Balthazar is a real time commitment — fit it in only if it's a priority.
Allow 1.5–2 hours.
Red banquettes, antiqued mirrors, and a from-dawn-to-late energy that nails the Parisian-brasserie fantasy in downtown Manhattan. The magic is a weekday breakfast in a corner banquette with the bread basket and a coffee, not the elbow-to-elbow weekend brunch crush — the room's beauty and the people-watching are the real draw, the food merely dependable. Electric for that early, unhurried sitting; wrong for anyone craving quiet, a bargain, or a destination meal.
Keith McNally's French brasserie at 80 Spring Street in SoHo opened April 21, 1997; bread and pastries are baked fresh daily at the adjoining Balthazar Bakery. · en.wikipedia.org
The room recreates a grand Paris brasserie with red leather banquettes, antiqued mirrors and a tin ceiling. · balthazarny.com