Grand Brasserie in Grand Central Train Station

We currently went to Grand Brasserie, a French restaurant that opened few months ago in Grand Central Terminal. This place boasts more than 400 seats in a unique decor representing a French brasserie and offers a menu with many classics. This place has four main areas: the dining room split between regular seats and high tops, the green room and the bar in the back, that is louder and with dimmer lights as this is a more confined space.

For appetizers, I tried their escargots persillade ($21) that is made with garlic, parsley and butter, my favorite part being dipping some bread in that buttery sauce (by the way, the bread was disappointing, that is sad for a French place). They did not serve the snails the classic way, and instead, put them in an onion soup bowl, covered with puff pastry that I dipped in the butter. Unusual, but quite delicious. I also liked their pate en croute ($24) that had a perfect texture and was superb.

For entrees, I loved their duck confit ($38), that was served with pommes salardaises and frisee salad (not my favorite salad as a bit bitter, but I do not know why, I always love it with duck). I also tried their steak frites: at Grand Brasserie, you pick the cut you want between entrecôte, that I tried ($59 - boneless rib part of the cow, not as good as a ribeye), filet ($63), bone-in NY strip ($63) and a skirt steak ($37), with a choice of sauce (I chose béarnaise that is my favorite with steak). The steak was good, slightly over from the medium-rare temperature I ordered, but I admit that it was not earth chattering: I had better steaks in less fancy places. Still, it was good, but not a dish I would absolutely recommend. The fries were as I like them, thin, crispy on the outside and cooked all the way though, perfect with the béarnaise sauce that was well made, or some mayonnaise that I always ask for, dipping first in ketchup and then mayo…Jodi got their ravioli a la Parisienne ($32) that are mushroom ravioli with truffle in a creamy sauce: this was succulent! The ravioli were perfectly cooked, bathed in a rich cream that was drizzled with a bit of truffle, not enough of it (there is never enough truffle). But the most surprising dish, that is not so French, but something I would recommend as well is their crispy cauliflower that is like a cauliflower parmesan. Crispy on the outside and well cooked inside, it was topped with a tomato confit and some cheese. What a great way to serve what has become a staple in many restaurants wanting to offer a vegetarian entree.

With our meals, I decided to try their espresso martini that was well balanced, as well as a season’s special: their bourbon apple cider that was perfect on a cold day (I just thought that they could have had a better presentation).

Desserts is where they fall short: the ile flottante ($14) was small and the fig jam they added in the bottom of the plate killed the delicious creme anglaise; the baba au rhum ($13) was too dense and the tarte tatin ($14) not as buttery and sweet as I would have expected.

Despite the dessert not being great, I would go back to Grand Brasserie to try some other appetizers and entrees, if not, I would probably stick with the escargots and the duck…Although the place is big, I suggest a reservation and be patient: the drawback of being one of the largest restaurants in the city is that the food is slow to come out and the service not always on point.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Grand Brasserie - 89 E 42nd St. Vanderbilt Hall,. New York, NY 10017

I Just Want To Eat!