6 days ago
Grand Central Terminal Finally Gets A Parisian-Style Grand Brasserie
I am very greedy when it comes to using two words: 'grand' and 'unique.' Though the name of the restaurant in this review is a form of self-description, it truly is in every way grand. And indeed, it is unique, meaning one of a kind and nothing like it.
It could hardly be otherwise, located as it is within the glorious cavern of what had once been Grand Central Terminal's once dismal waiting room, called Vanderbilt Hall, facing East 42nd Street. Opened in 1913 and stunningly restored in 1998, the 6,000 square foot space with 55-foot ceilings and gold chandeliers, the room is now divided into exhibition space and Grand Brasserie, whose décor by the Rockwell Group respects all the finest features of the Beaux Arts original, so that it would fit equally well into a Paris train station of this size, similar to Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon, though not as flamboyant.
The Grand Brasserie itself is split into a 300-seat dining hall and an enclosed 100-seat Green Room (formerly a New Nordic restaurant that quickly went pffft!) with cherry red leather banquettes and marble bar. Given its height and expanses of marble, the dining hall is very, very loud at dinner, the Green Room less so, and by nine o'clock quite comfortable. We sat in the latter, with white marble tabletops, flattering lighting and green walls filled up with historic black-and-white photos.
The service staff, beginning at the host's station, is as affable as they come, and, as at any good Parisian brasserie, the kitchen sets a brisk pace for serving the dishes from its highly traditional French menu.
For some reason, French bistro/brasserie food has become something of the rage in New York, with entries like Le Veau d'Ȏr and Chez Fifi joining established examples like Benôit and Bar Boulud. The food is easy to love and familiarity breeds contentment. It's difficult not to love a menu full of items like onion soup, trout amandine, cassoulet and profiteroles. And it's impossible to resist the good crisp bread and butter (though one small ramekin of butter was hardly enough for a table for four people).
There is a formidable wine list, French heavy, as well as a short list of regional wines available the glass, carafe (very good idea) or bottle.
Mark-up prices for many bottles are actually below what you'll find at other restaurants.
There is a prix fixe dinner of three courses for a very reasonable $65, though citing seven dishes with supplements of $4 to $8 seems a tad disingenuous. There's also a three-course pre-theater dinner for five dollars less, from 4 PM-6 PM.
Executive Chef Guillaume Thivet, previously at Veronika at Fotografiska, Bouley, Brasserie Les Halles and La Grande Bouchérie, is a dyed-in-the-wool classicist who has been making these dishes for decades, which is obvious among the appetizers, like the paragon of an onion soup gratinée with a coffee-dark broth and a half-inch thick topping of bubbly golden Gruyère, all buoyed by sweet caramelized onions. Its equal in the soup rankings was a richly flavorful lobster bisque with an abundance of lobster morsels. Leeks vinaigrette were a good light starter, and the smooth, silky foie gras mousse came with buttery brioche. Of the two tartares, the beef, laid out in a pancake-like circle, was perfect, finely chopped with an good dose of subtle seasonings. The tuna tartare used fish of high quality but could have been dressed with a little more zest.
There is a section of dozen salads and sandwiches true to brasserie form, from a tangy salade lyonnaise with frisée, lardons and poached egg to a ham-and-cheese croque monsieur, even a California French dip made with wagyu and a New England lobster roll.
Among the main courses I enjoyed the plump, crisp-skinned roast chicken––which can feed two––and the trout with buttered almonds and haricot verts. A saddle of lamb might have had more of a wine-rich reduction.
The steak frites section allows you to choose a filet, a bone-in strip at 14 ounces, an entrecôte at 14 ounces and a skirt steak. I ordered the strip steak, which was good but not stellar. I think the skirt steak, with its fatty chew might have been a better option.
The frites, by the way, are terrific, with plenty of potato flavor and light crispiness.
The kitchen really excels with its desserts, including an always welcome crème brûlée, an egg-shaped scoop of dark chocolate mousse with crème Chantilly. The profiteroles were big and fat with vanilla ice cream and poured dark chocolate sauce. My favorite of all was the tarte Tatin––the real McCoy, for its being two-inches thick and dark with caramel, not the skimpy flat tarte you so often get.
There are all sorts of options, for brunch, pre-theater, lunch and dinner, no matter what you feel like at any time up until two AM, when the trains stop running––a late night (and early morning) bonus you rarely find anywhere else, especially at Manhattan's bistros and brasseries.
It also needs mention that prices are lower than trendier competitors around town. As noted, dinner here is $65, while it's $125 at Le Veau d'Or; at Grand Brasserie you'll pay $69 for a whole roast chicken and $72 for Dover sole Meunière, while at Chez Fifi they'll run you, respectively, $78 for half a chicken and $148 for the sole.
And for all that you also get a unique experience of dining in one of America's most wondrous public spaces, and even catch a late train home after the theater.
Coming into Grand Central Terminal into the Great Hall is always an awe-inspiring experience, then to find this spectacular Brasserie in the next room should take anyone's breath away.
GRAND BRASSERIE
Grand Central Terminal
89 East 42nd Street
No telephone
The restaurant is open from 5:30 am to 2 am, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, operating at the same hours as Grand Central Terminal.
