Cafe Loup

We gave it another try the other night and although the place was busy, we got our drinks immediately. The rude waiter who greeted us last time with «Talk to me! Quickly!» wasn’t there. We had a nice waiter who brought water, wine and bread quickly. We got our salads quickly too, and then had a bit of a long wait for our main courses. He did let us know that the kitchen was backed up and our orders would take a little longer than usual. Honestly, that never bothers me, (I actually prefer it) as I don’t like to rush dinner, but I appreciated him letting us know that he was on top of it. The food was very good (arctic char) and we enjoyed the evening. Also, note that one of the reasons I love this place is that it has tablecloths. I’m sick of the disappearing table cloths in NYC. Café Loup puts down a piece of white butcher paper on top so they don’t have to change cloths after each party leaves, and that’s fine with me.

Food: delicious and meticulously prepared. Awesome menu! Mussels and frites, battered cod and frites, pasta with fiddlehead ferns, etc etc these are the dishes I’ve had here and I’ve been here at least 6 – 8 times. It’s a GO TO for me. Food always consistent and atmosphere a cross between the west village and the left bank. A true neighborhood gem.
Bathrooms: HORRIBLE. No kidding, among the worst in all the city restaurants I’ve been in. Ugh. I can’t believe they can’t put a little $$ into a mini renovation of the ladies room. Really.?!

I have been going to this restaurant for years. It always had a half duck plate which was always good. It is comfortable and a great bistro in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the ownership has changed and the duck plate too. Last time I had it, it tasted like leftover chicken with a sauce. It was dry, didn’t taste and I was so disappointed. I really hope this is an aberration.
I will try again and report back.

Unilocal has a 4 star rating for this French restaurant so I was optimistic. I came here today for a lunch meeting with a client and it turned into a strange and regrettable experience.
I have two main issues with this restaurant a) the lack of service and b) unpleasant attitude towards customers.
The server who took care of us seemed to forget he sat us and when he did remember he was sarcastic and in some cases rude.
Here’s a highlight of my hour lunch:
1. Our server had an attitude — I understand that requests to move to another table can be annoying, but there were about 20 free tables and our server glared at us when we asked for a booth. From then on, when he did pay attention, he made us feel uncomfortable.
2. Service was slow — I saw our server spend a lot of time standing away from guests and taking over half an hour to fulfill requests. Including us, there were only 3 groups at the restaurant for lunch so bringing us limes shouldn’t have been so difficult.
3. Awkward conversation and observation — When we asked a woman walking towards the kitchen if she could provide us with limes and Tabasco sauce (our server had not provided us with these yet) she offered a snarky aggressive response of «do I look like I work here» and a «fine since it’s so important to you.» Of course, this made my party feel embarrassed and then 15 minutes later we watched as the same lady went behind the bar and made herself a drink.
What I will say is fortunate — and the reason I’m giving 2 stars rather than one — is the food. Not the best, but not the worst and the cherry on top is I did not get food poisoning today (this is a B rated restaurant).
Honestly, I love to eat in this area. I just don’t plan on ever coming here again. I prefer to buy overpriced chicken at restaurants that like their customers.

Atmosphere/​vibe = 4.5
Food = 3.5
Service = 4
I would recommend coming here for a Sunday jazz brunch, when they have live music. Otherwise, nothing to write home about. There is a nice historical New York-​y feel to the place. I would categorize the brunch menu as adequate, but there are a lot of more differentiated options out there.

Had a recent meal at Café Loup. Most food was good, although steak was only okay and the bread seemed a bit stale. Something odd at the beginning was that a man brought water and menus and didn’t say anything at all (server # 001). It was only later that we knew for sure he was our waiter. Other reviewers have commented about the eccentricity of the waiters at Café Loup.

I had a wonderful birthday jazz brunch at Café Loup on ³⁄₂₀. The staff were extremely friendly and tried to accommodate to all sorts of requests before /​during my birthday brunch.
Upon our request, they quickly rearranged our seats right in front of the jazz band. They also planned a surprise birthday song played at the third set, when the waitress brought out a dessert with candle. They also arranged vase for the flowers my friends brought. Menu was fresh and healthy. In the end, the owner (Adam if I remember correctly) came over to greet me and asked about how my experience went. The service really made me feel special and made my birthday fabulous.
I find it a classy venue and staff were very responsive — plus there was no cover for jazz brunch which I find very rare after shopping a few venues. I had a wonderful time and wanted to thank the owner, the staff and the band for making it a memorable experience.

Ooh, happy to add this one to the list as another great brunch spot. It was easy to get a reservation on a Sunday and take advantage of the soothing live jazz! The food is excellent — I had the eggs Benedict with lox and my friend had the French toast. My eggs included a side of delicious potatoes and the French toast came with fruit salad and bacon — and everything is priced very reasonably.

