Bâtard

The restaurant’s service, food, and drinks were all on point. I started with the scallops and they were perfect. The right mix of flavorings, texture and the right sized amount started my meal off right. They were followed by the fish and duck egg crème brûlée. The selection of wine was wonderful and paired well. I want to eat this meal every time I return to New York. Even the bread sampling they brought at the beginning was delicious.

Greeting– dumbfounded
Vibe– death. One of the worst decors. Dark dingy looks like a gloomy winter day. Horrible
Price– expensive
Service– horrible. Confused staff. Too many peeps you didn’t know who was who. No manager on duty. Wine Guy was only one on point
Wine list– expensive. $ 40 cheapest red
BR– two units. One toilet each.
Food
Only 139 Unilocal reviews tells you this place is not a player.
This place has the potential to be great but its core needs to be changed.
Octopus is creative. Smoked ham tastes like smoked trout due to proximity of octopus. Overall dish is tasteless
Chicken is moist and tasty
Veal is tender and mute on taste
Duck is mushy and bland
Presentations were right on. So two stars for that and the time it took to create these dishes. This place is a want a be. But with present ownership it might not be able to be what it should be. Menu is confusing. All selections blend into one long rap sheet.
WIGB? no
Too many other top restaurants in nyc that get it right

Let’s address the big elephant in the room… what the hell does Bâtard mean?! Being a Master Googler (it’s the equivalent of being a Master Somm) bâtard is a type of bread similar to baguette, but shorter. Ahh I feel like my food snobbery has just reached new food nerd levels!
OK, now that I’ve made everyone who reads this an inkling smarter let’s get to the short of my experience here: Accessible 4-​course tasting «value» at $ 82, gets you elevated and technically masterful contemporary European style cuisines with a tinge of Asian flair. Artistic and well executed plates in a chic fine dining TiBeCa setting.
One Michelin Star and the actual James Bear award medallion hangs above the bar near the front door. Service wasn’t great and we barely interacted with our server, but the food made up for it. The room is beautifully designed, and open and airy even with a packed house. Noise levels were somewhat tolerable, but we heard every single word from the really loud couple that was sitting next us. We each got the 4-​course menu and shared dishes, which turns it into an 8-​course tasting menu. What a great way to try so many different plates at a somewhat affordable price, considering the high quality of the foodie experience here.
Now on to what we ate! Going go cut and paste the menu to make sure I hit on all the ingredients, but again here’s the short: Tuna crudo was velvety and rich, but I could have used some more acid to make it pop more. The scallop crudo was sublime. Fennel tagliatelle was my favorite, with the smoked sturgeon having a meaty, bacon like quality to it. Short Rib and wagyu beef tongue, really well done and hits all those savory spots. Beautiful plating all around too, with every dish.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: toasted quinoa, soy, german sesame oil
SCALLOP CRUDO: warm citrus vinaigrette, tarragon, almond oil
FENNEL TAGLIATELLE: smoked sturgeon, caviar, pernod
GRILLED MACKEREL: spanish onions, black olives, carrot-​ginger vinaigrette
DUCK BREAST: treviso marmalade, butternut squash ravioli, king mushrooms
BRANDT BEEF SHORT RIB: black pepper streusel, grilled wagyu beef tongue, polenta
SWEET POTATO CRÉMEUX: steel-​cut oats, pecans, maple-​bourbon ice cream
DUCK EGG CRÈME BRÛLÉE: spiced pineapple, verjus, mint ice cream
We made our reservation via Open Table and they remembered it was my birthday and put a candle in my dessert. A really great dining experience that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a new, special occasion restaurant to try. The food here is really well done with such technically sound execution.

We had the tuna, octopus, duck breast and crème brûlée. The tuna was fresh but a tad light on taste. The octopus had great texture but the flavours didn’t really come together all that well. The duck breast was the highlight of the night — cooked medium rare with strong duck flavour with an excellent ravioli accompaniment (more of those please!). Dessert was quite yummy too, but overall the two appetisers let the meal down.

Extremely disappointed by the food. The ambiance and everything was pretty good, but for a Michelin restaurant I was sorely disappointed.
I went with a group of four and pretty much everything was overcooked. My entrée (the short ribs) was over seasoned – the sauce was too salty and they should’ve balanced it out with a honey glaze or something.
Desserts were so mediocre. Overall, I wouldn’t go here again.

