Le Comptoir

Amazing french toast crème brûlée for brunch.

Great food, waitress wasn’t that bad, but the rules in this place were ridiculous. We could only have a 11am reservation. They sat is in the farthest corner, at the worst table, near the bathroom and we were the only ones here for the whole hour. Then we were not allowed to sit at our table for more than one hour. No big deal, cause we were allowed to sit in the lounge to drink out bottomless mimosas, but they would serve us our mimosas until noon. They forgot to tell me when I made the reservation that there was no drinks before noon. So we couldn’t even drink at out table!!! This place has great potential, the food is awesome! but stop with all the rules, please. That killed our whole experience.

So, I’m going to start this off by saying that when my bf and I went out fur brunch at 4 pm on a Sunday that ALSO happened to be st Patrick’s day, yes, we were asking for it. After looking for ages for a spot we could still get brunch this late in the day to no avail, voila! Le comptoir, serves brunch till 430. So, ding ding ding! Automatic points for that.
Upon arrival, we were quickly seated in the back, which was really cute, and pretty spacious.
BUT. Surrounded by 2 (3?) groups of EXTREMELY drunk EXTREMELY loud st Paddys day partiers… we asked our waitress to move us *please* up to the front, if possible. The restaurant was really full, but we were kindly moved as soon as there was an open seat at the bar.
The bar was MUCH better… but still drunken partiers in the front, one of which was completely passed out for most of our meal.
The staff was amazing. Dealing with that many crazy ppl (including us, we ended up getting waited on by almost everyone working, I think) and still offering such excellent service, plus being pleasant and friendly? Awesome job.
Great place! Really great staff, our food was delicious and we are fucking lazy and don’t get out for brunch in time to have brunch and they accommodated us. Will definitely be back!

Alright, so I’m giving this place a full 5 stars, but my heart is completely broken. THEY’RE CLOSING AT THE END OF THIS MONTH! Had a chat with the owner about how bomb the food was and how Le Comptoir is going to be my new spot, when he informed me that come June 20-​something, he’s out of there! Some drama with a lousey land lord who clearly doesn’t know what a golden tenant she has on her hands…
Now that I’ve gotten the bad news out of the way, I can say that the owner was confident they’d reopen again, either under the same name in the Brooklyn area or under a different name in Manhatten (my vote’s for BK… please!!) But now onto the real good stuff…
My friend and I decided to start a new tradition– Oyster Wednesdays! Not a bad idea right? So for our first go around we landed on Le Comptoir after scouring the area for a $ 1 oyster special. So we started off with a dozen oysters that were quickly slurped up with extra mignonette. Next we split a steak tartare and foie gras crème brûlée. This was my first time having a true steak tartare, and it was DELICIOUS. Super fresh and tender, with a bit of mustard to give it that bite. The foie gras crème brûlée was one of the most velvety and luxorious things I’ve ever eaten… creamy, sweet, savory, and RICH RICH RICH. The second that burnt sugar layer was cracked open, we unleashed this flavor that oozed in its goodness. Some bites went straight from spoon to mouth, others I spread on the delicious bread that came along. Must try. For real.
I’m much more of a savory kind of person, but we were so happy with the meal so thus far, we decided to give dessert a try. We got the Floating Island, a fluffy meringue floating on a pool of vanilla custard, drizzled with homemade caramel and topped with toasted almond slivers. Amazing. The meringue dissolved in my mouth the second it touched my tongue, and then I swirled through a sea of vanilla magic.
Hey landlord lady, are you reading this? Well you should be, because clearly you’re missing out.

