Meeting up with a couple of friends and try a new place in Harlem. Haison Harlem, is located on St. Nicholas off of the two “restaurant rows” in Harlem. The lower level of the building was once an abandoned store. Now it’s been turned into French Bistro Maison Harlem.
Nothing like a solid restaurant to help revitalize a neighborhood. The transformation of the street level space to a modern Bistro was well done. The restaurant is available on my favorite dining point earning site, opentable. Advanced, reservations are highly suggested as the dining room is not that large and the restaurant, at least for Brunch, is popular.
As a midscale restaurant its low key and there is no strict dress code.
The restaurant is owned and operated by two french guys and it does have a quaint french vibe. Entering you step up and walk over the word “Bistro”, well duh! I thought it was overkill.
I love the dark wood. Although we were there for Brunch there were quite a few people just hanging out at the bar. The dining room was at capacity. Those that arrived after our party were told there would be not be seating people after 2pm due to a major issue that affected the entire staff.
At the end of the bar you ascend to a light filled dining room. Tables are tight, but it is a Bistro. Although there is outdoor seating, due to the wind its was not used. Due to location, size and how busy St. Nicholas is, I feel it may not be utilized.
Since we had a reservation we were seated rather quickly. The dining room was full. After being seated and greeted by our server, we ordered. We ordered French Toast, Eggs Nordique, an Omelette with a side of bacon.
Twenty minutes after ordering, we asked our waiter times, “what’s the delay?” and he came back with “the kitchen is slammed” and mimosas. We received our food approximately 35 minutes after ordering.
Once our food arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at looked delicious.
The eggs Nordique was scrumptious. The french toast had a nice crust on the outside and fluffy on the inside. My omelette was dense but packed with spinach, mushrooms and bacon. The only thing missing was bacon. They ran out of bacon and without our knowledge, substituted canadian bacon. They lost major points for that.
Although there were “issues” in the kitchen our server was very pleasant and really tried to keep us happy and the other tables in his section.
Overall the price for the meal is in line with other restaurants serving brunch in the area, but they dont have unlimited mimosas.
I think this a great addition to the neighborhood, a nice place for brunch, and I feel that it may a nice place for a date.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Maison Harlem
341 St. Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10027
www.maisonharlem.com
