made an open table reservation for 2 at 7:15pm and noted we would like to be seated in those "space bubbles"...but when we got there the host said that they are reserved for larger parties. Ok understandable - BUT there was another bubble occupied by only 2 people along with bubbles that were empty. The rest of the outdoor tables were too closed together, not worth the hype read more

Lovely Bistro for a special evening or casual dining experience. Delicious food!!

What a great find! We just happened into this restaurant because of their individual outdoor plastic dining bubbles. My wife and I came for brunch. I enjoyed my mussels with fries, and she her salmon crepe. The staff were attentive though we were outside. Great value, great venue. We would definitely come back here again. read more

Bad . Service was good but the French onion soup was tasteless and lukewarm. The escargot was like rubber . No .

walked in and no host, so i never got greeted. Sat at the bar and no bartender... waited 5 minutes and still none. Once my watch hit the 10 minute mark I got up and left. No one noticed. -_- Date: 10/24/14 Time: around 1:38PM. read more

Café du Soleil - sitting at the bar... waiting to be greeted. - French Near Me - New York, New York

Covid Theater Today at Café du Soleil, a restaurant with outdoor seating on the upper west side, I looked inside and saw many of the staff with their masks down. Outside, they put them on for the customers. When I pointed this out to the UNMASKED manager, he got very angry at the challenge and told me to "go f**k myself" and kicked me and my husband out of the restaurant. Such anger! Will not eat in unsafe places. read more

Loved this place when we lived in the area a decade ago -- family still remembers the molten chocolate cake w grand marnier sauce poured inside at the table -- so we're pleased to see it still there on a recent trip back. The individual plastic covid pods are fun -- semi-private dining, and the surrounding sidewalk dining hut is painted Provençal yellow and decorated with lots of old French advertisements. Nice atmosphere, pun intended, with music to match. Food this time was consistently good, and that's it -- we've become a bit spoiled of late; nothing great. My daughter thought the French fries were among the best she's had, but I thought they tasted like they were from Cisco -- commercial with some kind of coating. My first impression of the bun on my perfectly cooked swordfish burger was that it was not brioche, as stated on the menu , but after a few bites I conceded that it was, but perhaps just a "commercial" brioche bun. There was a kind of Burger King/supermarket quality to it. But the fish itself was great. Sides were generous, served in individual yellow saucepans, and good, particularly the mushroom mashed potatoes. Desserts were also good, but a little disappointing. Crème brûlée and crème caramel were both a bit bland. The apples in the tarte Tatin were flavorful but the pastry base was soggy, and the presentation lacked the caramel syrupy sheen that makes a tatin so special-- this was more like caramel poached apples on an undersized disc of puff pastry. All in all, a decent meal, but a bit stodgy, and a nagging feeling of everything not being quite as good as it could be. read more

Our reservation was at 830 and we arrived on time. When they took us into our "bubble" there was chicken bones on the ground. We then waited until 855 pm before leaving. The bus boy had come over and filled up our water twice, yet no waiter to be seen. When we were sat we were told twice that we would have to be done by 10 pm due to the city laws. When we left I let them know why we were leaving and she was nobody came to you? I was like no, so we are leaving. She didn't even apologize or offer to have us sit back down to get a server. The service was absolutely horrible and I will never return. The food on the other tables looked okay, but waiting 25 min (at least who knows how long we would have waited if we had stayed) is just absolutely absurd. To then have to eat our meals so quickly to be out by 10. read more

I read your reply. So let's set the record straight. There were only three chairs at the table. You took my wife's chair as she was in the bathroom and left her nowhere to sit when she returned. It was obvious you wanted to ''turn over the table'' and for us to leave. Our attempt to support a local business was a fail because you failed to appreciate and respect your customers. So please, don't misrepresent what happened. read more

