I will always say Andrew Carmellini’s Lafayette restaurant in NoHo is one of the most gorgeous and largest corner dining rooms downtown. It’s timeless, elegant and just makes you feel fabulous. That’s all that matters right? There is so much to do here. There is the cute little bakery on the right hand side where you can slip in and grab a few pastries, cakes or macarons (try birthday cake) while strolling by, a nice private dining room downstairs that would be a fantastic rehearsal dinner space, a coffee bar and and main dining room. It’s not an open dining room though. It feels open and spacious because of the high ceilings and the place is surrounding by windows looking onto the street. When you are on the outside of this restaurant all you want to do is be on the inside feeling the beauty and decor. It’s a breath of fresh air in there.
While I enjoyed my first experience for dinner at Lafayette I wasn’t in love with the food. Yes, you can be in love with your dining experience. It involves a smile strapped on your face during dinner, post dinner and even the next day. However, the breakfast is glorious. You can sit in the dining room, soaking up the glamour and order the best croissant in the world filled with chocolate, bananas and coconut flavoring. When you cut this baby open your mouth will drop. You can’t get enough flavor it is so creamy and flaky and marvelous. This is a dessert and it is everything. Start off nibbling on this or like I mentioned earlier, do a drive by the restaurnat and sneak in for a to-go pastry. I had the Egg White Frittata with Mushrooms filled with herbs and onions. It tasted like it was laced with some butter and cooked the right amount – not undercooked, not rubbery but just right. The Soft Scrambled Eggs vol-au-vent with chevre and leeks are eggs baked in a round puff pastry with goat cheese. People die over this kind of stuff. Lafayette offers breakfast every day of the week until 11:30 a.m. and a bigger brunch selection on the weekends. Sometimes you can even have the place to yourself. One suggestion for you, book your work breakfasts here asap. You can thank me first and then your boss 😉
