Bistro Lamazou

Note: Bistro Lamazou closed in July 2012. In a familiar story, they closed for renovations, then two months later announced that the closure was permanent.

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I don’t spend much time in Kips Bay, but apparently Nancy and Aziz Lamazou did everything right: their neighborhood cheese and sandwich shop, Lamazou, has fans galore.

So they decided to double down, opening a new restaurant, Bistro Lamazou, taking over a store that used to be a Blockbuster Video. The space is striking, with two bars (one for liquor, the other cheese), a communal table, and an ample dining room, which I fear may be too large for the area.

The chef, Jean-Claude Teulade, who once worked at La Côte Basque, offers a menu centered on North Africa (where Aziz Lamazou is from), though it pays tribute to many other cuisines. The Times describes it as French, a somewhat misleading label.

The menu, with its many categories, meanders more than it should. Appetizers are roughly $8–18, entrées $18–29, though it is sometimes hard to tell which is which. The burger is $18, which strikes me as audacious.

A whole section of the menu is captioned “From the Cheese Bar.” Given the owners’ background we had to try some. The Cheese and Charcuterie Sampler ($24; left) was bizarre, with its centerpiece a fountain of prosciutto and melon balls dangling out of a martini glass, with cornichons and pickled onions on the side. (It also came with a plate of bread, not pictured.)

It was far too much for two people. Four could have shared it happily. The ingredients were fine, but the selection balance was off: it could have used more cheese and less meat, especially coming from a team that specializes in the former.

Entrées were ample too: Couscous with Lamb & Vegetables ($27; above left); the Braised Lamb Shank ($25; above right). If no new culinary ground was broken, they were well prepared and attractively presented.

The wine list is ambitious, for a restaurant like this, with more than fifty bottles, mostly from France, Italy, and Tunisia, with plenty of options below $50. But I was less impressed when I ordered a 2005 Valpolicella Classico Superiore, and was presented with a 2008, which the server did not notice until I pointed it out. The printed price, $42, would have been a bargain for an ’05. Not so much for a bottle three years younger.

Aside from that, service was fine for a restaurant roughly two months old. It was not crowded at 8:00 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. It’s a cute place, and I would certainly visit again if I were in the neighborhood.

Bistro Lamazou (344 Third Avenue between 25th & 26th Streets, Kips Bay)

Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

Barbès

Barbès is a comfortable French–Moroccan restaurant in Murray Hill, named for a Paris neighborhood known for its North African immigrant population. It is less than a block from the Pierpont Morgan Library. Indeed, it was an evening concert at the PML that drew my friend and me to a pre-show dinner at Barbès.

 
Tomate Montrachet (left); Couscous Royale (right)

I started with the Tomate Montrachet ($9.75), a warm tomato and goat cheese salad in a red wine vinaigrette. It was competently done, if rather dull. For the main course, I had the Couscous Royale ($20.75), which comes studded with lamb, chicken, and Merguez sausage. Frank Bruni raved about this dish in his one-star review, but I found it a bit dry. It came out rather quickly, so clearly all the ingredients were prepped in advance, and perhaps had simmered a bit too long.

My friend ordered two appetizers, which I didn’t photograph, but I noted that either one of them could have been an entrée in many restaurants. She particularly enjoyed the Confit de Canard, which Frank Bruni also liked.

After the concert, we came back for dessert. I was rather lax in my note-taking, but I believe this was the Warm Apple Tart ($7), which was wonderful: the best thing I had all evening.

The dining room was considerably busier later on, but on both visits the service was fast and attentive. Tables are rather closely spaced in the 50-seat dining room, and the sound track was a little too loud for our taste.

Portions are generous and prices moderate, with appetizers $7.75–12.75, and entrées $17.75–26.75. There are an ample number of reasonably priced wines, including the Crozes-Hermitage we had for around $35.

The food is uneven, but if you have a craving for Moroccan food, there isn’t a lot of competition. For that, and for being a decent sensibly-priced option in its neighborhood, Barbès wins a star.

Barbès (21 East 36th Street near Madison Avenue, Murray Hill)

Food: *
Service: *
Ambiance: *
Overall: *

Mosaique

I’ve just returned from a week in London. On past trips, I’ve spent my London evenings at the theatre. This trip, I wanted to focus on restaurants. I arrived on a Wednesday, but had no specific reservations until Friday.

On Thursday, I was a bit under-the-weather and didn’t want to travel far. Mosaique was located about a ten-minute walk from my hotel. On a stiflingly hot evening, its open-air façade and faintly Mediterranean décor seemed appropriate.

I loved deep-fried brie (£3.50), two pie-shaped slices with a charred-brown exterior from the deep fryer, and with a lingonberry sauce. Monkfish (£9.25) was tender and came with a vegetable medley. Add a half-bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (£9.50), and I was out of there for £22.25, making this probably the best dining bargain of the trip. There were two servers, who kept things running efficiently.

The restaurant is not really near any important destinations, so which might explain why only a handful of tables were taken. It’s a reasonably walk from King’s Cross, Russell Square, Farringdon, and Holborn, without really being convenient to any of them. 

Mosaique (73 Gray’s Inn Road, between Guilford St and Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8TP)

Food: *½
Service: *½
Ambiance: *
Overall: *½