I think this may be more a day drinking spot than a restaurant, at least during brunch hours. There was a DJ behind the bar playing VERY loud dance music, and we felt sort of self-​conscious ordering food because literally no one around us was eating. Everyone was just sitting and drinking mimosas. There is a $ 26 all-​you-​can-​drink brunch option, which is nice, but people seemed to just be drinking. They were also all dressed like they were going to a rave or something at 3 pm. Pretty weird!
The food was pretty good, although it took about 40 minutes to come. We got the salmon eggs benedict and the spinach and mushrooms au gratin. It looked like it may have been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile — tasty, but congealed. The prices are pretty great; all the mains are 10 – 14 dollars, and the sides are $ 4.
One last bizarre thing — in our section by the bar, the hostess was our server. This was a pretty terrible idea for two reasons: A) she had way too much to do and consequently everything took forever B) she doesn’t really speak English, so ordering from her was really hard. I had to go «COFFEE. COFF-​EE!» three times before she understood me. Then she didn’t ask if we wanted or bring milk/​sugar, so this guy who I guess was the manager but looked like a 90’s club kid brought it instead.
I would go back for the drunk brunch during the summer when their garden is open. Otherwise, probably skip.

First time here for all-​you-​can-​drink-​brunch was great: 4 stars. Second time, not so much. We started aycd at 3:45. At 4:15 we were told that it would be ending in a few minutes. When we shared our confusion, we were told «we are sorry, but the manager said its time to stop.» So, basically we got ripped off without any sort of consolation, or even feigned pity!
Overall:
Food: Really good
Mimosas: Pretty good
Bloodies: Sub-​par
Getting shorthanded out of unlimited drinks: THE WORST

Came here for dinner on a Friday night a few weeks ago. The place had a pretty cute and cozy vibe, but got pretty packed quickly. The food was good, but nothing mind-​blowing. I had the fois gras crème brûlée and the steak tartare. My date had a salad and the tuna tartare. For all the hype, the fois gras crème brûlée was pretty underwhelming. It tasted like fois gras flavored crème brûlée, which frankly to me was not as good as a normal crème brûlée nor as good as real fois gras. I guess I had no idea what I was expecting. The steak tartare was a-​okay. I think my date liked his tuna tartare. I can’t remember what the salad was — it was pretty unmemorable. We also ordered a few cocktails, which were very delicious.
If I could give this place 3 and half stars, I would — but I don’t feel it fully deserves 4 stars. There wasn’t anything bad about it — the food and the ambience were all solid. But the bottom line: for a $ 150 dinner for 2, you can probably do better.

This place should be jam packed but it wasn’t both times I came. I think they need to remove the smoky glass in front so people feel less intimated to walk in. (The place next door had a 20 minute wait)
I’ve had the short rib and the chicken and they are both amazing. The meringue/​caramel custard desert was also delicious. All around great food. Looking forward to going back.

Let’s just hold on a minute. Unlimited brunch drinks until 4 PM? YES, UnilocalERS. This is REAL. Le Comptoir probably has the best brunch in NYC. My only complaint is that I probably left way too drunk, but that was probably, no DEFINITELY, the best FIVE hour brunch of my life. And yes, all of this caps is necessary to express how great/​unbelievable this brunch was.
First of all, the food is actually delicious. I ordered the Crab and Spinach «Au Gratin» with two poached eggs and my sister got the French Toast Crème Brulee with berry compote. Unlike some of the other all you can drink brunch places (ahem, The Sunburnt Cow), the food at Le Comptoir is actually outstanding and pure deliciousness in every bite. My sister and I both loved our food and savored every bite. The brunch menu has a good mix of savory and sweet items to satisfy every taste.
Although the food is amazing, what really makes this $ 26 prix fixe all you can drink brunch so worth it (and practically dangerous) is, naturally, the drinks. Though the drinks themselves are nothing special (you have a choice of mimosas, bloody marys, and rose), the fact that the waiters and waitresses never let your glass go empty is incredible. At other brunch places, I’ve had to chase down the waiter in order to get another drink, but at Le Comptoir they refill your drink even before you can ask. Though dangerous because you eventually lose count, it’s amazing. And they NEVER kick you out. I’ve been there for five hours once and even after I paid, my glass never went empty. The waiters and waitresses (shout out to Monica and Chulo!!) are awesome so fun to talk to.
Seriously, GO! It is a MUST. Clear all of your plans for Sunday, grab your best friends, and enjoy the best food and unlimited drinks ever.

