341 St Nicholas Ave,New York,New York
4 (1281)
Reviews
The vibe here is good. Music is a good mix as well. The food was good. The menu is so unique in regards to aesthetics. They use old record albums for the pages. Service was a little slow, it was a Friday during happy hour. But it wasn’t crowded so. Either way, I’d go back.
Called and made a reservation with ease. Arrived early (party of 2) and was seated right away. Please note every table cleared their plates before they were taken away. Nothing was left on anyone’s plates. The food is this good. Food Everything was delicious We got a spinach quiche and it melted in our mouths. Even the green salad that came with it was good. We both got duck confit. My sister modified her side and I kept mine as is. Delicious! The duck was a good size, crispy, and well seasoned. Whatever sauce they used was great. The sides was delicious as well. We also got the lamb sausage. It was okay. I wouldn’t order it again. I’m going up have to come back to try a few other things on the menu. Atmosphere The space isn’t very big, but they make the most of it. I’d say it’s a snug atmosphere. When full it can get loud, but overall we felt comfortable at the table we were seated at. Service Service was good. Attentive and fulfilled all our requests.
The Escargot was great. The duck breast was a little rare for me but my friend ate hers and said it was great. I ordered the mussels and steak. Amazing 🤩
It’s a cute place that says it’s French. However the menu seems a little bit confusing. I ended up getting a risotto that got a dry consistency very quick. Also the dessert was… not good. 🤷🏽♀️ Interesting wine selection though. Staffs were super nice. I didn’t have a reservation, but I was quickly accommodate to a table even the place being busy at the time I got there (around 1:30pm)
Excellent, fun, and so very French would be the optimal ways to truly sum up my impressions of this place. And consistent, too, which is a distinctly underrated quality in so much of what we experience. I cannot recommend this place enough, as it is both a solid representation of traditional French bistro cuisine and music (mostly through musical expression - frequently live in its presentation too), it helps keep alive a distinctive and wonderful dining out experience that the low carb crazy started years ago began to destroy and the recent pandemic did nothing but accelerate with the demise of Le Bateau Ivre in Midtown East, the Spotted Pig and Tartine in the West Village and so many other excellent French bistros in NYC. It also manages to be a very neighborhood friendly establishment, as well as a draw for more the occasional visitors from within and beyond Harlem and the UWS, which is also very much the nature of a great French bistro - or classic American diner or even the beer gardens of Germany where the rich, hearty and high-quality, often locally sourced comfort food is easily as much of a draw as any libation served. Which reminds me, the bar scene is not only festive and comfortable, it's also rightly supported with a well-balanced array of affordable and quite tasty French wines, a feat that few can seem to pull-off these days without the requirement of a positively stratosphere bill for a decent bottle to follow. Overall, I cannot say enough about Maison Harlem and highly recommend to all.