Came here for a brunch on Easter Sunday. We had reservations at 1pm for a group of 4. I was the first one to come in and they sat me right away without my party there which was excellent. The place definitely has a french ambiance with very very friendly and fun waiters. All of the waiters were wearing big hats with easter eggs on them which I think was very funny. Brunch food was great, I had poached eggs with salmon over English muffin with homefries and 2 cappuccinos. Everything was delicious. The service is a bit slow so don’t expect to be in out quick. Definitely a french relaxed wibe. Oh and they also had a live jazz band playing which was very nice. The band wasn’t loud at all and it added a classy touch to our ladies’ brunch. One thing to mention is that the crowd is mostly in their upper 50^th and 60^th and there weren’t many young people (we are all in our late 20s). This wasn’t an issue at all and we felt very comfortable and welcomed. Next time I’m taking my mom here when she’s in town!

One of the absolute worst dining experiences ever. Extremely overpriced and the food was mediocre. Not to mention that what you order isn’t actually what you get. We had to speak to the manager because the farm-​raised chicken is supposed to come with mashed potatoes and instead came with home fries and greens instead of vegetables. The same thing happened when I ordered the steak. It was supposed to come with French fries and vegetables and it came with home fries and mixed greens. The waitress did not seem to care about any of it, her name is Lucy. She absolutely is all over the place, she does not bring the drinks together, does not know the menu, and just absolutely does not care. I had to send my latte back because I asked her to make the latte to be done extra hot and it was luke warm when it got to the table. It took me about 5 minutes to hail down the waitress in order and to tell her that the coffee wasn’t to my liking and her response was that she made it as hot as possible but actually did not because 10 minutes after waiting for my second cup of coffee it actually came out extremely hot. Another issue is that when we ordered the entrée it took roughly 40 minutes to receive the food and when it came out it was dead cold and of course was not what was described on the menu. That was the reason for us to hail down the manager. I have to say the manager did try to accommodate us and apologized for the confusion in the menu. His explanation was that, he has notified the owner of the problem with the menu and the owner is in the process of fixing it. However the waitress should have notified us about what it is that we are about to order is quote and quote under revision. Overall it’s just way too expensive for what it is and the entire staff seems very stuck up, unfriendly and unwelcoming. When the host greeted us at the door he looked us up and down and walked towards us as if he was thinking that we couldn’t afford the place and we didn’t belong there. It just always felt weird, awkward and unwelcoming. I have never once not tipped even if I found the place to be unacceptable. I have always left some sort of a tip. This time I left without tipping because it was just awful and we will never come back to this place. The only good thing is that they had live music and that was probably the most enjoyable part of the meal.

One star because the ambience IS pleasant and cozy, and feels like a place New Yorker writers might hang out.
But the food was surprisingly bad. Shrimp cocktail a little tough (probably frozen), mushroom underseasoned, limp fries… but the tuna was the worst — billed as «carpaccio de thon» on the menu, it came out as inch-​thick hunks of tough, over-​seared tuna steak with inedible edges. Everything was served inexplicably on beds of lettuce. We only ate about one-​third of our dinner.
A little baffled by the rating — but looking through the reviews I notice many of them are for the ambience, or the fact that this place is a «classic», and not for the food. We came for dinner, so I can’t speak to the jazz brunch.

A quintessentially New York restaurant and experience, which is now somewhat rare to find in Manhattan ironically enough.
We had gone to view an exhibit at the Rubin Museum and searched for a quick bite around the area. We came across Café Loup and were pleasantly surprised. A pretty large restaurant that still manages to feel cozy and classy. It’s a French restaurant, but the menu is a little all over the place, with plenty of New American and Asian-​style dishes. Huge menu though, and with different options such as prix fixe to a la carte.
They served us bread; would have been nice if it were warm and the butter wasn’t cold (literally just-​out-​the-​fridge cold), but we appreciated it all the same. Hubby ordered the steak frites and I ordered the grilled vegetables, fruits, nuts dinner, which came highly recommended by the waiter. My husband loved his meal while mine was meh. There were lots of things on the plate, but they all had their own flavor going on and didn’t mesh well. In fact, the cabbage was the exact same cabbage on my husband’s plate. Other than the cabbage there was what I think was grilled endive, a peeled, cooked tomato, grilled carrots, cubes of steamed beets and butternut squash, cooked mushrooms, a few small slices of apple, some slivered almonds and some bland brown rice. I love my veggies, I am essentially a pescetarian, but this did not work.
Another item that didn’t work was the chocolate pudding we ordered for dessert. Looked pretty, with a huge chocolate wafer cookie and whipped cream on top, but the pudding itself was grainy and less than mediocre in taste. I would actually prefer a snack pack pudding to this one. There are lots of dessert options, go for a different one! Oh and there are no mocktails, boo.
Despite the fact that my meal and dessert were nothing special, I still enjoyed my experience. It seems they are quite capable of making tasty meals, I would just order differently next time.

