Le Chêne - Review - West Village - New York - The Infatuation
"Le Chêne, a French restaurant in the West Village from a chef who was briefly involved with Margot, is a nice place to drink fine wine under Basquiat prints and Warhol flowers. Their full list is 44 bound pages long, and looks like something a congressperson would read aloud from, hours deep into a filibuster. That’s where you should focus your attention. For now, the food skews more expensive than we’d enthusiastically recommend for a full meal. The big-ticket pithivier with pork, smoked eel, and potatoes is very nice, but for $79, you expect a dish so spectacular you’d have texted at least one friend about it before leaving the table. photo credit: Andrew Bui photo credit: Andrew Bui photo credit: Andrew Bui Pause Unmute Instead, sit at the separate bar and split a recommended bottle with a date for a fancy little wine night. Order enough amuse-bouches and snacks—like the delicate, sweet shrimp tartelettes, or foie layered with wagyu tongue, and served with a lip-smacking sea buckthorn/orange gelée—to sustain you through the last glass. The green bean beignets are also essential. Stacked like a bundle of twigs, they’re served with a silver goblet of bright tarragon yogurt. photo credit: Andrew Bui photo credit: Andrew Bui photo credit: Andrew Bui Pause Unmute How to get into Le Chêne Le Chêne releases reservations 20 days in advance at 9am. They occasionally save one to two tables in the dining room for walk-ins, and you can always try to grab one of the six bar seats up front. If you arrive before 6pm, it should be easy enough." - Molly Fitzpatrick