Wonderful meal. Great service, great ambience, great food. We arrived right at 5:30 when they opened and the general manager let us in.
We had:
— Cauliflower soup: A+
— Lobster appetizer: A
— Beet appetizer: A+
— Venison: A
— Duck: A
— Duck egg crème brûlée: A
— Chocolate tort: A–
— 3 cheeses: A
We used Reserve for the reservation, which was also nice (so no need to get a bill or sign– all taken care of automatically) — use EKQV7Y for $ 5 off if you haven’t used it before.

Contemporary space with Asian notes, this Tribeca eatery from the Myriad Restaurant Group (Robert DeNiro and partners) was a lovely spot for a birthday celebration. A 2016 Michelin Star awardee, Batard offers affordable coursed meals with all the fireworks of the elite.
Chose the 4 course options and started with the Foie Gras Terrine. Traditional presentation with spiced quince, celery, lentils, and a buttery brioche to accent the gorgeous piece of Hudson Valley Foie.
Second was the Fennel Tagliatelle.
Hand cut pasta nest with flaky smoked sturgeon, caviar, and a delicate cream sauce.
For mains, the Amish Chicken. Fork tender chicken breast, roasted leeks, potato, and black trumpets.
Dessert was the Duck Egg Crème Brulee with spiced pineapple and mint ice cream. Phenomenal treat.
Generous portions and generous pours, Batard is one of best values for dinner destinations.

Great service, great olive bread, great ambiance, great duck, great fois gras.
It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a restaurant to the level of Batard. Certainly it warrants its Michelin star and James Beard award. I think the three course meal is sufficient.
The short rib was good but duck was better. The octopus appetizer was fun and would be a close second to fois gras ($ 10 up charge) .
The desserts were much better off a selection than almost every restaurant in the city. The crème brule was good but not amazing as there was a fruit at the bottom-​like glob of pineapple.
The key lime pie like dessert is much better.
Overall, great.

Another great restaurant in NYC (2015 James Beard best new restaurant & NYT 3 Stars).
Enjoyed dinner tonight. Place was packed.
You can order the 2-​, 3-​, or 4-​course prix fixe. The 4-​course was $ 82, which is a great value.
Highlight dishes for me were the main lobster, smoked sturgeon, and beef short rib dishes.
No small portions here; You will leave very full.
Unlike some of the other Michelin restaurants in NYC, the desserts here were excellent.
Compliments to Chef Glocker and the pastry chef. Many thanks to the bartender for concocting that wonderful non-​alcoholic lemon cocktail while waiting for the table.
Excellent service. The owner was there in the front greeting the patrons, and would go around the restaurant checking on the tables, which you don’t normally see in other high-​end restaurants.
Highly recommended.
: A

I really would prefer that anyone who reviews restaurants would be required to actually work in a restaurant at least ONCE in their life. Also, we should be able to eat in their home at least once in order to assess what the heck they are talking about when they review a place like this!
While I might agree with most folks that Michelin Stars meaning nothing to me, I will say that I understand why this is rated with one.
First off, the location is great because parking is a breeze after 7PM. Next, the place looks tiny from the outside, but is a strong medium-​sized place once you walk in.
Due to last minute dining, they only had seats available at the bar for Amanda B. and I. However, it did the trick just fine, since our bartender gave us excellent service while holding down his area.
We ordered the Amish Chicken, Braised Short Rib, Parpadelle with Caviar, Octopus, and they threw in a cauliflower soup with black truffle on the house. Was my first time trying both tongue (this came from Wagyu) and Octopus (believe it or not.) Everything was fantastic!
GM John Wintermen and Chef Marcus Glocker were both such nice guys (John has quite the sense of humour.) I loved how the staff was so laid back and friendly, both with customers and with each other. It wasn’t stuffy in the least bit!
I highly recommend this place. I’ll definitely be going again.