Délicieux!!! This little gem has finally been crossed off my bookmarks, and onto my rotation list. Amazing food, romantic and cozy bistro with spacious interior for dining. Bar is a bit small and was packed on Friday by 6pm (but isn’t every place with a bar in the village?)
We made a ressy via phone and got there right on time. We were greeted by a nice host who sat us in a corner table, commenting that it’s the quieter table (and we didn’t even ask for it– kudos!)
The white tables were all set with candles and a postcard wine menu. We ordered a bottle of Malbec. The waiter was hard to get a hold of at times but I ain’t gonna hate– seemed like they had quite a number of regulars, and the waiter was kindly greeting them. Not a problem– I wasn’t in a rush to get out of there.
There’s a prix-​fixe 3 course menu at $ 33, but we passed and got ourselves the pork chops and the yellow fin tuna steak (both around $ 30 each). BANG FOR THE BUCK– the tuna steak really hit the spot. The sauce it came with was oniony, garlicky goodness, dunked in a soy sauce mixed condiment. The tuna sat beautifully on a bed of mixed, fresh greens and pickled cucumber– all lightly yet perfectly seasoned. The tuna was a bit tough to cut through, but once it entered my mouth, it was sheer heaven.
Didn’t try the pork chops since I don’t eat pork but the cooked veggies were good. The portion was enormous!!! We ended up having to pack the leftovers to-​go, but in no way was it bc I wasn’t devouring it enough. It was just a never-​ending plate!
The place doesn’t get too loud, which was a pleasant surprise, as I thought I could hear an echo when people walked. Whatever noise cancellation system they have or don’t have in place, it’s working or not needed, at least on the night we were there.

This is our new favorite place. Excellent brunch Menu, fast service, inviting atmosphere and really excellent jazz. Loved Sunday brunch here.

OMG I love this place. 3 dishes with duck! How can you go wrong? My wife had the breast tender and savory.
I had moules and frites. The broth was to die for. I which I lived here so I could take it home. There was so much I couldn’t finish it even with my wife’s help.
The service was fantastic. You felt like you were in Paris.
Even saw a movie and tv celeb at the counter.
One of my favorite restaurants in NYC. Albeit small sample size on my end.

My favorite place, hands down. Almost everyone is a regular (including me), which makes for some meaningful connections. Café Loup gives you an old Village, neighborhood vibe that doesn’t exist in most places.
The food (for jazz brunch or dinner) is phenomenal. The specials are always great, but in terms of the standard menu, the steak & eggs and the tuna are two of my favorite dishes. For after your meal, they have a great selection of teas, coffee, and fantastic desserts!
What I love most about Café Loup is that service is friendly but relaxed, so they really foster an environment for taking your time. I always have great conversations with the servers here (Phillip and Tomoyo are awesome), and they don’t mind if you sit for hours with tea and coffee after your meal. I don’t think I’ve ever spent less than three hours here. Love, love, love Café Loup.

It exceeded my expectations set by the mediocre bread.
I had the burger and fries and they were delicious. My waiter Jeremy let me try the bleu cheese, which is also a cut above what I expected. Very good, very pleasant.
The environment seems to have A LOT of regulars, people who have come and been there for years. I and my company still felt greatly welcomed by the staff.
Edit from 4 to 5 stars:
I had to go again. The Pomme Frites compelled me. I was a little miffed as I had come nearing the time their kitchen was closing 1020p ?. One of the waiters had told me that the kitchen was closing in a manner that was pressuring, but whatever, it must have been a long day or I was also dressed in workout clothing.
But then I got !! Mike !! as my server and he was AWESOME !!
Also, this time it wasn’t just the pomme frites that was good, the burger was really good too.
I’m really impressed by this place, it’s service, and friendly atmosphere.

Hamburgers are marvelous. French fries or mashed, potatoes all great. Service is excellent. Great friendly staff, especially Phillip, Gary and Don. Always make us feel welcome.

This is a jewel of a place– food is great– servers are great with exception of Jay — the rude, bartender /​weekend manager– insulting to friend who is a regular for years-​we will never return and don’t recommend based on obnoxious behavior

I had the steak it was amazing. The Sunday branch with Jazz is just beautiful. Staff are friendly here