After 1st reading reviews about this place, i was very hesitant of coming here. However, I had a groupon to use up. I came here with an open mind and left with a full stomach and a smile on my face. I'm definitely willing to come back here. The service here was great. I don't get why people said bad things about this place in previous reviews. Unfortunately the prixe fix menu wasn't applicable with the groupon, so we had to order from the regular menu. We ordered a carafe of the red wine, which i thought would be like a 1/2 bottle of wine, but it was more like a full bottle of wine. It was a young wine that still hasn't fully matured, but it was subtle and smooth in flavors. Unfortunately, since it was still young, it didn't give off enough floral and fruity notes. For Apps, we ordered a 1/2 dozen of escargots and some fried calamari. The portions here are HUGEEEEEEEE. I seriously think you can share 1 app between 2 people and stay satisfied. THe fried calamari were fried perfectly and it came with 2 sauces. spicy marinara and a lemon butter sauce. The spicy marinara was great. The escargot came out of the shells and it was on top of some bread and it was all covered in the garlic herb butter. The garlic herb butter was AMAZING. The escargots were pretty big too. I used the bread to absorb the butter sauce and wolfed it down. For entrees, she ordered a hanger steak med rare, while i ordered the peppercorn strip med rare. She liked her steak, it was okay but i thought it was a tad overly sweet with the addition of the caramelized shallots. The steak i got had a nice zing to it with the peppercorns, but my steak was cooked medium instead of med rare. Other than the overcooked steak, it was good. it had a great crust and the garlic pommes frites were fried awesome. They were very crispy and the hint of garlic infused with the fries added a nice flavor. Unfortunately we were too full from our meal to get dessert, but we decided that we should def come by again. THe food was great, and the staff were helpful. The water was refilled frequently, our waiter was very nice. They even helped minimized the wobbling of the table when they noticed it was wobbly when we were cutting our steaks. A fork dropped accidentally, and another staff member quickly picked it up and replaced it with a new fork. They continually came by to pour out our wine. The service was top notch. read more

Amazing crepes. I was here fro brunch yesterday and got the CRÊPES DE POULET "FLORENTINE", filled with chicken, sautéed spinach, Portobello & crimini mushrooms, roasted peppers, sun dried tomato, toasted pine nuts and melted Brie cheese, with a side mesclun salad. Truly great. You really have to try them. The cheeseburger was good, too. So... why only 3 stars? You cannot, I repeat: you cannot make your customers 1 full hour before serving them food. And the place wasn't even packed! Not good. read more

It was cute, it was quaint, and it was an admirable attempt to be French. I went here for brunch today with a couple of my old fellow French majors...cliche, I know. However, it did make for a relaxing brunch on the Upper West Side. The wait staff was very attentive, and I have to say that my water glass never got more than half empty. I'm not really a brunch fare type person, so I went with the French toast, as did my friend Emily. Our plates came with two huge pieces of the toast, SWIMMING in syrup. The dish was also adorned with delicious strawberries and some stewed apples (YUM?). The serving portion was just right, although it could have done with a little bit less syrup and the mushy apples. My other brunchers ordered Les Moules, which smelled pretty good...lesser the mussel juice that got squirted on my shirt by one of my friends. It looked like a huge portion, and they also smelled pretty good. Another girl ordered a burger, which also looked pretty good. Prices were typical brunch, but the drinks seemed really expensive ($10 for standard brunch cocktails). They've got things like Onion Soup and des omelettes...but still...for a French cafe...I was expecting something a little bit homelier and more down to Earth (as far as the menu is concerned). I loved the outdoor seating and the great service. Our food came out pretty fast...and even after we finished our meals, we were not rushed and we were allowed to sit and banter. The bathroom only houses one at a time though. The steak night sounds like a great bargain, so I might visit again...but I might not. It was a great day out with the girls, but I wasn't hanging on the edge of my plate. read more

This is my first time here. I am sooooo pleased with the service I received from our waiter Jerry (or Jerrick). We had a party of 6 but showed up with 7 but they still were very accommodating and polite about the situation. They sit you in a cute bubble (which are great for pics by the way) and we had a delicious brunch. The margaritas Soleils are on point! You must try them when you come here. Must I add that Karin (manager, I think) was also very polite courteous and accommodating too, just as Jerry aka Jerrick was too. I would definitely come back. I want to try dinner too! read more

