Le Pere Pinard

I’m glad this place closed. Along with European Union and Falai, it was one of the worst dinner experiences I’ve ever had. Nasty food, slow service, uncomfortable seating and high bill. Good riddance.

Le Pere Pinard, RIP. In NYC last week, I happened upon this tiny boîte’s closing party. The city is a poorer and drier place indeed. Before the Lower East Side was the Meatpacking District East, Le Pere was serving up authentic bistro fare cheap and late. It’s bicycle strewn garden surrounded by tenements was a great spot for drinks and they had the best steak tartare in town. While I hadn’t been in years and hear that things had slid downhill some, I can’t help but mourn the passing of this quirky NY legend (where Calvados ran like water!). Many a debaucherous nights…

Went there this past Saturday. Love the ambience and we got a nice little table out the back. Food was very hit and miss:
Goat cheese salad = good
Calamari = really bad (watery and no flavour)
Muscles = ok
Flank steak = bland
Wine = reasonably priced and ok
Service = slow and SHADY
To explain more about the service — When we got the bill it looked a little much. All of the items we had were listed correctly but still something not right… oh wait, a $ 41 blank item above the total line… mmmmm…what the hell is that (there are only 4 people so not expecting service to be included)…
US: What’s this charge here?
waiter: oh sometimes we add on the service!
US: what do you mean sometime?
waiter: well we tried to get the printer to print «servce charge» on the line but we couldn’t
US: Did you add the service on then
waiter: no, it was the manager
US: can you get the manager then
Waiter: yes
3 minute wait while we watch the waiter talk to the manager
Waiter: I’m sorry the manager is busy
US: what — he jut spent 3 minutes talking to you
waiter: we will take the charge off and you can pay whatever tip you like
US: ok
We pay the amount — no tip and walk out — I will never return.

This was the third time I’ve been there on a Saturday night and it seems to get emptier and emptier each time I go. The food is average and expensive paired with terrible service. Not a good combination.
I was seated in the «garden» area along with the dead weeds and rusted bicycles on the fence. Although it was quite cute I thought they could have done a bit more to spruce up the backyard. I was going with my French boyfriend and his brother who was visiting from Paris. The Parisian would have given this French dining experience a negative 2 stars but being an American my standards are lower. The service was below, below average. It took forever to get our wine, and they forgot our appetizer. Being that the ratio between servers to guests was about 2:1 that is pretty bad. I will say that my salad was good, but not $ 20 good. The other guests at my table ordered the fish, which looked quite greasy and the their sides could have been frozen vegetable just steamed from Costco. The cheese at the end of the meal was decent, but I found the bread a bit too hard and burnt at some parts. Lastly when the check came I noticed that my salad said 19.50 in the menu and 20 on the check. And the cheese seemed to be a dollar less in the menu. Now, I’m not usually a penny pitching neurotic bitch when it comes to nickels and dimes. However, I believe that it is only ethical to charge what you say you are going to charge. Never mind it being a «cash only» establishment that probably doesn’t count all the change they have acquired to prepare for their taxes. I really do hope that this place closes down and something better comes along to

Not so satisfying. Alarming for a Thursday night to find this LES french restaurant empty blasting salsa music. The waiters and chefs made it even more awkward by staring at our every bite. The food was simple, nothing too mind-​blowing, but we could have cooked better. The only vegetarian entrée options were the sun-​dried tomato raviolis which weren’t tasty at all.
Wah. Made me wish we went to the awesome Indian hole in the wall across Houston that caters mostly to taxi-​drivers and you order by number. It’s so tasty and cheap.

I haven’t been here for over a year, I remember the food being decent. Ordered steak and red wine, can’t go wrong with that. Will definitely swing by again to give it another try.

Food is a hit and miss here. But they have a superb wine list. And the best pre-​fixe dinner. A 3 course meal for $ 16 between the hours of 5 — 7pm. I would recommend the grilled calamari, mussels and hanger steak.

I scheduled a last minute dinner here for my company’s holiday christmas party. They were totally welcoming even though we were a party of 10 and they answered the phone with a hearty «bonjour.» The one bummer is that they are cash and amex only. But since I wasn’t paying, I had no problem with that.
The atmosphere was rustic and very french. They had a tarot card reader which is a little weird, but added to the dive-​yness of the place. The food was classic country french food– meats, cheeses and big plates for the main dishes. I ordered the prime rib and got two big hunks of meat. It was pretty intense but tasty. I would recommend this place for a date or a casual, big group. It is very friendly and located next to lots of good bars.