We’re doing this Pregnancy Bucket List thing, where we try to cram in a few more nice restaurants before my wife gives birth and after that I guess we never have fun again? I don’t know, what are babies like? You know what’s cheap is not drinking.
The food is really good here. We had some octopus pastrami because of course we did, and my wife ate what’s probably the best cod I’ve ever had — even doing cod is sortof funny, right? It’s like a dare. «What’s the most boring food anyone can think of?» Ta-​dah, but they basically turned it into a scallop. I felt like every element on every plate was exceptionally done — everything had something about it that made you pause. Creamed spinach tasted vividly green, somehow. The desserts were remarkable too; my chocolate torte was so deep it looked like dark matter. Even the bread was great.
Everything besides the food was awkward and weird. I had to flag my server down at one point because she was just… wandering around aimlessly, and we’d been ready to order for quite a while. No one ever explained our dishes for us; we had to stop them, like, «Remind me what all this stuff is again?» We were seated at a four-​top in a mostly-​empty dining room. I prefer to be at a table that’s just my size, if there are like 20 of them available anyway. (We could only get reservations at 5:30, thus probably the emptiness.)
So, food: brilliant; everything else; wtf. It’s a $ 200 meal even without booze, so one doesn’t expect to have anything to say about the service. Glad I tasted this dude’s food, ’cause whoa man, but I’m not gonna pick this place to celebrate when the baby grows up and leaves home. When do babies do that? Like, a year or two?

I had a good time here with Mr. Joy & enjoyed a nice dinner together. The staff was nice & friendly and seated us in a cozy booth. The restaurant is cozy and dim, but not too dark.
You can choose 2 – 4 courses from a list of appetizers, mains, and desserts.
Pricing (currently):
2-​course: $ 58
3-​course: $ 72
4-​course: $ 82
There is a cheese cart, if you happen to have room after dinner.
The wine list is vast, great for the knowledgeable wine connoisseur.
For cocktails, we ordered the 2 Batards.
$ 12 Ol Dirty Batard — Jim Beam rye, punt e mes, cocchi rosa, mole bitters &
$ 16 Inglorious Batard — fidencio lásico mezcal, grand marnier, lime, honey, bitters:
Yes, I copied that from the menu. No I don’t know what half of these things are. I don’t know much about cocktails. They were delicious. With the Ol Dirty Batard, you get more of a kick with the Jim Beam. The Inglorious Batard is a lot sweeter with the Grand Marnier of course.
Octopus «Pastrami» — braised ham hock, pommery mustard, new potatoes:
It was a pretty generous piece of «pastrami.» I liked it, though it was almost too much squid for me. Octopus can easily become tough, but this was not. The ham hocks remind me of the crispy skin on top of roast pork from Chinese restaurants, always delicious. I think the little potatoes balanced out the dish nicely. I think that the pastrami would have been even better in smaller pieces on top of a crostini.
Foie Gras Special — celery, lentils, brioche:
I believe this was an additional supplement, but it’s hard to say no to foie. It was served pâté style with just one piece of toasted brioche, which was crunchy & buttery. I ended up using spreading some of the pâté on the complimentary bread.
Brandt Beef Short Rib — lovage polenta, grilled wagyu beef tongue, black pepper streusel —
The beef tongue was good. It tastes kind of like a cross between corned beef, steak, and jerky. I enjoyed the flavor. The short ribs were so tender that it didn’t need sauce, but the sauce was put it over the top. The julienned vegetables were a nice touch. The polenta was not bad. I used to think I didn’t like polenta, but it’s growing on me. Actually I think they just make it so that the grains are very fine and end up tasting more creamy.
Duck Breast — persimmon, braised endive, almonds, chervil:
It’s nice to see duck in an American restaurant with the skin on. It was savory & juicy. The persimmon & endive injected some sweet and bitter to the profile.
Coffee & Milk «Kardinal» — French meringue, milk jam:
This was presented in a very pretty way. Plus meringues are just fun to eat. Though it got to be too sweet once we finished it. By we, I mean I finished it.
Almond Cookies were presented nicely with our check. Very nice touch. I don’t know why restaurants give complimentary sweets with the bill these days. Maybe to soften the blow? lol
All in all, the dishes are presented in a way that look like sparing quantities on rather large plates, but we were quite full once we consumed that meal. Also, service was great. If I were to return, maybe I would like to try their steak tartare.

