Bar Breton
254 5th Ave., Flatiron, NY
map & more
Neighborhood
Flatiron
Cuisine
French
Nearby
Empire State Building
Gramercy Theatre
Madison Square Garden
Penn Station
212-213-4999
Bar Breton earns itself the dubious honor of being one of the few restaurants he have tagged as Perfect For “Wasting Your Time and Money” on this site. We don’t throw that around lightly but unfortunately, this place makes L’Express look like Le Bernardin. It’s surprising, given chef Cyril Renaud’s Michelin star littered resume, but the food is a drag, the service erratic, and the space feels like a brasserie designed for Terminal 4 at JFK. We had high hopes for the galettes, buckwheat crepes inspired from Renaud’s homeland of Brittany, but for the most part they’re forgettable. As for the rest of the menu, the meat entrees almost uniformly arrived overcooked, and the fish dishes we tried all shared a pungent fishy smell. We give it three total points for an affordable wine list and a burger that’s serviceable, but there are better options in this area, even if that means you’re eating chicken paillard at Mustang Harry’s before the Knicks game.
Food Rundown:
Chicken Croquette
These croquettes were the best thing we ate at Bar Breton. These had a nice comforting flavor (like chicken soup) and were light and crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle.
Chicken Wings
Terrible, tiny chicken wings that were overcooked to the point that they could nearly qualify as jerky. Avoid at all costs.
Fried Deviled Eggs
A fried “deviled” egg – this was a bit strange but still had a nice rich flavor. Interesting, but not particularly memorable.
Pork Loin
A tough piece of pork that was bland and disappointing, especially after having come highly recommended from our waiter.
Cod with Mussels
Fishy cod and rubbery mussels make for one unappetizing seafood dish. We’d rather not.
Burger
Billed as Bar Breton’s “famous” hamburger, this wasn’t awful, but we’re not sure what it’s famous for exactly.
Lamb Galette
Of the galettes we tried, this one had a nice lamb flavor. The problem is that the galette comes “lasagna” style, stacked in layers which ultimately looked like a brown pile of lamb.