The other reviewers hit the spot on the décor and the service. Considering that there were two extremes of the scale in terms of Food, I found it to be good.
At first, we were warmly invited to this place by a friend for drinks. To demonstrate the level of service we got, our second bottle of white was rejected by our taster to which the bartender serves us another bottle. But, he tastes it first before allowing us to indulge. He, too rejects it and after a third reject, finds a bottle from a different vineyard to provide us with a great night of more laughter. Kudos to the service. a lasting impression of service to wine the way I like my steak cooks to adopt.
ok, onto the food.
I ordered the NY Prime Cut steak rare. Chef cooked it a bit too rare. Instead of sending it back, I decided to accept it with a very generous portion for the price (was it $ 24?) if I may add.
My steak also came with Potato Gratin, also available as a side, was yummilicious! slices of potatoes thinly layered in also thinly sliced cheese was a delightful alternate to the usual Frittes, which you will not find here.
We also had an appetizer of a cheese that was ‘Delious’! I think it was the Camembert and thank goodness my friends knew of this (and now do I). It’s a soft cheese that they heated which gave it nice spread over their French loaf (which is good here).
Although this place was kool and we’d be back for more Potato Gratin over wine, it is without a complaint. The menu was horribly designed. In a dark, romantic place where candlelight provides most of the lighting at the tables, you would think that the menus will be easier to read had it not been for the black/​dark background photos. You can see their menu online although they’ve changed the selections.
Their layout was also confusing with us flipping back and forth the pages of the menu, getting further confused over the ‘prix fixe’ as our only options for the main course til’ ywe turned the page and found more options.
Coronary concerns aside, the place does have a cozy vibe and if busy, will make a pretty neat place worth checking out. If i had two words to describe, it’d be very «French kool.»

Came here early September with two of my sisters for my birthday dinner.
Ordered one of the specials — grilled skirt steak with mashed potatoes and veggies. My sisters ordered fish dishes — baked sole on rice with a tomato sauce and baked salmon with dill potatoes.
We found the food to be okay — I guess my dish was the best — I usually stick to ordering specials.
However, the cocktails were delicious. We sat outside in the back which was beautiful, and we were the only people there. Twinkling lights and candles made the atmosphere very intimate and romantic, and provided the perfect setting to catch up with my sister who lives in California. The interior is gorgeous, albeit very dark; I could picture myself falling asleep in there after eating a steak.
Overall — not terrible, but probably won’t be coming back any time soon (MAYBE if I want to try the prix fixe menu).

Does anyone you know actually have an AMEX card? It seems like some mythical, far away item that can only be attained through embarking on a great quest. «Ye who hath good credit please come forth!» You, like me, would be in the cash only category at Le Pere Pinard Im guessing.
Leah and I were to meet up with a friend of ours and were just a tad early. She of course went to the restroom while I sat down to boldly order a bottle of red for the table. I like it when the waitress comes and sits down right next to you to help decide on what to order. Its like saying, «Hey, we’re in this together and Im going to steer you straight.» I settled on a French Merlot and I just cant recall the name because, you know, it was IN FRENCH. November is a great time to go here though because all the November wines have just come out and its always a treat to get introduced to a new bottle.
Atmosphere is fantastic and does have a very crowded, cluttered Parisian feel. I was feeling a little cold coming on so I just had the Onion soup with lots of garlic but my GF recommends the goat cheese salad. Mussels are always a good share item and of course the steaks are fairly well known here. I plan to take some out-​of-​towners here as it really is a great spot in the LES. Then, we were off to LIT for some karaōke!

Cool vibe and great outdoor seating area.
Food was pedestrian (learned that from family guy). Respectable french cuisine but definitely had better. I had the hangar steak, which was cooked prefect in a good sauce. Average selections of wine.
The ambience is worth going (once).
The theatre menu does look like a great value (if you can get there during the special).

very warm and inviting. we were seated by the window and the night we went it was raining and freezing out. they had the heat on and my seat-​which was up against the window was actually a make shift seat built using the heat vents… so after 40 minutes my bum was on FIRE!
as for the food — it was just okay. the grilled squid app was my favorite. i had a salmon dish which was okay and my bf had the roasted chicken and it was very dry.
this was definitely a two bottle dinner…

1) I think they serve wine by the thimble. Decent wine, but you’re paying the normal rate for a human sized glass of wine and getting what would only make Tinkerbell lightly buzzed. Not cool.
2) My main course was actually pretty good, but I went there for the same reason I go to any french place: Escargot. That’s right, I said snails, not that putrid burnt unidentifiable chunk of chewiness they served me.
3) Am ex or cash only??? This is the second French place this has happened. Luckily I travel with high-​rollers, so I was covered.
On the plus side, the place really does have some personality. Apparently modeled after a french truck stop, this place probably increased the charm by adding brick walls and subtracting a wried, bearded french guy. Oh wait, that’s the owner. He’s really a very nice guy and also happens to be the server, but I’m still not sure if he speaks english.

