Steak Frites Bistro
Steak house · Hell's Kitchen
496 9th Ave, New York, NY 10018
Highlights
Classic French bistro fare with steak frites, escargots, & soufflés
Classic French bistro fare with steak frites, escargots, & soufflés
"In every neighborhood, you’ll find at least one restaurant doing an impression of a Parisian bistro. In Hell’s Kitchen, that restaurant is Steak Frites, and the impression is spot-on. The namesake dish, topped with a half-melted slab of butter, is the main thing to get. Though it's also worth trying the escargots, pâté, and gnocchi parisienne. The space can be loud at times, but secure a bar seat to temper that chaos slightly." - bryan kim, willa moore, neha talreja, will hartman, molly fitzpatrick, ciera velarde
"Steak Frites Bistro, located in Hell’s Kitchen, offers a $35 three-course lunch prix-fixe (dinner is $55), which includes a salad or soup, steak frites as one main course option, and dessert. The steak frites alone costs $42 for dinner." - Melissa McCart
"In an unsurprising turn of events, this Hell’s Kitchen restaurant serves great steak frites. They offer a few different cuts, which start around $40 and come with thin fries and an intimidating dollop of compound butter. But don’t overlook the rest of the menu. Try the gnocchi gratin or salade lyonnaise with thick lardons and a perfectly poached egg. If you’re looking for a great lunch near Midtown, this is one of your best options. Always lively and decorated like a typical Parisian bistro, it’s also great for a casual dinner with a friend." - bryan kim, willa moore, neha talreja, sonal shah, will hartman
"Naming a place after a dish may seem lazy, but it’s actually bold. You have to be able to back it up, and Steak Frites does, serving textbook interpretations of classic bistro food—including a flawless version of its namesake dish. If you’re looking for something smothered in foam under a smoke-filled cloche, go elsewhere. If you’re looking for straightforward, satisfying French fare, go to Steak Frites. Appropriately, this Hell’s Kitchen restaurant looks like the end result of a director telling a set designer: “Build me a neighborhood Parisian bistro where we can film our meet-cute.” Worn wood furniture, distressed gold-framed mirrors, and vintage cartoon postcards make this place feel decades old. It’s bustling, loud, and cramped, with waiters constantly bumping into each other, and glasses getting knocked over about once every hour. If you come often enough, you’ll eventually break something too, unless you score a seat at the less chaotic bar. Ordering here involves no major plot twists. Beef and fries are the leads, and they're what you should prioritize. There are four different cuts of meat, and while you could go for the côte de boeuf or chateaubriand for two, you'll do just fine with the $38 hanger steak. Order it medium-rare, and it comes out medium-rare, with just the right amount of salt. The fries are an equal partner in this marriage. They’re thin, crispy, and just fluffy enough. Steak Frites' supporting cast shines as well. The onion soup, blanketed with a perfectly browned layer of cheese, and the salade Lyonnaise both look and taste like renditions you might learn to make at Le Cordon Bleu. And we prefer the very saucy gnocchi Parisienne—our favorite non-steak entrée here—to the well-known version at . Most of the characters feel familiar, but Steak Frites isn’t without its charming quirks. The escargots “salad” has snails—sans shells— tossed with buttery chunks of baguette and, oddly enough, celery. It defies expectations, but works well. A few things (the jumbo shrimp cocktail, a gruyère omelette) don't quite match up to the higher standard set by the signature dishes, but they're easily ignored. Should more restaurants start naming themselves after the dish that most defines them? Who’s really going to object if changes its name to “Cacio E Pepe?” And if suddenly switches all their signage to read “Pastrami on Rye,” we would all be like, “Sure, checks out.” Does Steak Frites live up to its simple but audacious name? Absolutely. " - Kenny Yang
"Steak Frites Bistro, from chef and owner Adam Schop, will be offering brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with dishes like Moroccan baked eggs, quiche Lorraine, spaghetti au poivre, and burger Français served with fries." - Melissa McCart
