Nice Matin

[Elissa]

paraphrasing g. stein, there's no [real] pissaladiere there

though sea bass wasn't bad

Edited May 16, 2003 by lissome (log)

[baruch]

SO FAR, within a group of 4 diners, all main dishes tried at Nice Matin were good-to-very good. restaurant still working out the kinks, but "seems" like an early winner (hopefully). full menu now being served.

pet peeve re: new "neighborhood" bistro: they very carefully pour wines-by-the-glass to make sure it is just the "right" amount vis-a-vis their allocated cost, & no buybacks, which seems odd for a restaurant trying to develop a regular crowd - in contrast to - an AIX, which is very smart that way. hate to say it for fear of being too criticized, but since no smoking, none of these bars are as crowded & something rakish seems to have been lost, but as i said, i don't need the holier-than-thou comments/replies.

hard to comment on ouest & jean-luc's policies: personally don't like their ambiances; ouest has none & jean-luc just doesn't have that "je ne c'est pas" that either one has or one doesn't, & they don't!

as to cafe lux, very sadly a non-event, as others have written here; food way overpriced for what they serve, overpriced & mediocre wines (& that's being kind) have both really kicked in at this legendary restaurant. the only thing left is its "buzz" from a hollywood dining crowd, ex's: pacino, liam & natasha, spielberg, etc, etc ... maybe THEIR food there is better oddly the regular bar crowd rarely eats (?), & the others at the bar seem to visit for their proximity to the famous. the owner is the ex-wife of keith mcnally, but she seems to to treat the cafe as a cash cow living on its past rep. the day-to-day mgnt has blinders on & can't see the forest for the trees. sorry to see it go, but c'est la vie!

supposedly, Nice Matin was given a good wine review by WS (although due to recent threads here that may not mean much ) & has received good early vibes with several newspaper blurbs appearing here & there. apparently, currently being visited by the food reviewers for the full review. assume they are aiming for a 2-star (?).

will be interesting as to the type crowd that Nice Matin will attract, which usually defines a bistro's "character" - versus - the other bistro/cafe UWS competitors: aix - ouest - cafe luxembourg - jean-luc (?)

Nice Matin's owner(s) have a # regional french restaurants around the city + city crab, etc ...

Edited May 16, 2003 by baruch (log)

[Elissa]

jeeze louise. i just like my pissaladiere square, with diamonds of anchovies and black, maybe green olives in the middle, because that's how i remembered them from Nice.

glad to hear the pistou's good.

[menton1]

jeeze louise. i just like my pissaladiere square, with diamonds of anchovies and black, maybe green olives in the middle, because that's how i remembered them from Nice.

glad to hear the pistou's good.

Love pissaladière, love pan bagnat, love socca;

Can I get a ride to JFK for flight #82 leaving 6:55?

[Elissa]

sometimes in the south of Francewhen you wrench yourself from bed to sit down for coffee and newspaper (Nice Matin) you've missed the morning Its time for pissaladiere. As there may be no superior meal - didn't James Beard say his favored meal was an onion sandwich? - to my mind this particular dish has the responsibility of giving you some reason to get out of bed. I could have unreasonable expectations though that would be the first time

here's to 'em.

Edited May 19, 2003 by lissome (log)

[baruch]

nice matin update, & no, i do have any $ interest.

only interest is that it happens to be within the infamous 5-6 block radius that usually governs where people go to eat, outside of destinations places; or treat as "local" hangout distance.

last nite, sardines farci, followed by the plat du jour: braised rabbit ravioli; wife - roast chicken with mashed potatoes w/cheese.

all very good! personably think food is equal to, or better than, both ouest & aix, but purely individual.

[baruch]

another update: last nite's leg of lamb excellent, & the ms.'s HB also very good; however

the service leaves room for improvement, & the bartender helper made my gibson with OLIVES & then when notified, removed them & threw n the very small cocktail onions my table just happened to be in full sight of this faux pas

[kurl]

apparently, currently being visited by the food reviewers for the full review. assume they are aiming for a 2-star (?).

If your assumption was correct, they've succeeded -- http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/dining/25REST.html

[Pumpkin Lover]

Bringing up Nice Matin again, but:

I'm going there again tonight to try out the Aioli Monstre, which Grimes mentioned in his first mini-review of the place (it's supposed to be a big plate of dippable yums like fish and veggies with a pile of aioli). Wondering if anyone has tried it, and (because I'm going w/my sis), if it's a splittable dish (we're small, give us a break).