I LOVE this place, nice atmosfere, Dj, good music, especially in the summer when their garden is open, great French bistro food at a great price, for any occasion. I even celebrated my birthday here a few yrs ago. I always come back for more.
Am utterly sad about them closing! i was in love with this place! RIP mon pere pinard! merci pour tous!

This place almost made me feel out of place a bit, just like my trip to France. I’m not saying bad, just a bit weird … everyone spoke French and were to deeply engrossed in their on thing. In any case, I did not have much there besides a Blue Moon Ale since I wanted to be different and not have wine with the rest of the snobs.
Also, they reject all credit cards besides AMEX, luckily I had cash — which rock are these guys living under!

I love this place. I’ve seen some negative reviews, but i’ve only had good experiences. The food has been consistently excellent … much better than at similar cheap bistros in the area. Great wine selection that I haven’t indulged in much. And a great brunch, which seems to be mostly undiscovered.
Nice atmosphere, too … rustic country bistro fare.

«meh» is right… when you’re talking about the food. man, what a disappointing steak! But, I have had good food here – the calamari, for example. More importantly, this is a fun place to enjoy a drink at the bar and some vibin tunes.
gabby and I call it the ‘jump-​off’ because we were there one night and it truly was! the mojitos were flowin like wine… and the wine, well, that shit was truly flowin’. then, when we walked by it the very next night looking for a hot place to go, we looked in and said, yo… this place looks like the jump-​off! not realizing that it WAS the very place we were at the night before. That, my friends, is good times, and yes, give this place a shot – don’t expect a tres gourmet filet, but do expect a pretty good time regardless.

«I finished all my food. I never finish all my food!» That was my quote of the night. YO! My food was good. Well, it wasn’t THE best thing ever, but I enjoyed it. I (not the steak eater) went for the Cod which came on something… potatoes? rice??? Nooooo, definitely mashed potatoes. Also, I disobeyed rules and ordered an appetizer – the goat cheese puff pastry. Delish! Perhaps that and a side of spinach (took a bite of Jessica A’s and it was tasty… well, minus the random sneaky peppercorns…) will do the trick for a complete meal. Also, the service was pretty great. And cheers to them for being one of the few LES restaurants open on a Monday boooooEssex&Tenementboooo!
Now, I’ve been here before (allegedly) and this is that type of place where come dark hours the dinner tables get pushed back and the live drummers come out. It’s insane dancing until the early morn. And AS for the mojitos! Watch out! You know what! FOUR STARS! Just skip the wine, skip the steak go for the apps… go for the mojitos… and go for dancing and you’re set!

Went here with a group of Unilocalers post event and I have to say I agree with Sam. No one seemed particularly ecstatic about their food and some of us were down-​right unhappy.
But before I get into the unpleasantness, I have to say that the terrace behind the restaurant was cute and would make a good place to take a date (keep reading before you rush off to make a reservation). The French wait-​staff who were all quite friendly added an air of authenticity that I’m sad to say the food did not live up to.
The «Prime Rib» which happened to be one of the most expensive things on the menu, was the right piece of meat, but that’s about where the similarity with its namesake ended. It was cut into a thin rectangular steak and fried. The Unilocalers who had ordered it explicitly asked for it to be cooked *rare* and it came out fried and brown with the consistency and flavor of wet cardboard. The gratin and beans that came with it were apparently good, but that’s not enough to redeem a $ 24 dish.
I ordered the «sliced skirt steak», which came out looking like 2 brown lumps of leftover meat. I was actually thankful that it wasn’t «sliced» because given how they cooked the prime rib, it would have been a new chew toy for Fluffy. The meat was actually cooked close to order (I ordered medium rare, it came out medium), and almost tasted like a good cut of meat, but I couldn’t tell because the pepper sauce it came with was hot enough to light Central Park on fire in the middle of a summer rain. To quote fellow Unilocaler Jessica A., «my soul was on fire». Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for spice and am the first to dump Tabasco on my eggs, but I could have been eating a lump of poo (which is what the steak looked like), and it would have tasted no different.
A couple of us ordered a glass of Pinot Noir which the waitress brought out and opened in front of us. I’m glad she poured a taste for all of us before we committed to it because the wine was either corked or improperly stored and tasted like it should be on a salad with olive oil rather than in a wine glass. Switching gears we went to the Bordeaux which was drinkable but still tasted slightly off to me. The pours were very light, which also worked out nicely as I probably wouldn’t have finished it otherwise.
I’m okay with mediocre food if it’s a good value, but for this money, there are MANY other places in the LES that offer better food. Thankfully, the company was good and while I’ll probably never return, the evening as a whole was quite pleasant.