[NYC] Pastis

By Jess Saturday June 25, 2011

My friend and I were debating between Balthazaar and Blue Ribbon Bakery for brunch, but decided to come here instead, since it was recommended by a co-worker and is a highly rated brunch spot in New York. We arrived around 11:30 on a Saturday morning and it was already pretty busy. The hostess informed us it’d be a twenty minute wait.

Eggs Benedict

We decided to sit and wait at the bar and both started out with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, which was pretty steep at $6 for a small glass. The restaurant seemed pretty trendy and was filled with a lot of well-dressed people. My friend noted that this restaurant looked like a restaurant where one of the Sex and the City episodes were filmed (which she later confirmed!). I really liked the atmosphere of Pastis, which has a French bistro feel. The decor and atmosphere reminded me of Le Select Bistro in Toronto.

After about fifteen minutes, we were seated at a small round table. The table was pretty tiny and we later had trouble fitting all our food and drinks on it. After reading the menu, I decided on the Eggs Benedict ($21). Again, at $21, this was pretty pricey, but I wasn’t surprised given the price we paid for our juice at the bar. The dish came with two large poached eggs on top of ham and English muffins. The dish was covered in a delicious, buttery hollandaise. I feel the hollandaise sauce in an eggs benny really makes or breaks the dish and Pastis’ hollandaise was a real winner! My friend and I both really enjoyed this. The eggs benny also came with some home-fries, served underneath, which were nothing special. I didn’t end up eating much of it anyways since we had also ordered French toast to share.

Eggs à la Basquaise

My friend ordered the Eggs à la Basquaise – poached eggs with creamy polenta, peppers, onions and prosciutto ($20). I had a bite of this and it kind of tasted like Mexican food to me. I don’t think this was a really “brunch-y” dish. Taste-wise, this was decent, but nothing special. My friend agreed and said she enjoyed mine a lot better.

Since we both wanted something sweet for brunch too, we decided to share the Brioche French Toast – with fresh fruit and maple syrup ($18). This came with two thick pieces of brioche topped with powdered sugar. The French toast was light and fluffy and not at all greasy. Although I enjoyed this, it didn’t really blow me away, and at $18, I’d expect it to be a “wow” dish.

During our meal here, I noticed many servers walking by carrying croquet monsieurs which looked amazing! I thought about ordering that, but felt like something more brunch-y, than lunch-y. Overall, the food was good, but really pricey (my meal alone came to around $40). It’s definitely more of a people watching spot, if you ask me.