Ellen or anyone else ...If time does not allow us to eat at both , which one would you choose? I have a feeling that Esca! will be the winner.

Thanks.

Night & Day. One is 9th Ave southern Italian with an emphasis on seafood; the other is SoHo French brasserie. Both offer decent food, although Balthazar is way beyond its prime. Just curious -- Why are you choosing between those two very different restaurants?

Hi Ted,

In answer to your question, we can't possibly eat at all of the places that we want during our upcoming trip. At this point, we don't think that we want any 'special' pre-theater dinners as we want to eat leisurely later in the evening, about 9:00PM or so. We already have reservations for several restaurants, but would like to book one or two more.

We have so many choices, thanks to this forum and other information, that we now must start eliminating restaurants.

I know that Balthazar and Esca are totally different types of restaurants, apples and oranges, but we have to choose between them to as we can't schedule both during this trip.

In what way is Balthazar past it's prime? We have eaten at many French brasseries both in the U.S. and in France, so we know what basically to expect. I guess because we have heard about it for so many years, and have many friends who have eaten there, that we wanted to try it.

Ellen recommended Esca and the reviews were so good, that we want to go there too.

We also want to leave some nights open, no bookings, so that we can find some things on our own, and play it by ear.

If this sounds confusing to you .... can you imagine how I feel about now. We are leaving in two weeks, so I only have a day or so left to make the remainder of our advance reservations.

Both are good, but I'd give the nod to Esca. Balthazar is a very large restaurant and feels very touristy, which probably wouldn't bother you since you're a tourist. But the food is good; I particularly remember a heavenly pumpkin ravioli dish. Balthazar is a very bustling sort of place.

If you're coming from the theater, Esca is more convenient. The focus is on fish, though you probably know that. If you're not a huge fish lover, I'd choose Balthazar instead.

What I mean by Balthazar being past its prime is captured in gab's post. It has become a tourist destination. Once a restaurant is in guidebooks as being hip, it's over. The food is great, however, but don't be surprised to see a bunch of fanny-packed people looking for Puff Daddy or Leo & Gisele.

Bottom line: You can't go wrong with either choice, but since you've done the brasserie thing elsewhere, why not choose Esca?

Hi, Esca is the best choice for dinner. If you really want to go to Balthazar, why not go for lunch? Combine it with some shopping in Soho.

Esca - dressy casual or jacket & tie? I'm calling them now for a reservation. Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback on Balthazar. Although technically we are tourists, we like to think of ourselves as visitors.

We do of course visit tourist sights while traveling, how else would we see many things that are so worth seeing. BUT when it comes to dining, we try to avoid tourist restaurants like the plague. We travel for the food as well as for the sights. Sometimes our dinner is the highlight of our day. Good food and good service, a non-beatable combination.

Unbeatable combination, not non-beatable.