I had a good time here with Mr. Joy & enjoyed a nice dinner together. The staff was nice & friendly and seated us in a cozy booth.
For cocktails, we ordered the 2 Batards.
Ol Dirty Batard — Jim Beam rye, punt e mes, cocchi rosa, mole bitters
Inglorious Batard — fidencio lásico mezcal, grand marnier, lime, honey, bitters
Yes, I copied that from the menu. No I don’t know what half of these things are. I don’t know much about cocktails. They were delicious. With the Ol Dirty Batard, you get more of a kick with the Jim Beam. The Inglorious Batard is a lot sweeter with the Grand Marnier of course.
Octopus «Pastrami» — braised ham hock, pommery mustard, new potatoes —
It was a pretty generous piece of «pastrami.» I liked it, though it was almost too much squid for me. Octopus can easily become tough, but this was not. The ham hocks remind me of the crispy skin on top of roast pork from Chinese restaurants, always delicious. I think the little potatoes balanced out the dish nicely. I think that the pastrami would have been even better in smaller pieces on top of a crostini.
Foie Gras Special —
I believe this was an additional supplement, but it’s hard to say no to foie. Served pâté style with a small piece of toast or crostini.
Brandt Beef Short Rib — lovage polenta, grilled wagyu beef tongue, black pepper streusel —
The beef tongue was good. It tastes kind of like a cross between corned beef, steak, and jerky. I enjoyed the flavor. The short ribs were so tender that it didn’t need sauce, but the sauce was put it over the top. The julienned vegetables were a nice touch. The polenta was not bad. I used to think I didn’t like polenta, but it’s growing on me. Actually I think they just make it so that the grains are very fine and end up tasting more creamy.
Duck Breast — persimmon, braised endive, almonds, chervil
It’s nice to see duck in an American restaurant with the skin on. It was savory & juicy. The persimmon & endive injected some sweet and bitter to the profile.
Coffee & Milk «Kardinal» — French meringue, milk jam
This was presented in a very pretty way. Plus meringues are just fun to eat. Though it got to be too sweet once we finished it. By we, I mean I finished it.
Almond Cookies were presented nicely with our check. Very nice touch. I don’t know why restaurants give complimentary sweets with the bill these days. Maybe to soften the blow? lol
All in all, the dishes are presented in a way that look like sparing quantities on rather large plates, but we were quite full once we consumed that meal. & service was great.

Some of the 1 and 2 star reviews on here are BAFFLING me!
For someone who has to count her pennies and save her money to do THIS type of dinner once a year I AM the one to judge. If I’m doing $$$$ it BETTER be good and I BETTER be happy — AND I WAS! This was an amazing experience it was pleasant the moment we stepped through the door.
The atmosphere is absolutely beautiful. The color scheme is so warm, furniture is so comfortable, you don’t feel like your sitting on top of other people — AMAZING. The service staff was wonderful, all so polite and well put together.
This is what we had:
Yellowfin Tuna — Was a really nice big piece! The sauce with it was soooo creamyy
Octopus Pastrami — Really different and AWESOME
Duck Breast — SOOOOOO GOOD
Brandt Beef Short Rib — Really nice big thick piece hollyyyy crapp!
Chocolate Torte — The fluffiest chocolate I have ever had
Duck Egg Crème Brulee — Sooo creamy and perfectly caramelized on top
They do have realllyyyy good wine, and some of the wine by the glass are VERY reasonable.
The second course came out a little late, but it’s okay because to make up for it they brought us ANOTHER appetizer for free. :) THAT was wonderful.
It definitely deserved being a James Beard award winner.

Another top resto I was expecting more from. High expectations going in, but they weren’t fully met.
Service was good, not great. Took awhile to take drink/​wine order and we had to ask someone to get our server so we could order dinner. It seemed like 3 minutes later the first course arrived. Definitely odd timing. Also took forever for the bread (very delicious) to be refilled after we asked for more.
Food…a little disappointing. The pastrami octopus was interesting, but the balance between very salty and very peppery wasn’t what I was expecting. The sweetbreads, while not crispy like we usually like, were very tasty.
Mains…the pork loin was a bit too smoky for my liking and the short rib was a bit dry.
Dessert was the chocolate tort, which was lovely. Wine list is very impressive and we ordered a nice bottle of burgundy, but took untill close to the end of the bottle for it to really open up.
The resto was also louder than expected. Thought it would be a more sedate and cozy atmosphere, but it wasn’t. And tables were very close together here.
Not disappointed we went… just not a place we need to visit again.

Came here to celebrate a birthday, food, service and ambience were top notch. They did a really good job with all the food, but what surprised me the most was the pasta. I’m normally not a pasta person, but their pasta was absolutely perfect in texture and balance of flavors. Even if you don’t want to order it just for yourself, maybe just order it to share at the table because it was delicious albeit very rich. I would also say that this is a pretty decent tasting menu deal for the price and quality in NYC. You get to choose your courses from any item on the menu.

