New York City: Boulud Sud (June 2013)

My spouse and I dined with four family members for lunch at Boulud Sud in late June 2013. We made our reservation using the Open Table reservation system, and the restaurant called to confirm our date and time the day before we dined. Because we were a larger party of six, the restaurant requested a credit card to hold our reservation, and mentioned a $25 per person cancellation fee if we did not arrive as scheduled.

The restaurant space is large and open and airy, with vaulted ceilings, a partially open kitchen running the length of one wall, and a long wall of windows opposite that overlook West 64th Street. The restaurant also has outdoor sidewalk seating adjacent to Bar Boulud and Epicerie Boulud. (The restaurant is located across the street from Lincoln Center, so it is a great choice before or after attending an even there.) The bar area occupies one-third of the indoor restaurant space, with both bar-stool seating and small tables. The restaurant has private rooms on the lower (basement level), which is also where the main restrooms are located. (Handicapped restrooms are on the street level adjacent to the bar/lounge.) If you drive to the restaurant, there is a parking garage quite near the restaurant on West 64th between Broadway and Central Park West.

The restaurant serves a brunch menu on weekends at the lunch hour, which is tasty and nicely presented, but not as interesting as what they offer for weekday lunches and daily dinners. (If you are interested, "like" the restaurant on their Facebook page, and you will receive their news feed with excellent photos and short descriptions of some of their dishes.) Our party of six shared several appetizers, and then we each ordered an entrée. Appetizers that we particularly enjoyed included the m'smen (flatbread served with yogurt and honey), the mezze (hummus, falafel, baba ganoush), and the lightly-battered artichokes. Entrée stars were the Tunisian brik (tuna and other ingredients folded into a fillo dough), chicken tagine, and the French toast with pistachio butter. Service was attentive, but not flawless.

We enjoyed our brunch at Boulud, and would gladly return some day for dinner, because the dinner menu (as well as the weekday lunch menu) sound fantastic!