it. They were very good but what I found so cool was the mix of people: older, younger, women dressed to the nines in slinky black dresses with high-heeled rhinestone shoes. All doing the tango to a live band. The later it got the better the dancers were. Some of the dancers were total beginners and it's cute to see men counting the steps (it reminded me of dance class in junior high school) but it was very cool.

This place has a definite party atmosphere and I'm going to go back another Friday night and tango my tush off. If one doesn't want dinner, I believe there's a บ admission and a bar. Drinks were standard price. It's definitely not the same ole.

I believe they also have brunch and were only open at one time for private parties. This is definitely off the beaten track.

Happy New Year!

[wannabechef]

A few weeks ago we had a brunch celebration for my parents anniversary at La Belle Epoque. I know this is a relatively popular place, so I was very surprised to find a lack of reviews or even good informatoin about it. So hopefully this will add some quality information into cyberspace.

There were only 6 of us for brunch and we had a great time. La Belle Epoque is a New Orleans style ballroom near Union Square. On the weekends, and certain weeknights, they have dinner, and live music - with the main draw being dancing. On the weekends however, they have a laid back jazz brunch which is great.

The cost was $25 for an open buffet and included either a bloody mary or mimosa. I believe that combined with the entertainment and high quality food, makes this a great deal.

The buffet is sort of divided into four portions. The classic breakfast items being one, a huge assortment of meats, cheeses, olives, etc being the second, and lunch/dinner items as the 3rd. Oh yes, there is desert too - thats the fourth. So you can basically eat an entire days worth of meals in one sitting. Yes - come with an empty stomach.

The food has a New Orleans touch to it. The french toast was some of the best I've had and it had 3 or 4 different toppings for it - including dulce de leche. They also have a full omlette station with about 10 fillings. They also make poached eggs to order and have an assortment of sauces for those too.

For the lunch items, there was gumbo, a seafood dish, and a bunch of other things I can't remember (it was a while ago).

On top of all that, the music was some top notch jazz and the space is just gorgeous. It was a great morning. The thing I like most about this place though - is how laid back it is compared to the other brunch places around the city. They didn't seem to care that we sat there for almost 3 hours. We just kept going up getting more food, listening to the music and talking. It was a great time. The only possible negative aspect was some slightly spotty service. Some of the staff seemed new and didn't seem to know what they were doing - but it didn't detract at all from the experience. Its mostly self service, so how bad can it be?

They are available for groups - you can either rent out the whole place, or just reserve a portion of the room for a party. Here are some pics. I didn't really capture the food that well - but you get an idea of the place.

Here's the citysearch link:

http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7087343

A shot of the bar

The room

A part of the buffet

The omlette station

[JennyUptown]

When did this place open to the public? I used to live right nearby, but can't recall seeing it.

[bergerka]

Ok, I cannot tell you how surprised I was to see this thread. You may not know that La Belle Epoque also offers opera nights - in fact, I just performed there, Sunday night, as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.

Their brunch food appears to be, er, much better than their dinner theater food.

K

[mjr_inthegardens]

La Belle Epoque has been around for a while.

I have never dined there but partied in the space during college ('96-'00) to both an NYU organized asian dance party and salsa dancing to Cuban bands.

The space really is lovely and the brunch looks like a good deal.

[wannabechef]

Ok, I cannot tell you how surprised I was to see this thread.  You may not know that La Belle Epoque also offers opera nights - in fact, I just performed there, Sunday night, as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. 

Their brunch food appears to be, er, much better than their dinner theater food.

K

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I would love to check out the opera night sometime! Let us know next time you perform there. I did hear so-so things about their dinner food. So I went in to the brunch with pretty low expectations. Like I said, the food isn't blown away gourmet food or anything, but the ambiance, live jazz, and the ability to sit for hours makes it desirable for me. I can't do the 1.5 hour Manhattan brunch wait and rush at the "in" places.

Probably wouldn't go back with just the wife - but its a good place for groups and special occasions I think. Overall I think La Belle is an underrated and not often mentioned place.

~WBC

[bergerka]

Um - I just called La Belle Epoque and their number is "not in service at this time" - does anyone know what the deal is?

K

[zeman]

Um - I just called La Belle Epoque and their number is "not in service at this time" - does anyone know what the deal is?

K

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They went Belly Up!

[bergerka]

Yeah, I figured that must be the case. A real shame, I had to find another performance venue!

K