Soho restaurant
 

I'm looking for the perfect restaurant in Soho.

Small, great food, slightly romantic, cool atmosphere....

Any ideas?

Montrachet or Chanterelle........

Montrachet or Chantrelle .... ???

None of these are going to work for the OP.

First of all, these restaurants are in Tribeca, not in Soho.

Secondly, Montrachet is closed.

Not knowing your budget or cuisine preferences and as "perfect' is subjective at best here are some places that are small, have interesting atmosphere and very good food:

Raoul's; Kittichai; Country Cafe; and Savoy.

Provence, a beautiful French restaurant which closed and has been taken over by the people who own Cookshop and Five Points, is scheduled to reopen in the next week or so.
check out menus and addresses at: www.menupages.com

Balthazar
Great French bistro -- delicious food, fun atmosphere

Balthazar is certainly neither "small" nor "slightly romantic."

Check out Blue Ribbon .. it fits the bill.

And while it's not necessarily "small," Lure Fishbar's atmosphere is very cool and the food is incredible.

Acquagrill: Seafood
Blue Ribbon: but does it take reservations.

Raoul's make sure you request the garden room.
The bar and the main room are not romantic.

Oh and for drinks Pegu Club.

Thanks everyone!

What about Lupa? On the other side of Houston, but really a block from Soho.
Or, Fiamma?

Second for Aquagrill and Savoy.

Savoy has this amazing tomato sauce they give you with garlic/butter/spicey flatbread - I dream about it.

I don't think Lupa is "slightly romantic".

The tables are close enough to accidentaly nudge neighboring diners, or worse, they can end up getting seats in one of the communal tables; plus, it is one very, very noisy restaurant.

Great food, though .... and remains one of my favorite trattoria anywhere.

I thought about recommending Fiamma, but heard the chef the one who just wrote the cookbook that was just published left the restaurant. So I haven't been there since the chef left.

I think the chef left sometime last fall.

At Lupa, when you make your reservation, request a table in the back if you want romantic. They can't ALWAYS accomodate, but they do try to.

Aquagrill, Kittichai, Blue Ribbon, or Jean-Claude.

Provence reopened last night.

Great atmosphere - don't know about the new chefs & cuisine, of course.

Walked by Provence tonight on our way home from Ditch Plains in the W. Village. It was pretty packed, so looks like things are boding well for them.

Would also toss up Salt or Goblin Market for consideration.

I had a horrible experience at Goblin Market ... half the menu was not available, sloppy service, mediocre food.

But the lobster roll at Ditch Plains ... excellent!

I mostly go to Ditch Plains for the wine, but I think the lobster roll at Pearl is WAY better.

Sorry you had such a bad experience at Goblin Market. We've been a few times for dinner and brunch and it's always been great.

My bad experience happened before it had "officially" opened, so maybe I should give it another shot ... but then again with so many great options in the city I'm not sure.

Bistro Les Amis is a nice, small bistro. Check menupages.com. You can search by locaiion and type of food, view menus and read user reviews.

Continuing our sidebar...I agree. I think Blue Ribbon is better, it just gets so damn crowded.

I'm hesitant to post this because the restaurnt is a little secret for me. A French, Provencal restaurant in Soho called Le Jardin Bistro. Amazing food, never too crowded and in the summer months, their garden in the back is just about the perfect place to be. Half the area in the garden is partially sheltered with grape vines. Their foie gras is one of my favourites in the city. Truth be told, I like the lunch & dinner here more than that at Balthazar.
It's fits your requirements although it's not a "cool atmosphere" if you meant the new glass & dark curtains look.