When I want a fine dining experience in Manhattan that’s still within reason from a price perspective, La Grande Boucherie is my go-to restaurant – and has been for years. The French menu changes periodically, but everything we’ve ordered has been excellent without exception.
La Grande Boucherie is actually a chain, but it’s a chain of the highest quality. There are four locations in Manhattan, and one each in Chicago, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
The main location in New York is the one I frequent the most. It’s in a convenient place on West 53rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. It’s very close to Carnegie Hall and New York City Center theater. It’s also not far north of Times Square and not far south of Lincoln Center. It stretches across the entire block and has beautiful outdoor seating lined with plants, as well as indoor seating and a wide bar.
The other NYC locations are called Boucherie Union Square on Park Avenue South between East 18th and East 19th Streets, Boucherie West Village on 7th Avenue South at Grove Street, and Petite Boucherie on Christopher Street, also in the West Village. The menu is similar in all locations.
The service, as well as the extensive wine list, are as exceptional as the menu. I discovered one of my favorite white wines at this restaurant – Pierre Sparr’s Pinot Gris from the Alsace region. I have since bought bottles of it to keep at home. It pairs wonderfully with duck, which is also my favorite dish at La Grande Boucherie.
In the past, the menu’s duck dish included potatoes and Swiss chard. Currently, the duck is a classic duck a l’orange that’s tender and flavorful with apples, cherries, and fennel bulbs. I can always count on this restaurant’s food to be expertly prepared.
At my most recent dinner there, my companion ordered the pan-seared diver’s scallops with seasonal vegetables, sweet corn purée, and herb oil, which she said was delicious.
Other seafood dishes include shrimp, clams, lobster, and caviar. The Saumon Roti is from the Faroe Islands and served with asparagus and corn cream, or you might like to try the Saumon Tartare au Caviar with Kaluga caviar, goat cheese, and crostini.
Steak is popular at the restaurant, including Australian grass-fed ribeye, Chateaubriand, and dry-aged bone-in NY strip, among other options, which you can order with Bordelaise, Béarnaise, or Peppercorn sauce.
You can expect French classics like paté and foie gras, onion soup, Niçoise salad, a cheese plate, Boeuf bourguignon, and steak tartare.
If you just want a burger, you can get a special one: Wagyu burger with truffle dijonnaise, caramelized onions, Gruyère, and pommes frites.
Of course, there are chicken and pork dishes, including suckling pig, and there are also some options for vegetarians, such as charred eggplant with red wine reduction and piquillo pepper.
For dessert, my dining companion had the chocolate ice cream, which was extremely rich and dark. I opted for the Tarte Fleur Passion-Pistache – a vanilla crust with passion fruit curd, pistachio crème légère, passion fruit jelly, and caramelized pistachio nuts. It was a flavor combination I had never tasted before and definitely a special treat!
The dessert menu includes old favorites, such as sorbets, profiteroles, madeleines, and crème brûlée with Cantonese caramelized black sesame. The dessert I will probably try next time is the Ananas Roti au Miel, which is honey-roasted pineapple, vanilla Malagasy crème, ginger confit, lime tuiles, pineapple gel, and lime sorbet.
Our dinner with an entree, single glass of wine, and dessert was just under $100 each, including tip. For what you get at this restaurant, it’s quite economical for the location and ambiance.
If you want another meal besides dinner, you’re in luck, as La Grande Boucherie serves breakfast, brunch, and lunch.
In my experience, you can’t go wrong with whatever you order from this establishment. The quality is always high and remarkably consistent. We’ve never been disappointed. Bon appétit!
Melanie Votaw is the Publisher and Executive Travel Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. She has visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents and written for such magazines as Executive Travel, Just Luxe, Business Insider, South China Morning Post, Travel Mindset, and more. She is a member of the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association and the International Travel Writers Alliance. Melanie's photography has won awards, and she has also written 39 nonfiction books as either the author or ghostwriter.
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