French Roast

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Piece of Paris on Broadway

French Roast has been a New York staple since 1995, and its staying power on the Upper West Side says everything about what it gets right. The restaurant describes itself simply as "a piece of Paris" on Broadway — and that framing holds. Neighbors have been celebrating life events here for decades, while first-timers drop in for a proper meal and what the restaurant calls "the richest hand-poured cappuccino you've ever tasted."

The wine program earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, a reflection of the careful curation overseen by Beverage Director and Partner Aviram Turgeman. Originally from Israel, Turgeman joined the American Sommelier Association in 2003 and completed his WSET Diploma in 2009. His approach is straightforward: find something that pairs perfectly with every menu item, regardless of concept or region. The cocktail list follows the same logic — classic formats like Martinis, Negronis, and Highballs, each with a considered creative twist.

The Kitchen and Its Team

Executive Chef Loi Benitez brings a personal story to the French cuisine on the plate. Originally from Santiago, Chile, he grew up cooking alongside his grandmother before moving to New York in 1998, where he worked with his father at a long-running Upper West Side restaurant. He honed his focus on French cooking at several of the city's established bistros before joining the French Roast kitchen in 2019.

The menu spans breakfast through dinner without losing coherence. Brunch staples — Brioche French Toast, Parisian Stuffed Croissant with scrambled eggs and gruyère, classic Eggs Benedict with hand-whipped hollandaise — share the menu with French standards like Escargot en Croûte with Pernod and provençal butter, Onion Soup with aged gruyère, and Chicken Liver Pâté. Dinner moves into more composed territory: Seared Sea Scallops with truffle pea purée and pomegranate reduction, Quail à l'Orange over creamy polenta, and a 12oz prime Grilled Rib Eye with hand-cut truffle fries and béarnaise.

Continuity and Character

General Manager Sam Belanger's arc with the restaurant is its own kind of story. He first worked here as a server thirty years ago, left to tour nationally in theater, built a long career managing restaurants across the city, and eventually returned to run the very room where he once waited tables. That kind of continuity — in the team, the food, the neighborhood — is what makes French Roast more than a reliable address. It's a place that has genuinely earned its place in the fabric of the Upper West Side.