I first read about Buvette in an issue of Martha Stewart Living just before we launched Map & Menu last winter. Not knowing that we’d soon make a website dedicated to our favorite places & restaurants, I tucked Buvette somewhere into the back of my mind, only to call upon it a couple of weeks later when we launched the site and came up with our ‘Hopeful Reservations’ list in the sidebar. When we started finalizing our plans for our trip to New York, eating a meal at Buvette – whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner – was an absolute must for us.

Our summer trip to France is never really far from our minds, even five months after returning home, and eating dinner at Buvette earlier this month made the memories seem all that much closer. At one point during our meal, Michael confessed that he honestly thought for a brief second that we were back in Paris. This, coming from the decidedly more pragmatic of our duo, is quite telling of the Buvette experience. (It should also be noted that Michael said ‘merci’ to our waiter more than once that night, merely out of the habit we developed in France. Of course, it probably helped that our waiter was French with a heavy accent.)

Our entire meal at Buvette was spectacular. From the Rosette cocktail, to the pomodorini tartines and, finally the moules a la rouille, I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of the flavorful french cuisine. Michael’s cavoletti with pecorino & walnuts and coq au vin seemed to bring the same smile to his face as was on mine, and the caramelized apple tarte tatin that we shared for dessert almost caused a fight over who should get the last bite.

If you’re looking for a delicious and authentic French meal in Manhattan, it would be hard not to recommend Buvette.