Tout Va Bien -NYC: Great Lunch
 

We had a marvelous Bistro Lunch in NYC this past Sunday, Oct 23rd, at Tout Va Bien (Theater district - NYC) - and were joined by Big Apple natives Paul (Pheymount) and Jacqueline (Stardancer), while Marian and Mike and Reggie came over from New Jersey, Jane flew all the way in from Italy - and Lucille came cross country from San Diego - and Robb came up from St. Augistine, Fla - and yours truly also came in from San Diego (by way of Chicago and the USC at Notre Dame Game).

After walking down the steps into Tout Va Bien - you felt as if you have been instantly transported to an authentic French Cafe, complete with classic pictures on the wall and the staff speaking French accented English. Our bartender/waiter Chris couldn't have been the more perfect French host - humorous and attentive, yet permitting us a most leisurely pace while enjoying our wonderful Bistro Lunch. (Here's their webpage and I pasted pictures at the bottom of this review http://www.letoutvabien.com/about.html)

And our other server - Celine from Aix - was also tres manifique.

From the start - including the delightful H'or D'oeuvres on the table and the very acceptable house wine, the special Kir or even tea - it was a truly European experience that one would find in a quality sidewalk cafe - all over Europe.

The three course prix fixe meal (Only $15) allowed a choice of salad or soup (the French Onion soup was simply marvelous - and the salad was very tasty and appealing to the eye) - and for the main entree - the Moules Marinere were fantatic, as the Saumon Provencale, Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq Au Vin were also very good.

Et oh la la - a complimentary escargot - was served in a most delicable sauce.

And for dessert - all were scrumptious - including the Mouse Au Chocolat, and Tarte Tatin - but but but - the Creme Brulee was to "die for".

Oh Oh - what's this? A generous - complimentary punch bowl of Sangria - with freshly cut fruit floating on the top? What a way to top off a Tres Incredible repast, non?

Visited October 2011

I first ate at Tout Va Bien in 1969 and it was very good even back then. I went regularly (5 or 6 times a year) until 1991 when I moved to a different part of the country. I never had a bad meal there.

It's a real "find".

We've been going there for years. Their frites
are fabulous. We always get them as a side no matter what we're eating.

Sounds great! I'm not seeing the photo link at the end of the review but I'd love to check them out!

That review (from a first-time poster) reads like a press release to me. Sorry.

You do have to wonder about the OPW - one post wonders!

Tout va Bien is an institution and always outstanding, no need for some special review.

OPW--I'd not heard that one before!

I don't get the "punch bowl of sangria," though.

Maybe they used Burgundy to make the sangria?

yelp has more reliable reviews as does Trip Advisor (on their NYC forum) for this restaurant. It seems to be a favorite of many.

They used a red wine - perhaps a Burgandy/Pinor Noir to make the great Sangria, and Chris also added a little Brandy I think. In any event - it perfectly capped off the meal, following the Creme Brulee et al.

BTW - Sandi - while I am a bit of a newbie here, I have blogged on other travel sites for years, with thousands of posts. And thanks for the warm welcome to Fodors. :)

BTW2: I am a bit of a foodie.

Oh yes. Forgot to also thank ekscrunchy. Glad my blog is up to press release standards. I really do better with sports.

Bowsprt: Check out this webpage and click around and you can see the great pics. http://www.letoutvabien.com/about.html,

Bowspirit: Here is the actual photo gallery webpage:
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant...o_gallery.html

Thanks! It looks like Buenos Aires in the Village.

Very apropos - and as you know - not for nothing do they call BA the Paris of South America. :)

But the "flavor" of Tout Va Bien was distinctly French - and they even had about 50 well heeled patrons in the back dining room, long time members of a NYC French Club.

Lovely review indeed! I hope I could have joined you but I'm sure there will be a next time, right? For those who wonder, I'm also a frequent poster in other travel boards and have had the pleasure of talking to most of the people attending the lunch. Nice to meet you! :)

Anna: Great to hear from you. Where else have you been traveling to lately?

I'm actually surprised it gets so many good reviews. I had many a business lunch and dinner there way back when, and I never found it memorable. The space was cute, for sure, but the food never knocked my socks off.

But they're still there - so clearly they must be doing something right.

Maybe they're just consistently reliable. For many, that's good enough.

I love the place, and normally don't expect such a simple and very inexpensively priced place to "knock my socks off" -- perhaps it would be wrong to expect a Le Bernardin dining experience when you are paying $15 for three courses?

I'd love to find some places that for that kind of pricing does indeed "knock my socks off". I have lots of good reliable places in that price range however. Care to share, YankyGal?

LOL, Neo - that's funny that you mentioned Le Bernardin because this thread got me thinking about other business lunches and Le Bernardin came to mind. Aquavit, too. Colleagues and I did both of those during restaurant week so it wasn't much more than $15! But yeah, I know, those are far from $15 on a regular day.

I guess I was just thinking that people typically don't write about those "good, reliable places" online (and I'm mainly referring to the fact that someone mentioned there were a lot of reviews on yelp and TA), but I guess in this age of twitter, that's not really true anymore.

Last time we were in NYC, my husband and I did a pizza-themed trip. We ate pizza at 7 different places in 4 days (what can I say? I miss my NYC pizza.) Posto (2nd Ave & 18th) did knock my socks off, but it was not a 3-course lunch.