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New Kid on the Block: Frenchette
Chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson worked on Keith McNally restaurants—Balthazar, Pastis, et al—for 16 years before deciding to venture out on their own in 2013. “We actually looked at Cercle Rouge when we first left Keith,” says Nasr. “I’ve always loved this spot—the wide sidewalk, the two corners, the promenade feel. We kicked the tires but Georges [Forgeois] wasn’t ready to leave. And then it came available a few years later. ”
And tonight their restaurant is finally open: Frenchette, named for a 1978 David Johansen song. It’s a beauty. The gleaming wood paneling, the zinc bar, the leather banquettes, the Art Moderne curves…. It’s an idealized vision of a bistro that calls to mind a McNally restaurant. That’s sort of the idea, and not at all the idea. “We’re not running from what we’ve done before,” says Nasr. “We don’t just want to do it again. This is a new project, about challenging ourselves. There’s a fulfillment beyond economics.”
“But the DNA of our backgrounds is there,” says Hanson.
“We’ve learned so much over the years about design and service, and we want to use that,” says Nasr. “But at the same time, we want it to feel different.”
And how exactly will it feel different?
“We’ll all be wearing masks,” says Hanson, deadpan.
“You have to say ‘Fidelio’ at the door!” adds Nasr. “A guest was here last night for a friends-and-family thing, and he looked at the menu and said, ‘I want to eat here three times a week. I want this dish the first night, and this dish the second night, and on the third day I want streak frites. That’s how we want it to be.”
In the next month or two, Frenchette will start serving lunch, then breakfast, then brunch (but that order could change), with delivery much later in the year. Outdoor seating will probably not happen till next spring, and they seem to be mulling the possibility of carrying on the tradition of Cercle Rouge’s Bastille Day party.
And the chefs are well aware that there’s a risk the restaurant will be frustratingly popular, from a neighborhood point of view, at least at the start. “We’re making a concerted effort to be accessible,” says Nasr, pointing out that the bar tables are entirely for walk-ins. “And we really want to get to know the people in the neighborhood.” They’ve already become friendly at least one person: Arcade Bakery‘s baguettes will be in the bread basket, and its pastries will be on the menu at breakfast.
Frenchette is at 241 W. Broadway (between Walker and White); 212-334-3883; frenchettenyc.com. Reservations can be made via Resy or Frenchette’s website.
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11 Comments
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$64 for roast chicken and potatoes for two? I suspect the neighbors who will be jamming the place are same folks whose 1 year old children wear $350 Montcler down jackets.
The local emperor has no/very expensive clothes.
A.-
I’m excited about Frenchette, but your comment got me wondering about the going rate per person for a chicken entree (sometimes with potatoes) in our neighborhood. Here’s what I found:
Above $32 per person
Locanda Verde
Marc Forgione
$31-$32 per person
Frenchette
Little Park
Tiny’s
Odeon
American Cut
$29-$30 per person
Yves
Tribeca Grill
Sure, we’d all like prices to be lower, but in context Frenchette seems like they’re pretty reasonable for this market.
Can we stop the petty comments about prices of children’s coats, etc. Where is all this envy coming from?
High prices or not, I am not at all excited with the menu. Bummer.
What no outdoor space? That was the best part of Cercle Rouge!
It’ll be there next spring. Community Board 1 makes restaurants wait six months to a year after opening before they can have tables outside.
It looks beautiful and I wish them success…but, as a mostly vegetarian who strongly prefers going meatless, their menu shares the familiar problem of many an NYC French restaurant in that it appears (to my eyes) to be chiefly (with one exception) a list of dead animals. That narrows my options considerably.
Chicken is one item but prices are very high on this food in general. Even in the context of tribeca – multiple $40 and $50 items. Is this a bistro? It better be outstanding and the portions reasonable.
Thing is, the choice one has nowadays is either a high end restaurant/gastropub like Frenchette or a chain restaurant. So it’s either a $60 chicken or a $6 chciken.
The affordable restaurants — diner, checkered-table-cloth red sauce joint, places like Souths — are closing because the rent is too damn high.
Tale of two cities indeed.
It’s not clear why South’s closed, whether rent, or the apparent sale of the building, or otherwise.
Back in January 2018 (https://tribecacitizen.wpengine.com/2018/01/25/spotlight-souths/) they said, “We have seven-and-a-half years left on the lease, and we’ll stay as long as the lease allows us to.”
Three months later they will be closed.
It’s either chicken from Frenchette or Chick-fil-A. Decisions decisions.