Restaurant in New York City, United States
Serious French bistro. Book well ahead.
Frenchette is a James Beard Award-winning French bistro in TriBeCa from chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr, recognised by New York Magazine and Opinionated About Dining. Book three to four weeks ahead for dinner; bar seats are your best same-week option. The service is calm and confident, the food runs from classic to quietly adventurous, and the wine program holds a Star Wine List White Star.
If you want a French bistro that has earned its place rather than just styled its way into one, Frenchette is the booking. Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr's restaurant on West Broadway is built for the kind of evening where the occasion matters — a serious date, a birthday dinner, a meal with someone you need to impress without resorting to a tasting-menu marathon. The room has 100 seats across a bar, communal tables, and banquettes, which means it can hold a group or seat you comfortably as a solo diner at the bar without feeling like an afterthought.
Frenchette carries weight. The 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur is one of the highest institutional signals in American dining, and it validates what the service experience already tells you on arrival: this is a room run by people who know what they are doing. New York Magazine included it in its 43 Best Restaurants in New York for 2025. Opinionated About Dining ranks it #81 in Casual North America for 2025, down from #53 in 2023 but still solidly placed in a competitive tier. Star Wine List has recognised the wine program with a White Star. Pearl has it as a Recommended Restaurant for 2025. That combination of peer recognition and institutional awards means you are not gambling on a reservation here.
The service at Frenchette is the detail that separates it from the crowd of French-adjacent bistros in lower Manhattan. Calm, confident, and without the hovering that plagues rooms trying too hard to signal luxury — the staff here contribute directly to what the awards data describes as a feeling of deep well-being across the meal. At this price tier, service that reads as natural rather than performative is rare, and it is a meaningful part of why the room works for special occasions. You are not paying for theatre; you are paying for a meal that holds together from the first course to the last.
The food anchors that experience. Verified menu details from the awards record note smoked trout beignets, beef filet au poivre with fries, soft scrambled eggs with Long Island escargot, and a tarte au chocolat as anchors of the menu , a range that runs from the classic to the slightly unexpected without losing coherence. This is French cooking that takes the format seriously.
Frenchette is a hard booking. The James Beard Award and its consistent New York Magazine recognition mean demand has outpaced casual availability. Reservations: Book as far ahead as possible , a minimum of three to four weeks is a reasonable working assumption for prime dinner slots on Thursday through Saturday. Check the website at frenchettenyc.com or call (212) 334-3883 directly. Bar seating: Walk-in bar seats are your leading option for a same-week visit, and the bar is a genuinely good way to eat here rather than a consolation. Address: 241 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013, TriBeCa. Dress: Smart casual is the baseline , the room skews polished without requiring formal attire. Group size: The 100-seat room including communal tables can handle groups; call ahead for parties of six or more. Budget: Pricing is not published in the venue record, but the OAD Casual designation and bistro format suggest a mid-to-upper casual spend , expect a meaningful bill at dinner, especially with wine from a program serious enough to earn a White Star recognition.
Frenchette sits in a practical middle ground between the white-tablecloth formality of Le Bernardin or Per Se and a neighbourhood brasserie with no real ambition. If you want French cooking with genuine technical ability but without the ceremony of a tasting menu, this is the cleaner choice. For the full picture of where to eat and stay in the city, see our full New York City restaurants guide, our hotels guide, and our bars guide. If you are building a wider trip, our New York City experiences guide and wineries guide are worth a look too.
Book Frenchette for a date night, a birthday dinner, or any occasion where a relaxed but serious French meal is the right call. The James Beard Award, the service quality, and the consistent critical recognition make this a low-risk, high-reward reservation in TriBeCa. The booking difficulty is the main obstacle , plan ahead or target the bar for a shorter lead time.
Yes. The bar at Frenchette is a strong solo option , 100 seats including bar seating means you will not be squeezed into an awkward corner table. Bar seats are also your leading route in without a weeks-ahead reservation. Solo diners at the bar get the full menu and the service quality the room is known for.
Smart casual is the working dress code. The room in TriBeCa skews polished , think dinner-ready without a jacket requirement. Showing up in jeans is fine if they are clean and paired with something considered. Frenchette is not the kind of James Beard-winning room where you want to arrive underdressed, but it is not Le Bernardin either.
