Le Monde

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Neighborhood Brasserie with Deep Roots

Since 1998, Le Monde has been a fixture on Broadway in Morningside Heights, the kind of place that earns its reputation not through fanfare but through consistency and genuine warmth. Named after the French newspaper Le Monde — "The World" — the brasserie lives up to that expansive name: locals, Columbia students, academics, and first-time visitors all find their way to its tables. Time Out once captured the mood well, noting that "Hemingway and Fitzgerald would feel right at home rehashing their expat Paris days at this neighborhood brasserie."

The Kitchen: Chef Segundo Guaman

Executive Chef Segundo Guaman has been part of Le Monde since its very first service in 1999, stepping up as Executive Chef in 2016. A native of Ecuador with nearly four decades in New York City's French dining scene, he discovered cooking as a teenager and sharpened his craft under renowned chef Jean-Michel Diot. He trained in classical French techniques at institutions like Park Bistro and Brasserie Les Halles, later studying in France under Daniel Boulud, and built his reputation at La Goulue, Pastis, and Balthazar before making Le Monde his home.

His menu channels the Loire Valley — known as the "Garden of France" — with French classics and seasonal specials that carry the kitchen from early morning through the evening. Escargot, Steak Tartare, house-made crêpes, and the now-celebrated Steak Frites anchor the menu, while freshly baked flatbreads and rotating specials keep things alive. The range is broad: weekend brunch brings Duck Hash with potato galette and hollandaise, Truffle Eggs with béarnaise, and Crêpe Suzette flambéed with Grand Marnier.

The Team Behind the Room

General Manager Khalid Elfoulki, originally from Casablanca, brought the restaurant through its pandemic reopening in 2020 and has since deepened its ties to the Morningside Heights community. His guiding belief — that every guest should feel like they're coming home — is palpable in the brasserie's unhurried atmosphere.

The wine program is in the hands of Beverage Director and Partner Aviram Turgeman, whose work across the Chef Driven group earned Le Monde its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Turgeman's approach is precise and guest-focused: whatever the menu, whatever the occasion, he curates a selection that pairs naturally with every dish. His cocktail list brings the same sensibility — inventive takes on Martinis, Negronis, and Highballs sit alongside a purpose-built French 75 made with pink peppercorn-infused gin.

What to Expect

Le Monde is a full-day destination. Weekday breakfasts bring café au lait and sweet crêpes; lunch and dinner unfold at a brasserie pace that rewards lingering. The French cuisine here is neither precious nor oversimplified — it respects its classical roots while staying grounded in the rhythms of a working neighborhood restaurant. That balance, sustained across more than two decades, is what keeps the room full.