Guide: Long Island French restaurants
French onion soup at Sunflower Café and Bakery in Bayport. Credit: Randee Daddona
Long Island has been experiencing a boomlet of French restaurants, with eateries establishing themselves along la rive sud from Long Beach to the Hamptons. With the Summer Olympics in full swing in Paris, now may be le bon moment to indulge in some moules-frites and coq au vin, washed down with real Champagne. We’re highlighting recent openings, but scroll down for a taste of the Island’s ancien regime.
Bar Clementine
553 Main St., Islip
Open since March, Bar Clementine already feels like an Islip landmark. The cozy-chic, vaguely Art Deco eatery unlocks its doors at 4 p.m. and, almost immediately, the long marble bar is full of locals working their way through its uncommonly well chosen wine list and cocktails like the signature Clementine: clementine-infused vodka with clementine and lime juices, Aperol, vanilla, egg white and a lime leaf. This is a second venture for Matt and Eileen Connors and Jay Gut, owners of Bay Shore’s Lake House. Andrew Castano's French-inflected menu includes starters such as duck confit, onion soup, bacon-goat-cheese tart and escargot in garlic butter and frisée lardon salad, entrees like skirt steak frites, sea scallops Provençal and herb-roasted chicken. Non-Gallic items include fritto misto (fried calamari, rock shrimp, artichoke and zucchini), local clams and Shamrock oysters on the half shell, chopped Greek salad, a cheeseburger and fettuccine with Gulf shrimp and melted leeks. Most snacks and starters range from $12 to $17, sandwiches from $19 to $25, mains from $29 to $36. More info: 631-277-2753, barclementineislip.com
The signature Clementine cocktail at Bar Clementine in Islip. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Brasserie by Chef Aless
5590 Merrick Rd., Massapequa
Brasserie by Chef Aless opened last spring, a collaboration between Alessandra MacCarthy, the chef of a shuttered Manhattan family bistro, and her husband, Justin. The restaurant, outfitted typically with white subway-tiled walls, perimeter banquettes, leather cushioned wood-backed chairs and marble-topped bistro tables, became a local spot with a vast menu of French staples. Currently serving dinner and Sunday brunch, it offers appetizers including leeks in vinaigrette, Marseille-style langoustines with paprika and lemon, French onion soup, and mussels served in white wine or curry sauces. Entrees include pan-seared branzino served with ratatouille, a New York strip with au poivre or Béarnaise sauces, a traditional coq au vin — braised chicken in red wine and mushroom sauce — a duck breast in cassis reduction, and a selection of daily specials including beef Bourguignon, a traditional beef stew, on Thursdays. At brunch, a $29 affair with mimosas, bloody Marys, wine and beer included, you will find quiche Lorraine and croissant French toast, ham-and-cheese crepes and croque monsieurs, as well as a ratatouille shakshuka. Appetizers and salads range from $13 to $28, while entrees run about $22 to $45. On both Wednesdays and nightly from 4 to 6 p.m., prix fixe menus are available. For dessert, don’t skip the profiteroles. More info: 585-486-2305, brasseriebychefaless.com
Enchanté
210 Hampton Rd., Southampton
Start with some bubbles from the center cocktail table paired with rich, creamy Gruyere gougères. Be sure to taste the pain d’Épi baguettes made exclusively for Enchanté by nearby Blue Duck Bakery with a dab of butter imported from Le Beurre Bordier, one of the last artisanal butter producers in France. Churned for 72 hours, it takes two full weeks for the butter to arrive to the restaurant. It’s details like these that set Enchanté apart. The room’s taupe and orange accents are infused with a chic, Parisian vibe; and servers and staff seem to outnumber diners, while light jazz plays under the natural buzz of the room. Full of classically French starters like chicken liver mousse with a blueberry gelée; a decadent French onion soup; steak tartare with filet mignon, accompanied by frites; or escargots, entrees include mussels in a garlic, shallot, chili and saffron cream sauce; a generously portioned steak frites; dry aged Long Island duck breast; rainbow trout amandine; and a custom blended burger with Comté cheese. A soufflé can be ordered before dessert. Home to one of the sexiest bars on the East End — six seats, a dramatic wall of bottles, and velvet curtains separating the dining space — this is a great spot for single diners or couples to indulge in a nice selection of (mostly) European wines, bespoke cocktails and plenty of Champagne. Starters run $17 to $26, salads from $22 to $35 and entrees from $28 to $65. More info: 631-810-9020, enchantebistro.com
LB Bistro
150 E. Park Ave., Long Beach