Our first visit to Batard was disappointing. We chose it because it was near to a theater in the neighborhood, and because we had never tried it. The service was poor for such an expensive restaurant. Maybe it was because we weren’t regulars, or weren’t dressed up like many of the other patrons. When ordering, I asked our waiter for a glass of wine to complement my entrée, but had to remind a busboy after my entrée arrived, who brought something, but since the waiter never came over to discuss the wine’s qualities with me, for all I know they just poured me whatever was open and at the front of the refrigerated unit.
I had three courses. The food, for the most part, was very good, but with two serious flaws, and at those price points ($ 72 for three courses), everything should be perfect. Salad had two large pieces of kale that were so harsh and rough i stopped eating them after the first bite, completely at odds with all the other delicate leaves in the salad. The menu listed crosnes (plural) as one of the featured ingredients, but my salad had exactly one (¾″ long), split in half.
Dorade (fish) was perfect — very happy. Carrot cake was good by itself — the pumpkin schmear didn’t do anything for it, the four tiny roasted blueberries were a nice touch, but the dessert was nearly ruined by the hazelnut crumble under the quenelle of ice cream — the hazelnuts had clearly gone rancid. I left the remainder of it on the plate. But worse was when we mentioned this to the waiter, rather than relay this information to the kitchen, instead chose to argue and protest, saying «I saw them prepare it this morning!» Well, the crumble might have been made that day, but the hazelnuts it was made from could still have been rancid.
Given the many other fine restaurants in Tribeca, I’m doubtful we’ll return.

Not impressed at all. Came here prior to attending a charity event nearby. Portions were tiny and not that great.

James Beard 2015 Best New Restaurant award winner. Prix fixe menu with a great deal options. Batard seems to have a connection with Per Se. I don’t know what it is but there is a menu framed in the woman’s bathroom, it’s made for the chef, in 2008, from Per Se. Thomas Keller’s east coast French Laundry. I did love Per Se and French Laundry, and was surprised that then, Batard beats out Spotted Pig and Per Se in some critic’s write up.
Of course perfect service. Not missing a beat, everything and everywhere are seamless. Like you don’t know when the water was refilled and finished plates are removed from your table. The price has not risen since they opened in May 2014. It’s quite reasonable. At $ 55 for two course and $ 69 for three.
I like TriBeCa, and had stayed here one late fall. It’s very nice to get into the season with the leaves turning golden.
Batard has excellent Burgundy, another thing to love, as I have a place there. Their house made bread is addictive.
There has never been another octopus dish that wowed me like this one except the one in Santorini, but this one is decidedly different, served as a general slice of terrine, with pastrami sprinkled, as New York as it can be.
Duck breast was very tender with baked persimmons along side. It inspired me to make some dishes for those endless supply of persimmons from my girlfriend’s trees back at home.
A very interesting phenom. So many people dining here take photos of the food. When did it become such a thing? I mean I do it because I’ve been doing it for years, before there was any real social media thing, but these people either have taken after me (not likely), or that it’s a thing here. In case you should feel so inspired to Instagram or FB it, there is a free wifi, ask for password and you are in. And they do charge your cell phone if you ask them, because you’ve used up all the juice taking photos somewhere else earlier. It’s a thing here too.
One of my best birthday meals: obviously beats Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare last year; and nearly on par with French Laundry, Saison and Benu, all Michelin 3 star restaurants, definitely comparable to Daniel, Coi, Jean Georges as well, and of course at a fractional cost. So all things considered, this is a win win.

This time around the food was much better but I didn’t get too excited about any of the dishes. The duck crème brûlée sounded very interesting but ended up just being a regular crème brûlée that used a duck egg. The pastas were surprisingly delicious here.
Food:
Octopus pastrami: decent
Yellowfin tuna: pretty good
Lobster: very good
Quail: decent; not my favorite
Foie gras terrine with toast: pretty good, but could be creamier
Fall green salad: decent; I wouldn’t order this again
Celeriac agnolotti with apple: delicious; must order this
Risotto: pretty good but wasn’t the best one of the pastas
Fennel tagliatelle with sturgeon and caviar: I don’t normally like fennel, but this was delicious and a must-​try
Duck: delicious
Chicken schnitzel: very soft and tasted OK; wasn’t my favorite
Duck crème brûlée: pretty good, but this tasted like a regular crème brûlée
Coffe and milk kardinal: OK; prefer the crème brûlée over this one