Food:
Had Eggs Benedict with short rib, and it arrived cold. The eggs were so cold, the yolks had almost solidified, they were gummy. The short rib was literally cold to the touch, and the english muffin was hard like a rock. Really not appetizing at all. Why did I even bother paying for it?
Drinks:
I feel like this is the only reason why people come. For the $ 25 pre-​fix, with unlimited mimosas, and think «What a hell of a deal.»
Service:
Friendly, but slow. Had a few issues with a certain waitress, who was scared off by our group.

I would have given you 5 STARS, but your waitress COMPROMISED it…
The last time I was here was about over a year ago. It was the first Elite Brooklyn Event of 2011. I always wanted to come back and try the food. Finally after a long wait, I was able to comeback with a group of friends to have a Birthday Brunch. The Brunch Special as awesome here. For $ 26 you can get an entrée of your choice plus unlimited Mimosas, Bloody Marys or a Rose Spritzer. Everything on the Brunch Menu looked really tasty. I ordered the Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata. This came with slices of Prosciutto ($ 2) and Arugula. I decided on getting a Bloody Mary. Nothing screams out Brunch like a good Bloody Mary. Pierre, our waiter made sure that our glasses were never empty.
It was pretty tasty, but I was expecting something more thicker. The menu indicated that it had 3 eggs, so I was hoping for something thick and fluffy. Instead, I got a thin piece of egg with bits of asparagus. The frittata was almost the same size of the plate, so I couldn’t really complain that it was too small. This didn’t come with bread, which it lacked. I really needed something with a bite, texture wise to balance out the softness of the eggs and Arugula Salad. I asked for some bread on the side, which made my meal complete. After drinking a couple of Bloody Marys, I was good boy. For a place with a Prefix Brunch Menu, the drinks are really good. The Bloody Mary has a nice kick to it.
After we paid the bill and on our way out. One of the waitresses (Only 2 waitresses were there) came up to us and said that we didn’t pay enough. We told her that it’s all there and to count it. She basically THREW THE MONEY on the table and TOLD US TO COUNT IT and WALKED AWAY. That made me pretty pissed off. It’s like she DIDN’T CARE. We just dropped $ 400 on brunch. YOU’RE WELCOME.
After seeing what happened, PIERRE our AWESOME WAITER came to the rescue and recounted the money. It was all in there. Things like this could have been avoided if she simply APOLOGIZED afterwards and OWNED UP TO HER MISTAKE. Which she NEVER DID.
Things like this make me think twice on returning to an establishment. On the other hand. YES, the FOOD was EXCELLENT and the restaurant has a great feel to it. Everything was on point which I really liked. It just lacked a bit communication skills, which I only got half of.
Will I come back here?
Maybe. I can’t honestly say Yes.

What a great brunch. I didn’t even know they had an outside patio. Too hot for me though– we ate inside. It was a busy, crowded but not too cramped space. Decent service although they pushed us the bill like two seconds after my last bite.
The food was really tasty. No complaints and licked-​clean plates all around the table. The bloody marys (my forte) were not bad at all. My biggest complaint– the bloodies and mimosas were served from carafs and while they kept my glass full– the ice disappeared and my drink became a little less than refreshing. I normally like to camp out for hours during brunch; especially considering I was visiting with a friend who I hadn’t seen in a year. I didn’t like being ushered out so quick but overall, it really was A-​OK and there were plenty of other surrounding places for us to continue our boozy Sunday