Thanks!

[oakapple]

Nice Matin (201 W 79th @Amsterdam) is beautiful to look at, but the entrées need some work.

I ordered Sole "Milanese". It came inundated in an arugula salad of fennel, oranges, onions and olives. The salad was mentioned on the menu, but there was no mention it would be piled so high that you wouldn't know a fish was buried underneath. After some industrious digging I found the poor sole, which was not far removed from McDonald's filet-o'-fish.

Another of my companions ordered the grilled sea bass, which she described as oily and over-cooked. My mother had a halibut dish that's not shown on the online menu. She said it was fine, but not at all what the description led her to expect.

When we arrived, we were seated at a table so small and cramped that it would have been more at home at a cocktail bar. They agreed to move us, but we still ended up at one of the more claustrophobic tables for three that I've encountered at a legitimate restaurant.

Nice Matin has the same chef, Andy D'Amico, as the dearly departed Sign of the Dove. When it opened, the critics generally were enthusiastic. William Grimes, never easy to please, was sufficiently enchanted to award two stars, which would be unusual for such a casual restaurant, even if the food were better. We didn't try one of the most praised dishes, the beef short ribs. However, on the strength of this performance, I don't expect to be back anytime soon.

[Felonius]

In my opinion the food at Nice Matin has gone downhill during the past year or so. The food went from fairly good to mediocre. About six months ago I had shortribs that were just awful - all fat and a sauce that tasted rancid - and have never returned. When one factors in the long wait times (at least there used to be), the high noise level, and the cramped and uninspiring space, I don't see any reason to bother with it.

[jgould]

i was looking forward to nice matin's opening. very near to where i live & a good replacement for the overpriced, mediocre cafe luxembourg + it was within the 5 block radius that qualifies a place to be a "local" hangout. i knew 1 of the owners & the genl mgr from another of their restaurants, french roast. this group also owns marseille, l'express, & several others. unfortunately, i was disappointed. the design is ridiculous (the designer must have been thinking of another motif, different from a bistro), cramped tables, service was & is inept, food was initially good, but has sadly gone downhill & now overpriced for what is expected.

the exec chef has moved on, so his draw no longer applies. the bar area is clumsy & not bistro-conducive. they have also been through a number of bartenders, most have been customer-nonfriendly, & the unnecessary sommelier is just that - unnecessary, particularly in a place like this. i imagine this is a way to overprice a mediocre wine list.

i just don't understand it "seems" so easy, particularly on the UWS & particularly this location > closest competition is ouest 5 blocks north or cafe lux 9 blocks down, can't beat this corner location, the layout could have been fabulous, but was turned into the worst possible. more attention to what makes up a "place" appears to be beyond the scope of this group.

their concept "seems" to be: find a good location, build-out a cookie-cutter faux- french atmosphere, hire inexperienced & lazy help, bring in a "name" exec chef, then let him leave, charge high wine prices, & pray that the sheep will come for slaughter. so far, they have been right. this area, 74th-80th, bwy/amsterdam is undistinguished & populated by places oriented to 13yr olds. take 1 of 10 "french bistro/brasseries from the e. village, or even the vilified upper east side, & drop them in this location, & i truly believe this would be an excellent location for a local crowd. there is no question there are enough "professionals" in the area to support. think of a lucien, resto leon, gavroche, la tour, demarchelier, quatorze bis just to name a very few that would be "perfect".

i know this will never happen! cafe lux will continue to chug along allowing the absentee owner to come by & collect lots of money, ouest will continue regardless of all the complaints, aix may or may not hang on - beautiful space, but....

anyway, based on these "casual observatiions, its aggravating to travel, but chelsea (gavroche), meatpacking (pastis), soho (balthazar), tribeca (landmarc), village (le gigot), UES (orsay) will continue to receive my business, sad to say.

Edited November 21, 2004 by jgould (log)

[Felonius]

I'm in complete agreement with JGould assessment of Nice Matin. If the UWS had at least one bistro with the same caliber of food and service as Le Gigot, I'd probably dine there twice a week. Unfortunately we're stuck with places like Nice Matin and Cafe Luxembourg.

