L'Express

Hmm.. it seems that L'Express got some really good ratings. As far as I'm concerned, the food was mediocre... more

Hmm.. it seems that L'Express got some really good ratings. As far as I'm concerned, the food was mediocre at best and the service was pretentious ... more

went there for lunch during a weekday and service was terribly slow, it took forever for a server to come over even though the place was not busy at all\r food was mediocre, we ordered the tomato and mozz salad, mussels, and calamari\r everything was subpar...the mozzarella did not taste fresh at all, calamari dipping sauce had a really odd flavor, and mussels were eh...overall would not come back here again, especially with so many other good restaurants in the area\r Pros: ambience? Cons: food, service more

24 hours is great... the fries are great.. otherwise, service is usually slow, the food just ok. but a good place overall to have in your repetoire if you eat out a lot and need options. more

Tried to get a table for two in the half-empty restaurant and was told to wait until a table opened up or be squeezed between two other couples. The tables are too close as it is. Meanwhile, we saw at least five tables for 4 that were empty. The waitress said they are for bigger parties. I'll bet that in the time we could've sat down and eaten, only one or two of the tables would have been occupied. I understand about seating policies but it looks like the restaurant would rather have empty tables than go against their own seating policy. Hope your waiters enjoyed the tips from your empty tables. Pros: Wouldn't know of any - never sat down to eat Cons: Tables too close to each other, poor mgt more

L'Express is a poorly run diner located in a hot spot of the big apple. This place has had my business for the last time as well as my friends. It's loud and the table setting is way too close. If you want a nice and somewhat quite ambiance, this is not the place for you. Don't order the steak frites, as the ""cook"" does not know his temperatures. Don't bother ordering the croque monsieur because you will get one piece of ham and if you tell them it's ""all bread"" they will charge you $2 more for one more piece of ham. The service is horrible. Normally, you go to a restaurant and you expect the server to check on you atleast ONE time, correct? Not in this place. No no, they drop the food and come back after you finish. Sure it's a trendy place to go to see and be seen, but it's WAY TOO OVERPRICED for the quality of food. It's not worth the wait for your food or the poor service and definitely not the extremely loud environment. I don't recommend this place at all. It's a true disappointment and they give real French cuisine, a bad name. Pros: Hmmm...it's trendy and fun in the early AM Cons: High prices, poor service, very close seating and loud music more

This place virtually had no customer service. I waited forever for my food. Yea it was crowded but it doesn't mean to neglect your customer. Was given a quick insincere sorry and that was it. The food was ok, but I am sure the sour feeling from the service made it taste even worse. I wouldn't recommend this place at all, if I wanted this kind of service, I might as well just gone to McDonalds, where they at least would get my order correct the first time. PS: Delivery service nonexistent either, was on the phone for like 30 min before they got it right. Terrible! Pros: Maybe the food? Cons: Service! more

Called in to order delivery, the first person took down my address, number, and order and was put on hold. And then a second person came to re-confirm everything, and while she re-confirmed my address, she cancelled my order saying that I lived too far. I was on the phone for like 30 min already. If I lived too far, just say so instead of wasting my time. Terrible service. more

Love the food ... did not like how the hostess spoke to us ... she was so rude ~ I was SHOCKED! Made me never want to order from here again. Pros: FOOD IS GOOD Cons: VERY RUDE HOSTESS more

i have never written a review before and just signed up so i could write this one. i do, however, use citysearch all the time for suggestions. i am always skeptical of the user reviews because i don't always agree and often wonder who is writing them. i was looking for a restaurant in a specific neighborhood to take out of town guests and was having a hard time deciding. i found several places that looked good and had great editorial reviews but horrible user reviews. something told me to look up l'express and see what the users were writing so i could put things into perspective. i was shocked to see that so many people gave the FOOD bad reviews. i moved to this neighborhood 3 years ago and since then, my husband and i have gone to l'express almost every weekend for brunch. the food is sooo delicious that we are disappointed if we are too busy to make it over there. we both dine out a lot, are adventurous and will try anything, and are not concerned with price. French is probably our favorite. everything on the menu at l'express is always delicious. i will admit that the later you go in the day for brunch, certain items are not as fresh as if you go early, but they are still delicious. far better than balthazar's brunch and half the price. whenever i have a brunch date with friends i always suggest l'express and everyone is always pleased and asks to go back. anyone who says that the food is so-so obviously doesn't appreciate good food or has picky taste. now, if you are looking for amazing, attentive service or are in a hurry, you may want to go elsewhere. i'm not saying they are rude, they are actually friendly (when you see them). if you have time to relax a little and have no where to rush off to, then l'express is worth the wait. we do ask ourselves every weekend why we subject ourselves to such poor service week after week but then the food arrives and we quickly forget what we were complaining about! Pros: the food! mmmmm!!! Cons: service, but if you want amazing food then deal with it! more