After eight years running LB Social, chef-owner Matt Hisiger decided that his second Long Beach eatery would be a casual-but-elegant French bistro. He took over Steven’s Pasta, giving that long-lived venue a thorough Gallification, and LB Bistro opened in June. The décor is recognizably bistro while the menu is a study in classics: onion soup, seafood plateaux, steak tartare, foie gras, tuna Nicoise, moules marinière, steaks with a choice of classic sauces (Béarnaise, au poivre, Bordelaise, chasseur), coq au vin, beef Bourguignon, sole amandine and bouillabaisse. And there are a few twists too: small bites of croque monsieur, roasted bone marrow, a burger with bacon and Gouda. Starter prices range from $14 to $26, mains from $31 to $44. Signature cocktails have a french flair, from the French 77 (gin, lemon juice, elderflower liqueur, Champagne) to framboise-tini (vanilla vodka, pineapple juice, Chambord, Luxardo cherries). Julio Velasquez who led kitchens at Bistro Cassis in Huntington, Aperitif Bistro in Rockville Centre and Sage Bistro Moderne in Woodbury, is the chef. Most of the bottles on the brief, all-French wine list are under $50; there are a dozen available by the glass. More info: 516-992-0014, lbbistrony.com
Coq au vin at LB Bistro in Long Beach. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Sunflower Cafe & Bakery
825 Montauk Highway, Bayport
In the bones of the 46-year-old French restaurant Le Soir, Sunflower is a new chef-driven bistro cafe from owner Stacé Hansen. She's kept some of the staples of the Le Soir menu like the duck a l'orange, but with her own twist. The space is casual and airy during lunch, when Hansen and her daughter Kathrine serve a fabulous French onion soup and one of the largest Niçoise salads ($23.92) you'll ever see, packed with tuna and freshly roasted beets. Sunflower also makes its own pastries and desserts, and on a recent visit was offering housemade lavender ice cream. More info: 631-472-9090, sunflowercafebakery.com
The Old Guard: LI's longtime French restaurants
Aperitif
242 Sunrise Hwy., Rockville Centre
The bistro along the village's main stretch is a destination for French onion soup, steak frites, mussels and coq au vin besides more American takes on salads and fish. More info: 516-594-3404, aperitifbistro.com
Bar Frites
400 Wheatley Plaza, Greenvale
Situated in the Wheatley Plaza shopping center, it's a French-American bistro serving a daily omelet, steak tartare, mussels, quiche and beyond. There are hearty salads and a crowd-pleasing kids menu, too. More info: 516-484-7500, barfrites.com
Bistro Cassis
55-B Wall St., Huntington
A warm, cozy spot with dependably satisfying French dishes, and a dining room seasoned with a hint of romance. On offer: oysters mignonette, escargots with garlic-herb butter, roast chicken for one or two, caramelized onion tart with goat cheese, house salad with beets, Roquefort, and poached leeks. More info: 631-421-4122, reststarinc.com/bistro-cassis
French onion soup at Bistro Cassis in Huntington. Credit: Linda Rosier
Bistro Eté
760 Montauk Hwy., Water Mill
French “coastal cuisine” translates to dishes that have a touch of Mediterranean flair, such as zaatar-tinged seared tuna served over fattoush salad and duck-confit paella. More info: 631-500-9085, bistroete.com
Demarchelier Bistro
471 Main St., Greenport
Emily Demarchelier has recreating the Manhattan bistro of the same name owned by her father it in a former gallery on Greenport's Main Street. succinct and focused mostly on French classics — the escargots, raw oysters and pommes dauphine — but also fondue, a short-rib sandwich and osso buco over risotto. More info: 631-593-1950, demarchelierrestaurant.com
Steak tartare and escargots at Demarchelier Cafe and Bar in Greenport. Credit: Raychel Brightman
La Coquille
1669 Northern Blvd., Manhasset
Long Island's stalwart French restaurant has been at it since 1969, serving classics like duck a l’orange in a dining room that retains an Old World feel. More info: 516-365-8422, lacoquilleny.com
Pan-seared wild halibut with roasted portobello at La Coquille in Manhasset. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
La P'tite Framboise
1294 Main St., Port Washington
From savory clafoutis — a baked custard usually served as a dessert — to duck confit, sole meunière and poulet roti, or roasted chicken. Daily specials run from moules frites (mussels with fries, on Mondays) and bouillabaisse on Fridays. More info: 516-767-7164, laptiteframboise.com
Sage Bistro Moderne
7955 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury
Tucked into a busy shopping center, it serves omelets, crepes and heartier fare for brunch, lunch and dinner. More info: 516-584-6804, sagebistromodern.com
Volia! The Bistro
244 Lake Ave., St. James
This cute, quasi-hidden St. James spot blends New American and French sensibilities, but goes full-on française with dishes such as escargot a la Bourguignonne (yep, snails, served in garlic butter) or filet mignon in a cognac-peppercorn sauce with potatoes boulangère, a gratin with roots in rural France. Dinner can end with a soufflé, if you desire. More info: 631-584-5686, voilathebistro.com
