La Tete d'Or
La Tête d’Or by Daniel is a tribute to timeless flavors and traditions with infusion of French flavors. What attracted me with this restaurant was that chef Daniel Boulud has a pretty decent track record of delivering good refined flavors. We went to Le Gratin previously, and we were very impressed by the taste of everything. As usual because he also holds some type of celebrity status, this restaurant is located in a posh area very close to Eleven Madison. I was able to book a reservation about a week out for 5:30 PM on a Friday night.
Ambiance & Service
Walking in, the ambiance felt upscale and most definitely with a subtle pretentious vibe to it. We were led to the dining area, and we were seated next to a much older couple. The woman wore the outlandish “witch hat”, sunglasses, and a leather full top dress that you can imagine came from some fashion catalog as if she didn’t want to be recognized by anyone. Regardless, it wasn’t bothersome, but I found it humorous. This may be a place for celebrity sightings.
The service was very timely though a slight miss. Our server recommended a good wine, but I explicitly mentioned I wanted room for dessert. They recommended a few too many dishes, especially starchy, that we just simply did not have room for dessert. I had no idea the side courses would be so large, so we ended up taking them home. The food came out pretty fast, and if you got the prime rib, it comes out on a trolley. They slice it right in front of you similar to other prime rib trolley places like The Grill.
Food
The Flatiron ($24) cocktail came with Weber Ranch vodka, pamplemousse (similar to grapefruit), yuzu juice, and blood orange soda. My partner liked this a lot.
The Ashes & Diamonds Cabernet Sauvignon Rouge No.6 ($35) came from Napa Valley, 2022. This had a blend of the 75% classic cab, 12% merlot, and 13% cab franc blend. It had some nice tannings with some slight acidity, and it matched the prime rib well.
The bread was good with the butter.
The Soupe a L’oignon ($19) came with onion-beef shank broth and alpine cheese feuilleté. There were large pieces of beef shank in the broth, and the seasoning was perfect. The cheese stick was crispy and good when you soak it in the broth. This soup was quite heavy, even for sharing. I think compared to the crab cake below, I would’ve preferred the crab cake.
The Crab Cake ($34) came with tarragon remoulade, piquillo, and pickled vegetable slaw. Our prime comparison for a crab cake is the one from The Grill. This one definitely comes close. There are plenty of crab pieces in it, and they didn’t clutter it with too much sauce. The crab itself was very sweet, and fortunately all the other sauces and things did not distract away from the taste.
The Baked Potato “Tartiflette” ($21) was basically a twice baked potato. The second time they bake the potato, they add a bunch of things like bacon, cheese, and sour cream to it. It definitely was very delicious as expected.
The Ravioles au Comté Gratinées ($18) came with a ton of little raviolis in a cast iron pan. This was good if you like charred comte cheese and little raviolis. We probably should have refrained from ordering this due to the heaviness despite the server recommendation.
The Prime Rib ($130) came with a 10 ounce Scharbauer Ranch American Wagyu Ribeye, with some grated horseradish, bordelaise sauce on the left, bearnaise sauce on the right, creamy spinach on the top right, pomme puree on the top left, and a peppered popover. The prime rib was different than the usual. It was of course a little more red and soft, and the ribeye had a different flavor than a typical prime rib. It was good, but unfortunately regardless of price, I’ve had better prime rib in the city. The potato puree and the creamy spinach were both decent. Unless you’re super hungry, this is enough for 2 people should you also get 1 or 2 sides/appetizers.
This is the Peppered Popover that came with the prime rib. They also provide scallion butter on the side. Similar to a British yorkshire pudding, this was decent with the scallion butter.
Final Verdict
La Tete d’Or, despite its celebrity chef backing from Daniel Boulud, was just OK. The food was a good alternative to other steak or prime rib places in the city, but I wouldn’t say it’s somewhere I would consider repeating. The prime rib was not the best I’ve ever had, though the presentation of the trolley was nice. If you’re up for something just slightly different than classic steak houses, you can check this out in the Flatiron district.
Yelp Jabs
Officially getting a reservation wasn’t easy, but Sunday at 5pm won us over and that early dinner was all I needed for the whole day.
The reservations may seem busy, but you can sign up for Resy alerts for a few days that you’re interested in. I was getting notifications a few days before each day of openings. It was comical enough because my reservation day basically moved up a month earlier.
I booked La Tête d’Or months ago and flew all the way from Milwaukee, WI to New York just to celebrate my birthday at what I thought was a top-tier restaurant. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the worst dining experience I’ve ever had… The steak was one of the worst I’ve ever had–an overly fatty, poorly cooked cut with only a small piece of actual steak that was mediocre at best. The attached picture shows the sad excuse for a “fine dining” steak.
Of all the restaurants in NYC for steak, it seems interesting that someone would choose this restaurant a few months in advance. The restaurant hasn’t been open for that long, and it hasn’t gotten that much popularity. The prime rib definitely had its fat parts, but I would say it’s at least better than what we got at Monkey Bar.
Revisions
- Mar 15, 2025 - Initial revision.