Lafayette Grand Cafe and Bakery

380 Lafayette Street (at Great Jones Street)

New York, NY 10003

(212) 533 3000

The Design

Lafayette Grand Cafe and Bakery is located at the corner of Lafayette Street and Great Jones Street in Soho. The cafe is located in a landmark building that was designed by William Hardenbergh who was the architect of such famous buildings as the Plaza Hotel, the Dakota and the Waldorf Astoria.

The Lafayette Cafe was designed by Roman and Williams. Roman and Williams is a prestigious design firm that has won recognition for its work on hotels, restaurants, and retail spaces. They designed The Dutch, the Standard Grill, and The Ace Hotel New York.

According to its Website, the firm strives “to create projects which consistently find the tension between spontaneity and rigor, refinement and rebellion, and past and future.”

The central idea behind the design of the cafe is that it would be urbane and earthy, romantic and comfortable, and serve food from early in the morning until late at night.

This is a beautiful restaurant. You are struck by the design of the restaurant when you enter. It feels natural and organic in the sense that it evolved in an authentic way. It does not feel as if it is a simulacra of a French bistro.

The feel of the Lafayette is light, open and airy. It is a large cafe but here are many different dining spaces that are defined by changes in elevation, lights, or seating arrangements. Large tile columns also help organize the different sections of the restaurant. This makes the cafe feel smaller and more intimate. The noise level is low because of the high ceilings, large space and low density of diners.

The cafe has dark blue banquettes (rather than the traditional red banquettes). There are Thonet chairs at the tables. This ties the cafe into the bistro tradition.

The cafe has large arched windows that are outlined with small lights and have open sight lines to Lafayette and Great Jones streets. The lighting design is sophisticated with globe lights and art deco sconces. There are fresh flowers to suggest that the produce is bought fresh from local markets brought to the cafe.

The bar is made of zinc in the great bistro tradition. Behind the bar is amber glass that produces a soft light glow that illuminate the bottles of liquors. Above the bar is a replica of the famous clock in the Musee D’Orsay.

Next to the bar is a rotisserie and meat counter. The rotisserie is electric blue with brass detailing under a large zinc hood.

According to Roman and Williams: “the restaurant itself is both cinematic and down to earth.”

The Bakery

The Lafayette Cafe has an in-house bakery. This is rare among New York bistros; most source their bread from one or two popular bakeries in Manhattan. You enter from the street in to the bakery. The bakery has a white marble island, marble counters and classic glass and zinc shelving. The color palette is blue and white and custom-patterned tiles define the space. There is a charming chalk board over the bakery with the daily bread specials. The bakery has a beautiful and tempting selection of fresh breads, macaroons, and petits gateaux. Seating on classic Thonet bar stools is available in the bakery for those who want a quick coffee and a pastry.

The Chef-Andrew Carmellini

Lafayette Cafe is a member of the NoHo Hospitality group. Its restaurants include Locanda Verde, The Dutch, The Library at The Public, Bar Primi and Little Park.

Andrew Carmellini is the head chef at Lafayette. He is a successful New York chef and is also the head chef at the Dutch and Locanda Verde. He is a very successful chef in New York and was trained by working at Cafe Boulud, Le Cirque and Lespinasse. He has also written two cookbooks. In a comprehensive article on his career, the New York Times summarized his approach to cooking:

As research for Lafayette, he spent months in France, cooking and eating in villages like Saint-Paul-de-Vence. An entire day last fall turned into a quest to sample nearly every good croissant in New York. He approaches the realm of deliciousness with the methodical patience of an archaeologist.

More information on Mr. Carmellini is in the Resources section.

The Staff

The staff wear traditional bistro uniforms. White shirts, black pants or skirts, aprons and suspenders. The hostess was friendly and we were promptly seated at a good table. She was also happy to answer my questions about the cafe. Our service was professional and personal with a good sense of timing.

The Food

Our group shared appetizers and entrees.

The bread was some of the best that I have had at any bistro in New York. The crust was dark and flavorful, and tasted and felt “baked” rather than manufactured. The crumb was chewy and had notes of hazelnut and honey. Considering the importance of quality bread in French dining culture, I have no idea why many bistros in New York serve insipid bland Wonder bread.

Charge me more, spend the time to find a good source but don’t serve me dead bread. Cafe Lafayette gets it right.

Our appetizers were the Brussels sprouts (bacon and pickled mustard seeds) and the pommes frites.

The pommes frites were light and crispy with very little grease. The salting was correct. They could have been hotter.

The Brussels sprouts were dull and stale and also could have been hotter.

Our first entree was the wood-grilled local trout (with lentils and Vadouvan curry.)

Vadouvan curry is an Indian curry that originated in the Pondicherry region of India. Pondicherry was settled by the French East India Company in 1674. You can still see the French influence in Pondicherry today. The streets signs are in French and it is possible to get a good cup of French chicory coffee! Vadouvan curry made by blending curry with such spices as onion, garlic, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

The dish was excellent. The trout had a smokey flavor and was very fresh, as if it had just been caught in a clear mountain stream and cooked over a campfire. The vegetables were crisp, firm and had clarity of taste.

Our second entree was the rotisserie chicken (with country potatoes and sherry vinegar). It was competent but not inspirational.

The desert was the vacherin tropique (with

coconut sorbet, passion fruit and pralines roses).

A Vacherin is a meringue-based cake filled with ice cream or sorbet and covered with Chantilly cream. Most Vacherin recipes use strawberries, raspberries.

This Vacherin was brilliant. It was innovative with its use of tropical sorbets and rose, it was beautiful on the plate, and the taste sensations were deep and complex, yet light and airy at the same time. It wins the award for Best Dessert in all of the bistros I have eaten in to date!

Wine List

The Lafayette Cafe has a much larger wine list than most bistros. It also has a much larger selection of champagne and whites than is typical.

It covers most of the main wine producing regions in France: Alsace, Loire, Bordeaux, Provence, Bourgogne, Rhone, Languedoc-Roussilon and Beaujolais.

We had two wines: the Gamay Bonnet Rouge Beaujolais (2013) and the Syrah Domaine Pierre Gaillard Saint-Joseph (2013). Our waitress gave us the opportunity to taste the wines before she poured the glasses. This is a nice touch and I rarely see it.

The Gamay had a ruby color. It tasted of strawberries and dark cherry. The minerals were limestone and there were notes of cinnamon and other spices. It had acidity and was young and lively. It was a very good glass of $13 wine

The Syrah suggested violets, red fruits, berries and spice. It had good tannin structure. The minerals were stones and earth. At $16 it was also an enjoyable wine.

Ratings

Staff: 7 (Efficient and busy)

Archetype: 6 (Very well designed but too upscale and large to meet the Archetype. Bakeries and meat counters are not in traditional bistros)

Food: 7 (Hits and misses but good overall. Good bread.)

Energy: 8 (A very large restaurant; beautiful, spacious and airy. No problems with noise)

Resources

The Lafayette Cafe

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/24/lafayette

http://gotham-magazine.com/lafayette-redefines-the-brasserie

http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/05/platt-on-lafayette.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/dining/reviews/restaurant-review-lafayette-in-noho.html

Andrew Carmellini