The staff and management, especially, are rude and incompetent. I received take out from them a few times in the past month and most meals are good. The one meal that was bad I complained over the phone to a manager who told me I should have returned it. What an idiot read more

I had the best calamari and signature margarita in NYC. I sat at the bar and my bartender Audrey was so attentive and professional. She even gave me recommendations. I'll definitely be back for dinner. Thank you read more

This is the authentic-cuisine type restaurants that New York used to be famous for. Came here for happy hour on a Monday around 4:30 PM with a friend. we decided to sit at the bar. Beautiful quaint little space and a lovely bar person with a fantastic French accent helped us order. We got The Arugula salad,escargot, and the lamb sausage. My friend ordered the grilled sardines which were, very authentic. Then we polished it all off with a large order of mussels Dijon. My friend had two cocktails cocktails, I had a soda the whole experience including alcohol and food for two people was under $100. Highly recommend! this place was a delightful excursion! read more

Definitely not a place that is following covid precautions. Tables are not six feet apart and the host had an attitude. Got there on time for my reservation and host tells me you only have 90 minutes, ok, I'm like okkkkk. I got to sit in the bubble but there was literally a table by the entrance of the bubble, I couldn't eat in peace. read more

Really cute place. 7star and I wandered in for an aperitif and sat at the bar. My second favorite Tango, Jalousie, immediately started playing - oh yes, destiny to come here for a rest while walking. The bartender was charming and friendly - I loved this place. If I lived in NY, I'd be a regular. I'm only sad we did not revisit their $12.95 steak special on Monday, but we ran out of time. Next visit for sure! read more

There are plenty of nice tables, several in bubbles to allow for social distancing - however, we were sat off in a corner that must have had garbage or something nearby because the flies were unbelievable. This was worse than being seated next to the bathroom. I took one sip of my mimosa before two flies started drowning in my drink. We had to put our napkins over our coffee with our phones on top to save our drinks but unfortunately there was nothing we could do to keep the flies off our food. It was very disgusting. There were other open tables that seemed fine and were not experiencing this problem. When I told the waiter, he asked me what I would like to do...I was shocked he turned it on me to fix the problem. So I asked for the check and told him I would like to leave so I could go have breakfast since both my boyfriend and I were still hungry. The manager came over and apologized but said it's "part of outdoor dining." We've been eating outdoors at restaurants for months and I've never had this problem. They didn't take anything off the bill (I would have at least expected the mimosa since it was clearly a pool of bugs). The attitude that this was our problem is the reason I'll never go back. If they had offered to move us to a new table or taken a small amount off the check would have appeased me. Instead I paid almost $70 and my boyfriend and I then went and bought more food. It was such a waste for what was a mediocre meal. read more

Café du Soleil - Eggs benny - French Near Me - New York, New York

Great food, starting with the ambience and crowd...not too rowdy and not to snobby. Our waiter was excellent, as he recommended the perfect wine for my girlfriend to have with her meal. I've never been into beets before but they had a beet salad w/ either brie or goat cheese and it was excellent...i'm hooked. The main course for both of us, was just a s good because we kept trying to stab pieces from each others plate. Needless to say i was too stuffed for dessert, but we shall return. On another note, my girlfriend is the food critic/ foodie chef, so her review would have been more detailed oriented, but take it from me, its worth a trip, oh and book your reservation on Savored.com for a little discount read more

Café du Soleil - Beet salad with mozzarella - French Near Me - New York, New York

The two stars are for the mussels and champagne, they were good. Whoever greeted us was nice but I knew he wasn't our waiter, our waiter never introduced herself to us. She completely disregarded us. The greeter, who was also bar tending seems to be the manager, he took our order. After waiting for a while for our food, we called her over to ask who is our waiter, and how long for our food, she responded "it's either me or him how can I help?" First of all, it would have been nice to know this when we were seated but you chose to serve folks around us before us. She wasn't nasty but she seemed dismissive. And to me if the service isn't great, it really takes away from the experience. I am disappointed. I was hoping for a good experience. Also, it felt like the other worker who was busing our table was eavesdropping because he was always by our table. What are you doing? It was just awkward. I think the place is super cute but the service doesn't match the ambiance. Y'all can do better, unless you know you don't have to because the 4 stars are everywhere for you. Wish I could say the same. ‍ read more

Our local spot for years. Best crew - Max is a highlight - so many locals around if you're in need!

