French Restaurants in Greenwich
La Panetière
Four-Course French Dinner for Two or Four at La Panetière (50% Off). Four Options Available.
Weekly rotating menu of contemporary French cuisine at AAA Four Diamond Award–winning restaurant lauded in New York Times
Rye
$165 $82
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La Panetière's elegant cuisine works its way into not only the stomachs but the hearts of those who dine within the restaurant's cozy French-countryside embrace. Tucked inside a 200-year-old building, the "hushed dining room," as it was described by the New York Times, is home to "artistically arranged dishes" straight from the brain of owner Jacques Loupiac. The AAA Four Diamond Award–winning restaurant changes its menus frequently, but consistently remixes French culinary staples with seafood, beef, and vegetables grown in the United States.
Complemented by pours from vintages drawn out of its historic cellar, seasonal dishes may highlight sautéed Maine lobster with minty zucchini and white gazpacho or sophisticated accents of foie gras and escargots. It's La Panetière's unwavering devotion to refinement that makes it a destination for romance and celebration, as well as a proud recipient of the Best French Restaurant award, as voted by the people who read and make origami dragons out of Westchester Magazine. The eatery also boasts high Zagat ratings—food, decor, and service are all in the “extraordinary to perfection" category.
Voted Best Authentic Crepes in 2009 by Westchester Magazine, Rue des Crepes conjures a Parisian ambiance with a colorful street-side mural, cobblestone floors, and authentic French fare that "transports you to the quais of the Seine." According to metromix.com's mustachioed detectives, "all the classic fillings are there," including lemon, plantain, ham, and chorizo. Chefs prepare savory crêpes with a buckwheat-flour batter and, upon request, serve dessert crêpes à la mode. Rounding out the menu, pots of cheese fondue arrive with bite-size dunkers such as focaccia, shrimp, and buttons from Napoleon's doublet.
With a white-picket fence around its perimeter and an American Flag waving from its bay windows, Boulevard 18 Bistro & Wine Bar might look like a great place to raise a family. But instead of embodying the American Dream, this 1860s Georgian landmark holds a little piece of Paris inside. Chef and co-owner David Raymer transports palates across the Atlantic by pairing more than 80 French wines with traditional entrees. And, much like in a Parisian bistro's kitchen, the focus here is on the craft. Chef Raymer creates country pâté and cures gravlax in house, and even stuffs his own sausages with flavors such as merguez or boudin blanc. The result: French classics with a modern twist, such as grilled mustard-seed-crusted leg of lamb with ratatouille or a duck confit salad.
An antique map of Paris covers the wall of the dining room so that guests never forget where the flavors they're tasting came from. But it also helps tie the room together. The map's curving, cobblestone avenues guide eyes toward the scarlet booths and hardwood accents. Boulevard 18 Bistro & Wine Bar also offers a seasonal dining patio with views of the village fire station where Chef Raymer buys the flames to fill the fire pit.
A wood fire crackles in a stone hearth, the warm glow of the flames lighting the inside of a cozy Victorian house. Visitors might think they've stepped into a New England country inn, if it wasn't for the white-linen-swathed tables that populate the room—not to mention the aromas of French-inspired, New American cuisine that hang in the air. The genteel space serves as the dining room of Barney's Restaurant, the brainchild of Executive Chef Mitchell Hauser. He waxes Continental with succulent foie gras, goat-cheese-crusted filet mignon, and duck confit, while also paying homage to closer-to-home culinary motifs with crab cakes, crispy-skin salmon, and mussels from Prince Edward Island. Colorful and artistic platings bring each dish to life, but the presentation is not the only area in which Barney's goes the extra mile: Mitchell and his staff scour local markets for the freshest produce to work into their menu, ensuring that each dish pops with flavor and has a passing allegiance to the region's sports organizations.
Barbara Bratone once served as the executive director of La Napoule Art Foundation in France’s Côte d’Azur. Arthur Bratone served as the managing partner of a private company in the Middle East. Their shared international experience—and palates for international fare—come to life at Bistro Rollin. The two have rigid standards for selecting their ingredients: they get as much local and organic produce, sustainably farmed seafood, and antibiotic- and hormone-free meat as possible. This makes for a rich selection that spans brunch, lunch, and dinner. Creamy endive and roasted apples and prunes lend the tender Long Island duck breast extra flavor. Chef Manny Lozano and his staff also pan roast skate with acorn squash and roast racks of pork. It’s no surprise that the spirit selection is locally harvested, too: whiskey from Gardiner, New York, bourbon from Brooklyn, and gin from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, pour into artisanal cocktails. Cozy, intricate decor rounds out the experience at Bistro Rollin. Beneath original tin ceilings—the space was constructed in 1910—guests slide into dark wood chairs that match paneling hand made by a local cabinetmaker. The granite bar is also custom, its wood base built to fit into the space as snugly as the pieces of a puzzle that depict a bug in a rug.
OceanView Bistro’s BYOB policy doesn’t apply to its chefs, who use wine as an ingredient in several dishes, including a chicken stew marinated in red wine and mussels sautéed in white wine. The bistro's dinner menu boasts an all-French lineup of escargot hors d’oeuvres, stews, seafood, and dessert crepes drizzled in lemon or orange sauce and served with scoops of ice cream. During breakfast and lunch hours, the chefs shift gears from French to American and serve up deli sandwiches, burgers, and pancakes.