Review: Demarchelier Restaurant, New York City

A remarkable gem of a French bistro is tucked away in on East 86 Street in New York’s Upper East Side. Demarchelier is a picture postcard of the genre with wonderfully authentic fare.

A bistro, in the purest sense, is a small restaurant offering relatively informal fare. They originally sprung up in the basements of Parisian apartments, where tenants would receive room and board. Eventually, these kitchens opened up to the public as well.

The dining room at Demarchelier, which opened in 1978, is warm and welcoming.

Bistros are all about home-style dishes and slow-cooked foods such as a cassoulet and the menu and Demarchelier does not disappoint. It uses a mixture of natural, grass-fed, organic and farm-to-table ingredients and there are always daily specials to choose from.

Despite the warm weather, my dining companion and I opted to begin with a cheese fondue, a move strongly encouraged by our waiter. The combination of melted cheese, white wine, and seasoning in which we dipped freshly baked pieces of baguette was a magnificent start to the meal and we didn’t want the supply of baguette to end.

We then shared a very satisfying beet salad with crème fraiche and moved on to our entrees.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Coq Au Vin and Moules Marnière

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