Plan for at least three to four weeks out for a prime dinner slot, more if you are targeting a Friday or Saturday. The 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur has raised the profile considerably. Your fastest route to a same-week table is the bar , walk-in bar seats are available and give you the full experience. Book via frenchettenyc.com or call (212) 334-3883.
Frenchette is a French bistro that takes its format seriously , this is not a fusion project or a trendier riff on the category. The verified menu anchors include smoked trout beignets, beef filet au poivre with fries, soft scrambled eggs with Long Island escargot, and tarte au chocolat. The range runs classic to slightly unexpected. The wine program holds a Star Wine List White Star, so it is worth engaging with rather than defaulting to cocktails. For context on how it sits relative to New York's French dining options, see our New York City restaurants guide.
Yes, and it is one of the better ways to experience the room if you cannot get a reservation weeks out. The bar is part of the main 100-seat room and gives you access to the full menu. It is also your most practical option for a same-week or even same-day visit. The bar works for solo diners and pairs equally well.
The 100-seat room with communal tables gives Frenchette more group flexibility than most serious restaurants in its tier. For parties of six or more, calling ahead on (212) 334-3883 is the right move rather than relying on the online system. Larger groups should budget for the wine program adding meaningfully to the bill , the White Star-recognised list is not an afterthought. Compare to Eleven Madison Park if your group wants a tasting-menu format instead.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchette | Frenchette is a restaurant in New York City, USA. It was published on Star Wine List on August 5, 2022 and is a White Star.; La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 75pts; Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #81 (2025); ★★★ No longer the new kid in town, Frenchette has finally settled into itself, growing into the ageless, old-school French bistro it always promised to be. Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr’s food is better than ever, and the service, calm and confident, contributes to a feeling of deep well-being, from the first plate of warm, smoked trout beignets to the last bite of bittersweet tarte au chocolat. In between, you could go classic with a perfectly rare beef filet au poivre and the crispiest fries this side of the Atlantic, or go rogue with soft scrambled eggs topped with Long Island escargot. TriBeCa, Manhattan; New York Magazine The 43 Best Restaurants in New York (2025); Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025); James Beard Award 2025 Frenchette has been recognized with the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur. Restaurant Details: • Location: New York, NY • Chef: Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr • Cuisine: French • Award Year: 2025 • Award Category: Outstanding Restaurateur Contact Information: • Website: • Address: 241 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013 • Phone: (212) 334-3883 Dining Experience: • Signature Experience: Classic French bistro in Tribeca • Seating: 100 seats including bar, communal tables, and banquettes This 2025 James Beard Award recognizes exceptional achievement in the culinary arts and represents one of the highest honors in American dining.; Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #102 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #53 (2023) | Hard | — | ||
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Frenchette and alternatives.
Yes. The bar and communal tables make solo dining comfortable and sociable. Frenchette has 100 seats across bar, communal tables, and banquettes, so a single diner isn't squeezed into an awkward corner. For solo visitors, the bar is the best seat in the house — you can order the full menu and watch the room.
Dress as you would for a confident, grown-up dinner out — no need for a jacket, but you'll feel underdressed in athleisure. The room is a French bistro in TriBeCa, which sets its own expectations: put-together but relaxed. A dress, dark jeans, or a blazer all work.
Book at least three to four weeks out, especially for weekends. The 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur and consistent New York Magazine recognition have pushed demand well past casual availability. If you're flexible on timing, midweek slots open up sooner — check frenchettenyc.com or call (212) 334-3883 directly.
Come hungry and prepared to order broadly — the menu rewards exploration across both classic and off-script dishes. Frenchette won the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur and appears in New York Magazine's 43 Best Restaurants (2025), so expectations are set high and largely met. The service is calm and deliberate rather than rushed, so don't plan an early curtain after dinner.
Yes, and it's a legitimate option rather than a fallback. The bar seats are part of the main room and give you access to the full menu. If you can't secure a reservation, arriving at the bar at opening is your best shot at a walk-in seat — though this is not guaranteed.
Groups of four to six fit well in the banquettes. At 100 seats total, Frenchette can handle a modest celebration dinner without feeling like a private-events venue. For larger parties, check the venue's official channels at (212) 334-3883 — communal tables can work for six-plus, but you'll want to confirm in advance.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
