Palatte

Went there twice. First time was 3 out of 5 stars. Two of us found the restaurant to be warm, inviting, and casual. Good food and decent service. The second time was with a group. I’d give it 2 out of 5 stars. No bread, one waiter for the whole restaurant, waited forever for our meals, some folks received their food after other members of our group had finished their dinner. Raises more questions than answers. I hope the second time was just an off-​night.

A cool spot in the Flatiron that isn’t Italian or packed all the time!
Its Belgian, but chic Belgian.
Fashionable, edgy but not too serious: Ann Demeulemeester and René Magritte.
The menu is well edited elegant Belgian specialties I couldn’t begin to pronounce, and not just frites and mussels. although they had that too.
I found Palatte by chance, Unilocaled it actually. They have done very little promotion, so they are completely under the radar at this point.
Serving some great happy hour specials. I had a 5 buck lichi tinis, which was very good Even the house wines were really interesting.
Liked the menu a lot. As I said, some standards, some small sharebles, but also some hearty pastas and mains.
The cheese course was beautiful. A nice, but small selection of cheese along with many garnis: fruits nuts and breads .and chocolate! Enough to linger over for a long time.
And linger I did~Especially when I was brought a little extra dish of chocolate to dip my bread into-​yum. I’d like to try more cheeses from Belgium, I certainly don’t know them very well.
Service was great: everyone was gracious and pleasant. The staff clearly cared about the food and the restaurant. The owner is apparently a former IB/​finance guy from Belgium with a dream of bringing his grandmother’s cooking to Manhattan. I learned all this just visiting with the staff during dinner. So definitely, its got a nice neighborhood feel, which is perfect for the location and getting harder to find in the Flatiron.
Along with the cheese app, I had the stoofvlees, which was a dish new to me. An incredibly flavorful and rich, but almost delicately seasoned beef dish. It was the definition of warm winter supper, in my opinion.
I was told they make their hamburger with this same very lean beef, which I am sure LOML would love, so I will have to bring him back soon.
And…the chocolate selections, both drinks and desserts, were really a specialty, which should come as no surprise.
They had an extensive list of chocolate drinks, which I was too full to try, but they looked great. I DID have the Lucifer, which was supposed to be chocolate parfaited with strawberries. It was really unusual, could not figure out how the berries were done, but it was rich and good.
I was really impressed with Palatte and could see it as a great place in the next many months for cold weather food. I liked that it was conducive to conversation and relaxing, but still a great atmosphere for socializing. And… the food and service was great too.

Awesome Belgian beers, they had so many to choose from.
Nice atmosphere and ambiance.
French fries were just ok and I really was not impressed with the dipping sauce they served with it. Like a mayo/​mustard spread, it was a bit tasteless and seemed gross.
Waitress seemed a tad on the snotty side.

A new spot that opened up in the hood. Cute loungey and dark décor. Kind of dead but nice bartender. I checked this place out or happy hour with my sister and the it was buy one and get one half off. The drinks are expensive still for happy hour but the wines are reasonable. We also split the fries which were delicious.

I came here on a Friday night for my birthday and WOW! The space is very inviting with a dark wood interior and modern décor. We reserved the semi private area in the back that is slightly elevated with a sheer curtain and small tables. We had about 20 people and were all very comfortable.
The staff was amazing… super friendly and professional. They went the extra mile to cater to my guests. In addition to our cocktails, we had the mousse and Belgian chocolates… delicious!
My friends are still buzzing about what great find Palatte is. I obviously can’t say enough good things about my experience. Now I have to go back for dinner!

We had a craving for mussels the other day and the Unilocal iPhone app suggested we try Palatte. Upon arrival we learned that the place was hosting a private party for the NYC Policewomen’s Endowment Association, but the friendly hostess assured us that we would be served anyway if we sat down at the bar. So while the lady cops where getting their hair styled and their eyebrows shaped in the back, we were perusing the Belgian beer list in the front. This place is quite a treat. Despite the crowd in back, the bartender was friendly and attentive and suggested that we share a couple of dishes, since the portions are deliberately small. We settled on the excellent Belgian fries (mayo included!), the mussels and the videe, and the chocolate mousse for desert. The food was beautifully presented and most important of all, absolutely delicious. The high tables suggest that this is more of a lounge than a sit-​down restaurant, but it’s definitely worth a visit if you enjoy tasty Belgian food.

Umm, no. Like 10 things on the menu, They 86’d 2 of them — including mussels! Place won’t last at this rate. A Very generous 2 stars.

Well, now here’s an interesting concept: the Belgian tapas lounge. Soft opening in the space formerly inhabited by Sushi Twist, Palatte has the look (and soundtrack) of a Euro-​ish lounge, but the menu (limited for now) is an interesting combination of traditional Flemish dishes like stoofvlees, mussels, and of course frites, and some decidedly non-​traditional-​Belgian dishes like seitan and tuna tartare. All done up in small, tapas style portions. Belgian food is notoriously hearty, so the smaller portions may not be such a bad idea. I tried the videe, which was similar to a chicken pot pie, with a puff pastry crust and quite good. Several Belgian beers (nothing on tap yet) and a full bar. The staff was welcoming and friendly and everything seemed to be running pretty well for an opening night. Give it a few weeks to get up to speed and check it out.