Pastis

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A French Bistro That Earns Its Place

Pastis on Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District is one of those rare restaurants that manages to feel both lived-in and alive. The room does the work honestly: a curved zinc bar fitted with subway tiles, vintage mirrors carrying handwritten daily specials, and a mosaic-tiled floor that sets the tone before a single dish arrives. There is nothing performative about it. The space simply looks the way a proper French bistro should.

The Menu, Morning to Night

The kitchen runs from breakfast through dinner without losing focus. Mornings bring Eggs Benedict with Parisian ham and hollandaise, Eggs Norwegian with smoked salmon, a Gruyère omelette with fines herbes, and viennoiserie — croissants, pain au chocolat, almond croissants — that hold their own against any bakery counter. The Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame bridge breakfast and lunch with the easy authority of something that has been made correctly a thousand times.

By midday and into the evening, the French cooking deepens. Steak Tartare, Escargots with garlic-parsley butter, and fresh oysters anchor the hors d'oeuvres. The Plat du Jour rotates daily — Bouillabaisse on Fridays, Duck à l'Orange on Saturdays, Boeuf Bourguignon with pommes purée and bacon lardons as a standing option — giving regulars a reason to return through the week. Steak Frites comes in three cuts: Bar Steak with maître d'hôtel butter, a Filet with sauce au poivre, and an Entrecôte with sauce béarnaise. Moules Frites in white wine and garlic, Trout Amandine, Duck Confit with frisée — the menu reads like a confident survey of what French bistro cooking does best.

Recognition Worth Noting

Wine Spectator awarded Pastis its Best of Award of Excellence in 2025, a recognition that reflects the seriousness of the wine program supporting all of this. A list that earns that distinction is one built with genuine care, and it shows in how well the cellar pairs with a menu that runs from a light Scallop Crudo with passionfruit and hazelnut to a rich Veal Escalope with morel mushrooms and vin jaune sauce.

The Broader Picture

Pastis is operated by Starr Restaurants and carries the spirit of the original location that made the address famous in New York. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, making it one of the more complete French restaurants in the city — a place where you can start the day with a croissant and a coffee, return for a long lunch over Salade Niçoise, and come back again for Lobster Frites in the evening. That consistency, across all those hours and all those dishes, is harder to pull off than it looks.