Probably the best brunch experience with a large party I’ve had in NYC to date… if you read my list of reviews you’ll note MANY of them are on brunch… so this is a big deal guys!!!
CAVEATS! I was with some of my closest and oldest friends in the whole wide world, so maybe you could have served us low-​calorie gruel and I could have been happy! CAVEAT, I think our waiter had a crushy-​crush on someone at our table so we had a LOT of attention (the important type of attention, see next point). And POINT number 3, the refills of drinks just never stopped… just…like…NEVER, even after we paid our bill we had two more rounds, THEN I got a refill while standing by the bar talking to the DJ with the cool t-​shirt (who was also bump’n some serious tunes)! So, ya, take the next part with a grain of salt, seasoning for the caveats above!
Brunch here is GREAT! Prix-​fix $ 25 for all you can drink mimosas, and a strawberry mimosa they call a Rossini! Amazing! The food, actually quite excellent. The braised short-​rib Benedict was to die for, my friend devoured her tartain with such gusto they ordered the french toast (which was then devoured with gusto by two other people at the table)! In true French fashion, portions are NOT huge, but sufficient when considering your stomach is so full of mimosa, you can’t fit any more food! The place was jam packed during brunch, and the AC is non-​existent (it was pretty darn hot that day), but with solid food, a great price, amazing friends (I mean they sat a party of 12 of us for God sakes), I will most definitely be making a return appearance chez Le Comptoir, mais ouis!

Party boooooowl!
That was the highlight of my meal. A punch bowl filled with your choice of cocktail. Ample and stiff, and a lewd joke here is beneath me.
Aside from that, I also had the braised short rib with parmesan risotto. It was tasty and creamy, but a little on the small side. If I did not already fill my belly with so much alcohol I would have left still hungry.

Le Comptoir was next on my list of Billysburg Sunday Brunches that I do w. one of my oldest gfs. I love places that allow Opentable ressies — so easypeasy! I made a ressie and off we went.
First off, they were very accommodating when I called at 1PM, to push back my 1pm ressie to 1:30pm. The place is very easy to find once off the Bedford Ave stop on the L train, and once I saw the line of people waiting for a table I started to get super excited!
We were seated right away at a high table next to the bar. There are hooks to the side of the tables to hold your things (read — your purses, ladies!). We ordered the short ribs egg benedict & the croque madame, per our waiter’s reccos.
I was also very very very tempted to partake in the $ 24.00 entrée + 2 hours bottomless drinks deal. While my heart and love for boozy brunches said yes, my head and raging headache from the prior evening could not oblige. The fact that they were making all the drinks fresh in front of us didn’t help my choice. Neither did the fact that every single waitstaff that passed by us asked if we were ready for margaritas =(
The food did take a little longer than usual to come out, but it was delicious. My friend’s Croque Madame was very very good — the best I’ve had in NYC thus far. My benedict was rich and absolutely perfect. I didn’t care too much for the skillet potatoes however — I thought they were quite bland and had to add pepper to them myself. Womp. Overall though, solid food and good happy waitstaff = happy me!
P. S. the place is cash only!

I’m just so into this place. Completely in love with the menu… short ribs eggs benedict or french toast crème brûlée!!! Such delicious choices so little room in my bellyyyyy. Plus– who doesn’t love unlimited brunches? $ 25 enjoy a meal of your choice off the menu (great veggie choices too!) plus unlimited brunch drinks.
In the summer the sun can be pretty brutal in the backyard area, some added shade would be nice but overall I dig it. LOVE when they have a cool DJ spinning mellow brunch tunes. SO GOOD!

My boyfriend and I just ate at this cute restaurant for our early Valentine’s Day dinner. The interior was cozy and the kitchen was open for all the diners to see. After perusing the menu, I decided to ask the server if I could get the pre-​fixe menu with vegetarian options instead. She said it could be arranged, so yay for that!
We had the butternut squash soup to start (mine was sans the duck confit) and it was wonderfully creamy and spiced. Then, I had a salad made out of green beans, toasted almonds, and blue cheese. I don’t believe I’ve ever had a salad made out of fresh green beans, but it was quite pleasant. The bf had the tuna tartare japonais, and he said it was delicious. For our main, we had the risotto (bf’s came with the short ribs). Now, as mentioned in a review prior to mine, the risotto seemed to be a bit overcooked. It was a bit too mushy for my tastes, but it was seasoned well otherwise. Finally, for dessert, we had some kind of custard dish which tasted pretty good.
I wish I had gotten to try the gnocchi and my boyfriend really want to try their foie gras crème brûlée as well as their steak tartare. I would probably go back. We had a pleasant meal and the server was quite attentive.