I imagined it to be just the standard fancy place with above average food in a busy area - but I was pleasantly surprised! Absolutely delicious food, all 3 courses perfectly cooked to perfection. They also set up private dining bubbles for each party to separate everybody during COVID, which really enhanced safety, comfort, and privacy. I really enjoyed my experience! read more

It's fine but I would prioritize this place. $25 for a mediocre burger that's not actually cooked as you ordered it is not worth it. I would say skeptical at best and maybe only for very basic things. read more

I ordered remotely from this place for father's day -- sent a nice dinner to my parents in NYC (I'm LA). They delivered--per my parents--a delicious and complete meal, right when they said they would. AND, when I called to check because the Grubhub system hadn't coordinated with their own delivery, they did good customer service and certainly gave the impression that they would have wanted to solve any issue/delay, had there been one -- which there was not. Very successful order; thanks for helping me do Father's Day, Cafe Du Soleil. read more

I'm not gonna lie but until private dining pods, yurts, & bubbles happened, I never even heard of this place, but lucky I have now. I made the rez on OpenTable which was super easy unlike some hard to book places. The entire experience was lovely from the minute we arrived and greeted by the friendly host. He sat us right away to our lovely heated bubble towards the corner and by curbside. Our waiter was great and spoke French to my hubby who is Canadian and loves to practice. Our drinks were great and food was fantastic and plentiful! We ordered the mussels as an entre and there was like 50! Needless to say, we had doggie bags for our dinners. We also saved room for dessert which was also delicious. I HIGHLY recommend this dining experience, we felt covid safe the entire time, and I can't wait to go back again! Thank you! read more

Amazing dinner and dessert, crème brûlée was /so decadent. Staff is so very nice and Dan the host is amazing and went above and beyond. so appreciated especially during these covid restricted times. Thank you and keep up the good work! read more

A favorite, comfortable neighborhood bistro- dependable French menu. Plump Moules, crisp frites, a glass of white and I'm good!

I've been here for weekend brunch and for a weekday dinner and both times the food was really good, no complaints there. The service could be better, when I came here for brunch we had a reservation but it took a bit too long for them to notice us waiting to be seated. Several workers saw us standing there but we weren't greeted by anyone for a few minutes, hence the 4 star rating. read more

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Swung by for lunch yesterday. Had some midday kir, the duck confit appetizer, and mussels with frites. Duck confit was nice, mussels were some of the best I've had. The frites has this little gem of a deep fried garlic clove. The staff is cool, the place is laid back, and the service very French. Sit outside if it's nice! read more

Café du Soleil - French Near Me - New York, New York

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Food was tasty on our visit in May 2018. Service attentive. Dining room was not aging terrible well. They'd removed breakfast breads/pastries, including croissants, from brunch in a general reduction of the the menu. read more

Café du Soleil - The Florentine benedict. - French Near Me - New York, New York

Mussels good, crabmeat burger was very heavy on the Mayo, almost no crab --inedible! Fries are ok, not as good as Community. The outside"bubbles " seemed safe, clean, service was good. Very nice staff read more

This is the best French place in NYC! I come here all the time so I can enjoy the great French food that they serve in this Restaurant. This place never disappoints me! But here is one tip: you can only have the Croque Monsier at breakfast or lunch. The croque monsier is the best! I highly Recommend This place. read more