I've been going to L'Express for years, until now a good old reliable meal. They just crash and burned big time. After waiting an hour and a half, a delivery man - with heavily bleeding gums - told me not to worry, that my meal had been replaced with fresh food, and that my old order had been RE-SERVED to another customer. Salmon, mind you. Proceed with caution. more

this is an old reliable place for me, i have been going there for years i love the old-world bistro groove and the bar is great for meeting people and their bartenders are really professional good cocktails...the food is decent for a late night nibble it beats any diner Pros: open 24 hours, great cocktails, a good meeting spot Cons: can be crowded more

I've been here twice in past 3 months and it is a decent place with decent food and nice ambiance. The lighting is perfect here. Today the bread here was especially good: sourdough loaf....but I was REALLY hungry when I got there. I had the burger with bluecheese. It was tasty and frites were good too. My wife's mushroom ravioli was so-so but she liked it. Tasted to me like raviolies swimming in Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. We shared a warm goat cheese salad which was good, but portion was small for $9. The waiter was nice and laidback unlike most NYC waiters. Overall, we had a very pleasant time. Least compliment I can give is you could do worse. Pros: relaxed, good fries, perfect lighting Cons: unspectacular food more

Went on a Friday night. Food was bland : Duck Mousse, Salmon Dijonnais, Tilapia Fillet. Service was mediocre. Table layout was below-average. more

As crazy as this sounds, going late at night is a whole different experience. Recently, I went with a few girlfriends after a night out, and both the service & food were excellent. The croque monsieur (which was complained about in another review) was fresh & tasty, as were the other dishes served. In fact, the waiter was so nice & attentive that he brought out a bday dessert for my friend -- for free! Fast forward 2 weeks later for a Sunday brunch & it was a completely different story. I don't know what our waitress looked like b/c she never came around (not even for water refills or bread), & the food tasted reheated (onion tart was bland & the salad limp). Happily tho, the fries were good. Pros: Reasonably priced, Cute bistro ambience Cons: Uneven Service, Uneven food quality more

Service in this bistro/cafe was terrible. In a half-empty restaurant, the hostess tried to seat me next to the kitchen. My warm goat cheese salad arrived about 2 minutes after my appetizer-even though I'd specifically told the waiter that I wanted it second as my entree. When it arrived again, the goat cheese was cold. They didn't bring bread and I had to ask three times to get it. (No refills on soda, but you'd expect that from a French place). The expresso was small - much smaller than ones I usually received when living in france. The waiters were getting a wine class from a very loud manager and ignoring all the patrons - someone should have been giving them a class on serving instead. In a neighborhood with so many other wonderful options, its obvious that 24 hour service is the only reason this place stays open. Pros: 24 hours, moderate prices Cons: , tired food more

Ive had many great meals at LExpress but today was a disaster. Empty on what should have been a busy Sunday: Are other also sensing a problem here? Waited forever for the waitress, forever again for the food. No bread ever came. Cold fries. Croque monsieur awful: One TINY SLIVER of ham in an enormously greasy and tastelessly large sandwich. Yech! Bread quality still high..pommes frites would have been good hot. Waitress NEVER came back. When I finally chased her down and complained about the sandwich she SMILED and asked our dessert plans. Not a language issue: Shes a native English-speaking American. No apology, no offer of a different main course. The horror was billed in full. Dessert was fine, but also billed in full. Thats wrong. Id hate to lose LExpress but Im waiting for other recent reviews here at City Search before going back. more

Went with the girls for dinner last night, and experienced only a minor wait (10 min) on a busy Thursday night. Service was very friendly and relatively prompt for a place as jammed as it was. My girlfriends and I were extremely impressed with the quality of food: I had the escargots and steak au poivre, and both just about melted in my mouth! To top it all off, we shared the molten chocolate cake dessert which was sinfully rich and delish. My only (small) gripe was I wish someone had made an effort to replace the full glass of red wine that I spilled down my shirt. Oh well...can't have it all can we? Pros: Friendly service, Awesome food, Short wait for table more

You can't beat L'Express after a strong night of partying. My girlfriends and I always make a point of making L'Express a part of the night - it's almost like a ritual now. Egg white omelettes, goat cheese salad, and great burgers. Pros: consistent, great menu, scene Cons: , loud more

Not only is this one of the few awesome 24 hour restaurants in the area, but the staff is great. I accidentally left a cashmere scarf that had a great deal of sentimental value and the waiter placed it in the lost+found for me! Pros: Great staff, 24 hour, Business Lunch Spot more