NYC Winter Restaurant Week: Payard


For NYC’s Winter Restaurant Week, which is still going on, I dragged all my wonderful friends to Payard Patisserie & Bistro. It’s located on Lexington between 73rd and 74th St…a nice location since it’s right next to the 6. Trust me, the weather in NY is extremely cold so anything near a subway station is KEY to a positive experience at this point. I’ve always wanted to come here because I’ve heard their pastries are incredible, and any place that has great dessert I AM THERE.

Anyway, we were seated upstairs in a corner by the ultra-expensive wines for the usual VIP restaurateurs I guess. Our waiter was real nice, informed us of an additional entree for the restaurant week menu which they ended up only having one of…and that my friend ordered. hahah. In terms of their restaurant week menu, it seemedslim but since it came with the dessert, I decided to stick with it.

As usual, here are pictures from the night:


That is the appetizer that I chose – their mushroom flan. Its description read, “Champignone de Paris and Porcini Flan with Black Truffle Oil Creme Fraiche – Wild Mushroom Broth”. Yum yum. I actually didn’t finish it all, but not because it tasted bad. It has a very strong “mushroom taste”, and depending upon your like/dislike for mushrooms, you would love it or hate it.


For the main course, I got the scallops or more eloquently put, “Seared Diver Maine Sea Scallops with Lardons, Blood Oranges, Red Endive and Baby Arugula Salad“. Yes, there are only two pieces…there were some complaints (from my always-hungry-friends) that they wanted to go to McDonald’s afterwards since this wasn’t enough. However, I thought it was pretty good, especially since I love scallops too. There was a good mix of scallop and sauce. Yum, I wouldn’t mind having another one right now…


And for DESSERT! After careful consideration, I got their Apple Tart (also recommended by our waiter). It was pretty good…even though this wasn’t the best picture of it…but the apples were nicely glazed and the pastry had just the right cripsy, butter-y-ness. Hahah.

Here are pictures of the desserts my friends got:


Don’t ask me what that is because I actually forgot…


This is called “Martinique“, described as “Baba Rum Filled with Caramel Passion Fruit Mousse with Poached Pear in Caramel Syrup”. Yes, doesn’t that just sound scrumptious. Mhhhmmm…

So all in all, a fun experience with my friends, going to the Upper East Side and enjoying some nice French cuisine.

Conclusion: If you want a classic French pastry, along with some pretty fancy francais dishes, Payard is the place to be. Be warned, this place does not come cheaply!


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