The food here has always been just a notch above mediocre. But it is a neighborhood place and such restaurants should be supported during these difficult times. However, I wonder if Cafe du Soleil deserves that. I was there alone for an early lunch on a cold and rainy Friday. I was offered a seat under a dripping awning or under a ladder where someone was working on an outdoor speaker. I asked if I could sit in one of the bubble tents due to the weather. My request was met with a very terse and rude no from the very obnoxious server/host greeting guests. I asked why and he said they were for reservations only. Someone else came out and seated me under a different awning, which he said would protect me from the rain. But it was cold. I should have had gloves to keep my hands warm. (Good luck handling this when the NYC winter sets in.) My food came and there was a hair in it. Although I was basically being ignored by the staff, I managed to finally get the attention of someone. When I showed him the hair, he shrugged in a Gallic "whatever" way and said he'd have a new one made, but I'd have to be prepared to wait. (What? You serve me food with a hair in it and can't be bothered to expedite a new dish?) Again, this was an early Friday, cold and rainy. They were not slammed. Meanwhile, I was there for over an hour in total, and most of the tent bubbles remained empty. Clearly they were not reserved. It is very understandable to honor reserved seating. But to not allow a customer to sit at a warmer, more comfortable table when they were obviously not reserved is not acceptable. Perhaps this is normal treatment of women of color who is dining alone. But to sit in the cold and rain and see that the majority of protected eating spaces remain empty does not make this a place to return. Everyone wants to protect and support NYC restaurants but at places that have such disdain for their customers, good riddance. read more

I'm a local to the area, been going here before and after the hype just because it's a convenient place to meet up with friends. Brunch is nothing to write home about. Tried different dishes every time, and they're okay, sometimes not as filling as I'd like them to be. But you can't go wrong with the burger or crepes. The garlic fries are a staple. But what really deserves these 5 stars is my girlfriends birthday dinner last weekend. Never been before for dinner. The dishes were significantly more filling than the brunch options. Half chicken, tortellini, mussels, salmon burger. I don't know if it's the most delicious meals we've ever had, but it was pretty solid dinner. The cocktails were lovely - margaritas, mezacalitos (okay this one was really hard to drink, but our bad for letting the waiter just recommend his favorite), and pina coladas! At one point, one of the servers spilled the sauce from one of the dishes onto someone. They quickly came with a towel with cold water on it, and some seltzer to help with the stains. And haven't heard this before, but they said to bring the dry cleaning bill for her pants, and they're reimburse her. How lovely is that!? We brought a cake for our friend, and the restaurant was so accommodating. We hid it from our friend, and they were also so discreet about it. When they brought it out, they also put on candles and sang happy birthday. Really happy with just the way they treated us, especially since it was busy when we were there. The waiter was cute, and also a massive flirt- on a girls night out, who doesn't appreciate that?? read more

Cafe du Soleil is good, but for the price, it isn't great. They have a fun outdoor dining arrangement right now with Covid, but the food definitely leaves something to be desired. I had coq au vin in Riesling and my husband ordered fries and mussels. The coq au vin was good and tender and the mussels were fine, but my husband's fries were like styrofoam. Overall, the experience was fine, but not good enough to keep us coming back. read more

Pretty place inside and out. Fun with friends. Not so much if you're looking for tasty, which is a shame. I always think it will be better but it isn't. Kind of a cash cow for the owners I bet. read more

Here for brunch, medium rare steak came out bleeding. That happens . . . Sent back to refire steak came back with the same now eggs now cold. read more

The experience was like no other! My friend and I sat in a bubble and the environment was all lit up and pleasant. Each bubble had a heater and a table with candles, I loved it! Food was very delicious as well. Staff was super nice and pleasant and tried to serve all customer needs. I would come back here again if I could! read more

Cafe Du Soleil has good food and service, covid or no covid. And it's the only restaurant we have eaten in for the last several weeks - because it is Covid-safe, and they have kept their food and service going strong in spite of the pandemic. Grab one of their heated bubbles, watch NY walk by, enjoy the friendly service, and classic Bistro menu. A slice of normal, at what is one of the best UWS restaurants in normal times. And now a must for anyone looking for a dinner and/or drink escape. read more