The reviews on Unilocal were solid, and I was enamored with the Michelin star and James Beard award. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wowed by my experience at Batard. While everything was solid, good, even, it wasn’t particularly interesting.
I ordered the octopus pastrami, the barley risotto and the duck breast. In terms of how much I liked each of the dishes, I liked the duck breast the most — it was perfectly prepared and the associated jus/​sauce was good. The accoutrement added little to the duck so it tasted quite plain.
I’d heard a lot about the octopus pastrami, but it was the most disappointing dish… perhaps because it was the one I anticipated the most. The octopus pastrami is a slice of tightly-​packed tentacles cut into what looks like a slice of octopus-​loaf. It was cooked with ham hock and it tasted so strongly of ham that I could almost not quite tell that I was eating octopus.
There is the option of 2, 3 and 4 courses, and the pricing is quite good for such a highly-​rated restaurant. Service was understated, prompt and helpful.

Based on reviews, I selected Batard as one of the three restaurants to eat at on my recent trip to NYC with my Mother. Overall, it was everything you would expect from a Michelin starred restaurant.
I had the scallops, followed by the duck breast. My Mother had the quail, followed by the Branzino. All of the dishes were perfectly cooked and well presented. We opted for the cheese course, and it was the only dish that was underwhelming as we found the portions small and the cheeses that had been recommended ok, but not great.
The wine selection is fabulous and heavily skews towards red Burgundies. Prices range from the low $ 60s to $ 1,000++. We had a lovely 2010 Premier Cru — La Fussiere MARAGNES that was on the lower end of the price scale and went perfectly with our meal. The service was excellent.
I’m not sure I would go back, but I would recommend eating here when evaluating Michelin starred restaurants in New York. I’d been warned the restaurant could be noisy, but did not find that to be the case, especially on a Monday night.

My boyfriend had to run a last minute errand in TriBeCa on a Friday night, so I suggested we dine at Bâtard since we are never in this neighborhood. We liked how the menu consisted of a great variety of different cuisines. The menu style is also one of our favorites (similar to Piora’s), where you can order two, three, or four courses for a set price. We love that because sometimes we have a bigger appetite than other days, so it’s great that we aren’t stuck with a set pri fixe like many restaurants.
I had the tagliatelle and the branzino, which were both absolutely delicious. I think my man had the quail and duck courses, and he even commented that he would lick his plates clean if that were socially acceptable. The dessert we shared was also amazing and worthy of licking the plate.
The ambiance was a little weird and the servers weren’t as attentive as they could be. But definitely want to return if I’m ever this far downtown.

The hype is real. Markus Glocker and his staff have crafted a beautiful menu which is showcased in an elegant restaurant. A trainee of Charlie Trotter and Gordon Ramsay, Glocker opened Batard in 2014 with the help of famous restaurateur Drew Nieporent (Nobu, Tribeca Grill). I waited about a year to visit because I hate visiting restaurants early on when they’re still working out the kinks.
My wife and I came for dinner and had the 3-​course pre-​fixe. We both opted to do two apps and a main which they allow. You don’t necessarily have to do dessert which is pretty cool. For our first course we had the Quail Ballotine and Scallops. The Ballotine was pretty amazing and I’ve never had a dish quite like it. The quail thigh is stuffed with liver and other forcemeat, then trussed up like a giant sausage. It was sliced into circles and served over cabbage, caraway, pumpkin oil vinaigrette and topped with a sunny side up egg.
For the second course we had the Fennel Tagliatelle and Octopus «Pastrami.» The Tagliatelle is carefully rolled and straddled by two pieces of smoked sturgeon. There’s also cavier in the pernod sauce. The Octopus «Pastrami» is another super creative dish which looks like a mini cobblestone road. It’s essentially a octopus terrine which is pretty fun.
Our final courses were the Duck Breast and Roasted Cod. The Cod was a bit over-​salted, but the accompanying flavors were good. It kind of has an asian flair to it and if you like eggplant then you’ll like the Cod dish. I had to try the Duck Breast — it’s a staple for me whenever I visit French restaurants. It was cooked perfectly and the figs that it was served with were excellent.
On the whole I was very impressed with Batard it’s probably like 4.3−4.5 stars and I can’t wait to return in the future.

