6 at Astor Pl.; F, V at Lower East Side-Second Ave.
Prices
$18-$25
Payment Methods
American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Special Features
Brunch - Weekend
Take-Out
Alcohol
Beer and Wine Only
Reservations
Recommended
Profile
This venue is closed.
When chef turned lawyer Adam Cohn and his architect-partner Adam Kushner bought Le Tableau in July 2007, the intention was to stay true to the bistro’s French origins. But gradually, as they added the foods they liked to eat (chef de cuisine Josh Shuffman’s brisket with kasha varnishkes, for instance, and Jonathan Waxman’s crêpes and caviar, a dish Cohn picked up cooking at Washington Park), they succumbed to their eclectic food instincts, influenced by Cohn’s stints at Barbuto and London’s River Café. The space has evolved, too, with a 45-foot-long communal table that connects the dining room to the open kitchen, and the new name pays tribute to both partners’ fathers. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite
A place that can't decide what it wants to be. You can eat better and more discerningly at this price point in many other places in the immediate neighborhood (try Supper, Casimir or Perbacco). Too many entrees at $25 and up, despite the trash bags piled outside. Uninspiring wine list. The owners are lately exhibiting the desperate strategies of the sandwich board, longer hours, seating you in the open front window and other harbingers of certain doom. Clientele: Fat, Loud & Proud.
I live a block away and had eaten at Le Tableau a few times, but always found it underwhelming both in concept and cuisine. I am glad that the new owners decided to do a menu and decor makeover. The kitchen looks like an open industrial number in a chef's apartment and the deconstructed/refined style of the dining room fits both the neighborhood and the menu, which is arranged so a meal could be had as successfully with an range of sides or openers, like potato pancakes with apple sauce, or mac and cheese (crispy and creamy), fried clams (plump, a little chewy, with heavenly tartar sauce my friend proceeded to dip bread in), as it could with a standard app and main routine. (We had the gently prepared trout). Wines by the glass seem a bit expensive for the neighborhood, ranging from, 9-12. Let's see if the dining will feel as relaxed, and service as efficient, when the appealing communal table fills up. For now, there's plenty of room, complete with a homegrown, earnest quality, enhanced by the two owners dining alongside customers and swigging Pellegrino, wishing everyone a good night.