[Eatmywords]

Wow, not a peep on this place in almost 2 yrs. Surprising since it's always packed and there continues to be a lack of decent options on the UWS. Anyway, I stumbled in last night with a couple buddies (my first time). It was restaurant week but we passed (who needs to be treated like a cheapo not to mention the small portions, ltd menu and dessert you prob wouldn't order anyway : )

Started with:

- Shellfish salad: lobster, crab, mussels & shrimp w/oranges, olives, fennel, lemon-lime vinaigrette. - classic rendition. everything very fresh and not overcooked (chewey) w/just the right amt of vingrt and chopped red onion

- Artichoke Pizza w/robiola, sundried toms and leeks - pretty good white pie. The robiola was tastier than ricotta and leeks are always amazing on pizza. Crust was more french than Italian. It worked.

- Sardine Nicoise - broiled and topped with swiss chard, lemon & anchovy stuffing. A little too much chard (anchovie was lost) but a decent app esp for those who don't like overly fishy taste of sardines.

Les Entrees:

- Steak Frites - decent cut and nice char but lacked a little fat. The mustard bearnaise was perfect though. I didn't and don't usually order steak frites mostly because the fries and lack of veggies. Seems like an incomplete dish and fries dummy it down. (Not that I don't love frites but I prefer with a burger)......I wonder if anyone else feels the same.......hmmmm

- Short Ribs - these were mighty fine, nice and fatty almost broke with a fork. The reduction they were floating in mixed with the mash and veggies and a good harmony was had by all who forked in my dish. I would go back for um.

- Duck Magret - a nice surprise. Breast was top qlty, cooked ruby red rare and as buttery as a good cut of fillet mignon. The baked roquefort over the top complimented unlike I ever would have thought. I would return for this one too.

Place was full including the outdoor tables and lots of eye candy. While the service was a tad slow at first our waiter caught up quickly, was very friendly and took extra time to recommend wine and food.

Overall, a nice experience. I wouldn't run back asap but I'd say it's on par w/Balthazar and better than Pastis.......meaning qlty bistro fare in a setting to match (esp for the UWS : )

[Dryden]

Overall, a nice experience.  I wouldn't run back asap but I'd say it's on par w/Balthazar and better than Pastis.......meaning qlty bistro fare in a setting to match (esp for the UWS : )

For the UWS, it isn't bad, but on a par with Balthazar? No way.

[Eatmywords]

Overall, a nice experience.  I wouldn't run back asap but I'd say it's on par w/Balthazar and better than Pastis.......meaning qlty bistro fare in a setting to match (esp for the UWS : )

For the UWS, it isn't bad, but on a par with Balthazar? No way.

←

Besides the fries, what's so great about Balthazar?

[Sethro]

Besides the fries, what's so great about Balthazar?

←

The Fench Onion Soup.

[Dryden]

The steak tartare, the lemonade, the bread...

[Nathan]

the Coquille St. Jacque (at half the price you would pay at La Grenouille)

the "duck shepherd's pie"

the Friday bouillabaisse

anything from the bakery

the steak frites (I know you don't like eating fries with steak....and you call yourself French!)

the oyster bloody mary's (compare one of these with the oyster-less, more-expensive bloody at Ditch Plains to see why that place is such a cynical attempt at fleecing the unsuspecting...) and the polished bartenders in general...

any seafood entree...

any brunch item...

its not a great restaurant...but it might very well be the best of its genre...and that's not faint praise.

[Nathan]

Bruni praises the burger at Nice Matin today in his blog.

Also notes that the restaurant is very good for the UWS but then notes that the restaurant is overpraised by some due to the paucity of competent competition on the UWS...

[raji]

Anybody visited Five Napkin Burger (5NP) yet? Worth a shot? Looks like the menu is burgers, sides and sushi. A very "American" place from a French enterprise, no?

5NP was opened by the Nice Matin folks and features variations on their signature namesake dish, a $15 10oz burger that apparently requires 5 napkins to clean up from.

I for one and over the whole burger revival thing. It's getting kind of ridicurous.

Edited June 24, 2008 by raji (log)

[Bobster]

A friend went the first day and wrote me:

Last night was their opening night. I happened to be walking by, noticed the lights were on and went in. I had a really fine Crab Louis for an appetizer and a sensational (ten ounce) burger with frites. The price of the appetizer was $13.95 and the price of the burger (with fries) was also $13.95. There are also things like lemon chicken on the menu and a nice assortment of sushi rolls for appetizers.  Also lots of beers  (bottle and tap) and wines (bottle and by the glass.)

I'm going Thursday. It will do well regardless--it's kinda shocking how 9th Ave is more restauranty than ever.