I have been here 3 times and love it. The cocktails are awesome — the Grey Goose Pear, Ginger liquor and champage is the best martini I have ever had. Dollar oysters are a steal. Service is amazing — any issues I have had have been recified immediately (one of the oysters was not fresh — the manager apologized and brought over 2 in its place). THe female bartender is super sweet and helpful. Will be back again and again.
The duck in sage brown butter over gnocchi was the best pasta dish i have ever had — and I usually don’t love gnocchi. Tattare dishes are great — charcuterie platter is delish. Perfect place for some snacks and cocktails.

Groupon has now taken over my social life. Groupon is the reason I have dinner with friends now. Groupon is the first thing I wake up to in the morning. Yes, it is official. I am a total loser. But hey, Groupon does have some amazing deals, and if it wasn’t for the Groupon, I wouldn’t have experienced this wonderful place with my friend.
We came here on an unseasonably warm weeknight in September. It was really hot and humid so naturally we opted to sit in their outdoor garden. It was very green, comfy and peaceful. I like alfresco!
I started off with a Gojitini. It was made with quinoa vodka and goji syrup. Awesome. I was sipping on the drink and relaying to my friend that goji berries have awesome antioxidant properties and that they prevent cataracts. At this point, my friend starts asking about glaucoma and before you know it, the waiter starts telling us about his glaucoma. It is hereditary for him (as he is too young to have it). Wow, the things you learn about people.
OK, back to the main topic. The food here is excellent. We both started off with the Le Compoir salad which is haricot verts, radicchio, blue cheese, and toasted almond. Wow, oh well. Flavor burst and everything works well together.
For the main entrée, my friend got the codfish and she said it was very good. I was in the mood for tartare so I ordered the Tuna Tartare Japanais. The tuna was fresh and well seasoned. Excellent tartare.
We did have dessert but I can’t recall what it was. But, the rest of the meal was quite memorable.
A great place for a date or just a nice relaxing evening with friends.

Boyfriend: I don’t know if the hostess/​waitress is French but she is ooo la la!
Me: Babe, focus… she’s got a sweet accent and the fact that she called us Monsieur and Madam should seal the deal!
Date night once again was a huge success thanks to my awesome restaurant pick… and Groupon. My babe is so cute. He was a little skeptical to eat French food because when we ate at a French restaurant in St. Lucia, it sucked. I forgot all about that and of course, I took a look at the menu earlier in the day and had my heart set on braised short ribs with parmesan risotto. But when we got there, we were informed that the risotto was not quite ready yet. I didn’t even bother to get my panties all in a bunch, no sir. Ava always has a Plan B.
Before I start on the food, the restaurant is small, intimate, romantic and sexy. I liked how we could see the kitchen from where we were sitting and let me tell you, those chefs were doing their thing. The hostess was also the waitress and bartendress and gave each and every patron excellent customer service. Okay, enough about all this, now I will have you salivating.
I started off with sauteed baby artichokes drizzled with garlic aioli, and he had chilled cucumber and mango gazpacho with maine crab meat. Since we both loved our dishes, we ended up swapping midway through. For the main, I had roasted cod with corn, fingerling potatoes and that yummy aioli. He had the pan roasted chicken with spaetzle and bbq jus. My cod was so flaky and moist and went oh-​so-​well with the corn and potatoes. His spaetzle? To die for, damn! Finally, we shared the lightest and airiest chocolate mousse. Our palettes were definitely bellowing to the tune of «sweet child of mine». I LOVE this restaurant and we will definitely be back.
Open mind+open palette+open appetite=Le Comptoir.