Knew Batard is a Michelin starred restaurant, but did not know it is also a James beard award winner… ok adding up the two together was definitely worth trying.
It only has three options, two, three or four courses prix-​fixe menu. Being stuck in middle of hungry and full, I chose the three course one. Octopus was definitely one thing that can never go wrong. The mosaic texture further added toward its freshness. For main course, grilled suck cooked medium rare as suggested by our waitress was one of the best I have tried in town, so juicy and silky that almost gradually melt in my mouth. Chocolate mousse was just at my expectation, nothing remarkable yet no miss either.
The restaurant was not crowded at all with many empty tables when I dined here. Not quite sure about the reason as both food and décor were beyond satisfactory.

So Bartard has won an award for best new restaurant. Booked reservations a month in advance and waited patiently… the night we were there we saw Jason Biggs sitting across the table from us.
As for the food everything is a pre fixe for either 2, 3 or 4 course meal. I opted for a 2 course and the boyfriend had the 3 course in which we shared the dessert. It was the perfect amount of food.
They start off with two mini complimentary bread and it was soft and warm, just the way I like it. I had the octopus pastrami while the boyfriend had the lobster salad for an additional $ 7. Both were a great choice. As for the entrée I had the uni and clam pasta and it was great (light creamy pasta). I also tried the bf’s salmon entrée and it was cooked perfectly with really good sauce. Rhubarb for dessert was light and refreshing, great way to end a perfect meal.

IN SHORT: Can food imitate art? It can when it’s cooked with the creativity and technical dexterity of Markus Glocker, whose modern European dishes at Bâtard offer a conceptual freshness and energy rarely found in a meal.
THE STORY: When I look at piece of truly compelling art, like a Pollock, or a Rauschenberg, or even a Koons, I’m struck not just by the beauty of the piece, but also by a greater sense of the vision of a pioneer adding to the discipline. To then find this instinct at a restaurant in Manhattan, well, that’s when I knew something extraordinary was happening at Bâtard.
For Bâtard is simultaneously changing the definition of northern European cuisine with ferocity and clarity, and then presenting this cooking in a warm, relaxed setting that prioritizes comfort and pleasure over sterility and politeness. The Octopus «Pastrami,» a beautifully composed, contemporary collage of small circles of octopus leg pressed together like found object sculpture, best illustrates what dining at Bâtard means. Meaty, smoky spices are woven throughout, with rich, pommery mustard, braised ham hock, and new potatoes rounding out the plate. Each bite explores a new balance of texture and flavor, providing a tour from dense sumptuousness to crispy lightness with a powerful clarity that never falters.
Indeed, like a deeply complex Kandinsky, Mr. Glocker’s food expresses volumes about his sophisticated culinary vocabulary without becoming muddled.
The Wild Mushroom Tart deconstructs and abstracts what we know about the dish into an elaborate plate with bits of walnut crust and celery root that frame the tender, herbaceous bites of mushroom, while the Black Pepper Cavatelli synthesizes oxtail, green olives, and mint into a dish that marries sweet, earthy freshness with a hearty, salty jus.
The Duck Breast is then more about thematic consistency. Even the color of the perfectly cooked, supple duck whose expertly rendered fat seems to melt into the pink meat below a skin that suggests crispiness without shouting it, mimics its foil of pink shallots across the plate. The sweetness of the forelle pear then complements the richness of the duck liver mousse and mushroom crêpe in a surprisingly innovative and elegant combination. It is a dish balanced by a chef who is also an artist, or perhaps an artist who also happens to be a chef.
Fortunately (and refreshingly), the food at Bâtard is not matched by gallery prices. Two courses from the fixed price, a la carte menu will run for $ 55, while those who want to try a dessert like Mr. Glocker’s own Caramelized Milk Bread with blueberries and brown butter ice cream, or perhaps even another smaller plate, can expect to pay $ 69 or $ 79 for three or four courses, respectively.
With the vision of Markus Glocker and the hospitality of Drew Nieporent and Myriad Restaurant Group, Bâtard is surely one of New York’s best new restaurants of the past year. Yet the manner in which Bâtard innovates and evolves cuisine with stunning beauty while making it accessible to far more than just a few privileged patrons of the art is truly timeless.
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